Letting God Be God

If you are anything like me, when it comes to easing the pain and suffering of those I love, I will do everything I can within my power and resources to do so. But is this always the right thing to do? It absolutely feels like it’s the right thing; the only thing. But what if God has a plan that does not include us playing superhero.

A Day of Trials

I faced this exact situation a few weeks ago. My daughter was met with a day full of difficult circumstances. Granted some were due to poor planning on her part, but as a whole it was what I like to call “extra”. Everything she faced that day, piled up on the other becoming a Mount Everest.

She was sick but working, trying to provide for her very large family of children all needing back to school items as well as the normal needs, food, housing and the like. She was on her way to drop off a delivery of groceries to a customer’s house and out of the blue, when she hit the brakes in her car, nothing happened. The car would not stop!

Thankfully she was in traffic so no speed was involved, but she still hit the car ahead of her. Thank you LORD it was rush hour bumper to bumper traffic.

On top of that…remember I said some problems were because of poor planning…her license plate had expired and she was in a new state and had not registered the vehicle there! The plate was to be seized if she got pulled over and the car impounded. On top of all this she was overdrawn on her bank account, depending on this grocery order to be dropped off that is literally only 2 miles away. The food is slowly heating up in a vehicle with no brakes and might very well be impounded when the officer showed up for the accident.

Letting God Take The Lead

She called me, in tears, wondering why all this was happening to her. Where was God when she was doing her best? My heart broke for her, realizing I had no easy answers. She had to hang up; the officer was approaching her car. I wanted to right then make this all go away, but all I could do was pray. I cried out to God with her questions as well as mine. Why? What am I supposed to do? I’m not local to her so I cannot help her physically.

Through my tears I heard God’s voice in my heart. “I am doing a thing in her life mama. Let me be God because you are not. She will not always have you, but she will always have me. I want her to depend on me “. Wow!

Trusting God’s Plan

I felt a weight lifted. I could breathe knowing that no matter what, God was doing a thing. I could trust Him.

About 30 minutes passed and she called me back. The officer didn’t run her license plate because there was virtually no damage. He took down her information and would write up the report at the police station. She also had a friend who helped her get the groceries delivered and got her car towed home.

But the most amazing thing? When she was praying as was I, as she stepped out of her car with the officer, on the ground next to her feet was a discarded picture of Jesus. Could it be that was exactly the time God spoke to my heart and provided evidence that He was at work? This discarded picture became a treasure in the hands of who it was meant for.

God did a thing when I allowed Him to. He provided, He comforted and He showed up in a way she recognized it was Him.

I continue to help her as a parent should, but I don’t feel a panic when “extra” happens to her or any of my other loved ones. I am reminded daily to relinquish control over things I cannot control. I hold firm to the promises of God and the reminder in Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps”.

I don’t have to do all the things for everyone. I don’t have to have all the answers. I don’t have to carry the weight of everything on my shoulders. I can honestly let God be God, because I am not.

Sometimes, it’s in releasing our tight grip on the reins that we allow space for God’s beautiful plans to unfold. As you journey through your week, I encourage you to take a moment to pause, breathe, and entrust your worries to God. Remember, you don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders; let God be God.

In Faith and Trust.

Sandy

Image by jcomp on Freepik