My Life is in Your Hands

 

My Life is in Your Hands

     There's a Christian song sung by Kathy Troccoli that goes, "My life is in your hands, my heart is in your keeping - I'm never without hope, not when my future is with You..."  If we could hold onto that truth, there would be a lot less fear and stress in our lives.  We're going to consider a couple of examples where God plainly shows the truth of those words.

     First of all, let's consider God's control over our safety.  Psalm 91 says, "He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge."  While that is a sweet, gentle promise, the next promise relates to a dangerous pitched battle such as the one in the picture above:  "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you...Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you."

      Imagine walking down the middle of that grassy field between the two opposing armies as they raise their battle cries and plunge forward to certain death for many.  There you are, calmly walking among the fiercely fighting soldiers, safe within the protection of your heavenly Father.  That's a picture of that verse in Psalm.  What that means is - you are safe until the time that God has ordained to call you from this mortal life.  Even then, if you are His child, He brings you safely to Himself.

       From the day we are born, God has a plan for our lives and He has recorded the date and the time of the end of our earthly life.  Scripture says, "And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them," Psalm 139:16.

     So, we are basically immortal until that day arrives.  In contrast to being safe until your number is called, once your number is called, you can't do anything to change it.  Job 14:5 says, "Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass."  Here's an example of that truth in the life of an ancient king of Israel.

      1 Kings 22 records a situation with wicked King Ahab that happened a few thousand years ago.  It's one of those ironic events that fully illustrates the truth of God's control of everything -- including our number of days.

      When the king asked God's prophet if he should go into battle against his Syrian enemy, the prophet told him that God said he would die if he went.  

      Well, Ahab wanted to go, so he thought he would be smart and make sure that prophesy did not come true.  He disguised himself as a common soldier and stayed at the back of his army as they met the enemy on the battlefield.  He thought he could control his destiny, but man's puny efforts are never enough to thwart God's will.

      "Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor," 1 Kings 22:34.  The picture below illustrates a soldier shooting an arrow without even aiming it at anyone in particular.  This soldier didn't know where King Ahab was standing, but God did.  And it's interesting to note that the arrow found the tiny slit between the joints of the king's armor to pierce the most vulnerable place on the king's body.

      King Ahab was mortally wounded and he died before the sun set that evening -- just as God said he would.  Ahab attempted to evade God's judgment by putting himself in a supposedly safe place on the battlefield.  This was his day to die and he could not change it.

     If God wills it -- it will be done.  "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases," Psalm 115:3 and "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me...I have purposed it; I will also do it," Isaiah 46 9 & 11.

      And so -- knowing God loves us and controls our lives from birth to death and beyond, should fill us with peace and the assurance to walk fearlessly through each day with confidence.  "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?" Psalm 56:11.