Mark Sorensen Don’t ask why, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, I just had to take a late night trip to Walmart. I just needed a few essentials so I gathered up the family, parked the car, and ran inside the store. All seemed pretty normal until I walked back outside of Walmart. That’s when I saw that, in a completely empty parking lot containing only my car, I had apparently forgotten to put my Toyota 4Runner in park. I walked outside to find my car speeding in circles around the parking lot, completely out of control, with absolutely no one at the wheel.
Terrifying.
I remember watching this in horror thinking that, at any moment, it could careen in the wrong direction and veer into oncoming traffic. I remember standing there semi paralyzed thinking, “How do I fix this? What do I do?” That’s when, for no reason whatsoever, I watched as the car slid sideways RIGHT into a parking spot and the engine turned off. Crisis averted. Situation handled.
And…
THAT is when my alarm went off and I woke up.
Hallelujah. It was totally a dream. All of it.
What’s interesting is that I don’t really dream. Seldom, actually. But last week, somewhere between the launch of the 70 hour Bible reading we began in new Harvest worship venue and the launch of the new Harvest worship service on Sunday morning, I had this bizarre, random, crazy dream. But, wait. Maybe it’s not quite so bizarre and random. Honestly, there were a LOT of things happening last week that, quite honestly, were happening with outcomes that were WAY beyond my control. Would we actually be able to finish the Bible reading in 70 hours? Would everyone show up? Was the Harvest venue going to be finished on time? Would people show? How on earth would everything get done?
And then this.
“And why do you worry?” -Jesus (Matthew 6:28)
In Matthew 6, Jesus goes into pretty great detail as to the need to trust that God is in control. It was Matthew 6 that led me to the “Aha!” moment of getting to the bottom of my nightmare/Walmart/4Runner fiasco. Pretty certain it doesn’t take a psychologist to see the deeper meaning behind that dream. There were a LOT of things happening last week that were well beyond my control. A lot of things that, as badly as I wanted to control the outcome and know how things were going to turn out, I was helpless and standing on the sidelines.
But, here’s the thing. I wasn’t helpless. God was in total control. Everything went above and beyond what I ever thought could be expected. God was and God IS in total control.
So much of life is unpredictable. It’s down right scary at times, right? But praise God we have a Father who never leaves us standing helpless on the sidelines.
King David knew it.
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19
Nahum got it.
“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7
The Apostle Paul lived it.
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Good for them, good enough for me. Thankful that in all situations, we’re never beyond the help and reach of our Heavenly Father. Ending this day giving thanks for that truth that is solid and foundational. (Also ending this day going BACK outside to double check that my vehicle is in park and turned off.) 😉
