Every Move I Make I Make With You Lord!

 

“For Mordecai, the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.”  Esther 10:3

 God is in control. He is all-powerful. He is above-all and knows all. He is in control of everything. Nothing is too big or too hard for Him. We know these things, and then we see some of the awful evil in the world and we get confused. God does not sin, does not cause us to sin, and will not even tempt us to sin. So, if He is in control, why is there sin? The not-so-simple answer is that God knows what we will do, where we will fail, how we will sin, and rather than allowing that to destroy His plan, He uses it as a part of His plan, bringing everything together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His good purpose (Romans 8:28).

 A great example of this is the story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 37-50. His brothers clearly sinned when they attacked him and sold him into slavery and then lied to their father about it for years. God did not cause them to do this. He did not tempt them to do this, but He knew that they would do this, and He used it to bring Joseph to Egypt. More people (Potiphar’s wife and Pharoah’s cupbearer to name two) sinned against Joseph, causing him temporary harm in going to and remaining in prison. But God used those situations as well to shape Joseph into the man he needed to be. At the right time, God brought it all together and placed Joseph in a position of power as second in command of the whole country. He used Joseph to save entire cultures from starvation during an upcoming famine.

 Knowing God is in control, and living like God is in control are two different things though! You can believe something in your head, but until it makes it to your heart, it doesn’t affect your actions and choices. One of my dear friends is moving in two weeks to Southern California. She is going to live with her son, so she has a place to stay, but she is leaving the place and the people she knows and loves here. After living in one area for 50 years, this is a major life change! There is a lot she will have to trust God for in this season. Another friend of mine is packing up her family and moving to Kentucky – on the same day! Unlike my first friend, they don’t know where they will live or what they will do for work, but they have faith that God is directing them and everything will be ok. These friends inspire me as they walk out their faith, living, believing and trusting in the sovereignty of God.

 As we walk through this season following my husband’s layoff, there is a lot of uncertainty. We don’t know what type of job he should look for, if and when he will get one, if we will need to move, to sell our home, and much more. What we can be certain of, is that God knows the answers to all of these questions and He’s worked out all the details, even those we haven’t yet anticipated. We’re only three weeks into this journey and I think my husband is already wearied of me saying, “God’s got it.” It doesn’t make it any less true though! I just need to find ways of saying things that don’t sound so trite.

 Like Joseph, God elevated both Esther and Mordecai to their high positions. Sometimes things looked pretty bad for them, but at no point was God worried. Never were they out of His care and provision. Even when an edict was sent out legalizing their murder by their enemies, God still had things under control. I’m sure it didn’t feel like it at the time though! They had to be absolutely confounded when they heard the news! But well before the edict was sent out, before Haman was even a favorite at court, God had put things in place to bring Esther and Mordecai to the court and set in motion His plan to thwart evil. And even that probably seemed bad at the time, when Esther was forced to join the harem, tearing her away from the relative safety and security she had found with her cousin turned guardian. But if she hadn’t been forced into the harem, she wouldn’t have become queen. And if she hadn’t become queen, she wouldn’t have been in a place to intercede for her people. You see, like Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Here's the Thing: In the midst of our uncertainty, we can be certain of God’s sovereignty. Some things, like layoffs, may look bad at the time, but we can know that God will ultimately be working it all together for a greater purpose. Who knows, maybe this is what God had to do to get my husband to the perfect job He has in store for him. Maybe he’ll even get to save some people!