1 Samuel 2:2-10 (KJV) - "There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."
During my morning bible study today I was starting into the book of Samuel and this series of verses came up in my reading. It tells an amazing truth of God that many of us fail to understand. God is all powerful. He raises up. He tears down. He kills. He resurrects. God has the power to do anything because it's His creation and therefore His to do with as He so pleases. We too are His creation and therefore we must understand that not only can God do amazing things for us, He will.
Certainly He gives us free will to choose our path. But that doesn't diminish His power. If you're down in the deepest pit of life, God can lift you up. But if you're on the highest hill of your life, God can take you down to the pit. It's an effortless action for Him to do this. So when we're down in the deepest, darkest pit of our lives, we must always remember that God can bring us out of that. The only question we must always remember to ask ourselves when we're there is, "Why am I here? Is it something I've done (ie, God chastising you for sin in your life in order to clean you up) or are you trying to teach me something? A life lesson perhaps?"
Often the pitfalls of our life come as a source of instruction, teaching us to learn more and more on Jesus every day. At other's it's designed to drive sin out of our lives. As has been said before, often when life is comfortable sin abounds. But when life is hard, sin finds little or no place in our hearts. That is why almost unquestionably so those believers, who are persecuted, are stronger and more sin free than those who have the easy life and live comfortably in houses and have no trials.
So, despite all the horrible, terrible, scary reports you hear on the news. Despite the down position you're in, fearing that you'll lose your house, or apartment. Fearing that tomorrow will bring another day without food. Fearing terrorism or illness or death or anything around you. God is in control. Even if God were to let you die, praise God in the storm. Praise Him when the sun shines bright and when the night is filled with the blackest fear. Praise Him on the mountain, and praise Him in the valley. Praise Him in riches and poverty, sickness and in health. Praise God when you're awake, and praise Him in your dreams. Praise always and trust, leaving the details to God.
As one of the characters in my novel "Planetfall" said, "Bring the basics and leave the details to God." He is in control. Trust Him in all things for, as 1st Samuel says, He controls all things, and all things, even Satan and his minions, are under God's power, and God's control. He may release them for a time to do His will, but ultimately Satan is on a very short leash and if God wills it, Satan can't even lift a finger against you. Look at the book of Job. God allowed Job to go through some incredible things that not even the bravest man would want to undergo. Yet look at Satan through all this. Never once was he out of control, and never once was he beyond God's controlling hand.
God was, is, and always will be in control. All things work to good for those who love Jesus, and especially for those He calls His own. Trust God in all things that they will work out to His honor, His glory, and His plans. They may not be our plans, or the way we want them to play out. I understand that. But you have to remember this. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts above our thoughts. He's eternal, He's omniscient (ie, he knows everything all the time) and he's omnipresent (he's everywhere at once) so He's clearly better informed than we are and able to make better decisions because of that.
Think of it this way. You have brain cancer. Do you want a doctor who is well skilled, experienced and educated in how to handle it, or do you want some 5 year old working on you who views your brain as some kind of fun and entertaining squishy toy? You'd clearly take the brain surgeon any day, right? Well, think of God as a billion times a billion and billions of billions of billions above that brain surgeon. That's why His ways are better than our ways because He knows the end from the beginning, and how it'll all play out, and if we'll just trust Him with the details it'll always end for the best.
It may not seem like it at times, and there are days and moments when it looks like it's going completely wrong, but always remember. Even in the darkest of days, God is in control, and if we follow His leading, no matter the outcome, it will always be to our good, even if we don't quite understand how that can be true. God is in control. Trust and leave the driving to Him. :)