Content in the Hands of God

Imagine the following scenario: You are sitting in a room calmly looking at a beautiful aquarium when, suddenly, a giant who is 3 times your height grabs you in his arms and carries you out into the hot afternoon sun. He then takes you to a massive piece of machinery and balances you on one hip with his left arm while he opens a door in the machinery. Both of his hands then grab you, strapping you into the machine in such a way that escape is absolutely impossible. During the whole process, there is one reality that never changes:

You have no control whatsoever over what the giant does to you!

What would your response be to such an event? Would there be peace and contentment in your heart? Would you smile with joy, even laughing on occasion in the midst of everything? Those aren't the thoughts that come into my mind, for sure!

This exact set of circumstances happened to my family this afternoon in Bangkok, Thailand. My one-year-old son was in my office standing on a chair looking at the goldfish in my aquarium. It was time to go, so I picked him up, proceeded outside to our truck, and strapped him into his car seat. Was he afraid? Did he freak out and struggle against me? Did he fear for his life as I held him in one arm in order to open the door? The obvious answer to all of these questions is a resounding 'No!'

Why was my son content, helpless as he was in this situation?

My son trusts me. I have never done anything that would lead him to believe I mean him harm. I have never picked him up to take him somewhere and ended up dropping him on his head. He is secure in my arms.

My wife commented as I was putting our son in the car that we need to be trusting with God in the same way. How true! Has God ever given us reason not to trust Him? Has God ever caused or allowed any harm to come to us that wasn't for our good and His glory? Do we need to struggle against His guidance in our lives in order to ensure our safety, happiness, and success in this life? Do we need to be constantly wary that God is going to 'drop the ball' in our lives? Again, the answer to these questions is 'No!'

Romans 8:28
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Scripture clearly teaches that we cannot manufacture love for God or a life that coincides with His purpose on our own merit. We cannot earn the favor of God that causes all things to work together for our good. If, however, by God's amazing grace, we are transformed into new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17) who love God and live our lives according to His purpose, we have a rock-solid promise from the Bible that God is on our side, with our best interests in mind. No matter how scary the circumstances or how out-of-control we feel in the midst of them, we can have the same wonderful contentment as a little child in the hands of his father!