Psalm 46: 10 Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Do you know that there are things only God’s right hand can fix? This Psalm is very frightening and encouraging at the same time. It speaks to total chaos in the earth but assures us that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. Believers have a place of refuge when things become chaotic. Psalm 91:1 tells us “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Sometimes only the passage of time helps you to prove God’s faithfulness and confirm that intervenes in the affairs of men for his own glory.

Unless you are extremely rich, you were not untouched by the economic downturn of 2008/09. Job losses, disappeared fortunes, home foreclosures, unemployment for young people – the underpinnings of society were simply becoming unglued. The experience brought many to their knees in prayer. It also took a toll on the moral fiber of society and certain norms seemed to change. For example, the expectation of many parents that the pattern of their children’s lives, some of them highly educated, would follow or exceed their own success was dashed. Many parents, including me, became pre-occupied with “how can I fix this for my child?” I busied myself giving leads, referrals and hints to my children about next steps to take.

I read the Word a lot and preached to myself but what I wanted God to do was to make things “right” i.e. grant the results that I wanted. Then one day the Holy Spirit drew my attention to Genesis 15 where God revealed himself to Abram as a covenant-keeping God, showed him the wonders of his creation and shared secrets with him  about his future and that of generations yet unborn.  Abram was required to lay out a sacrifice and he wearied himself trying to keep the vultures away. Then either he fell asleep from exhaustion or the Lord gave him rest and consumed the sacrifice by fire himself. I came away from that study realizing that I do not “own” my children’s lives nor should I wrest control of them away from God as my path and theirs is different.  The Holy Spirit further enlightened me:

“Sometimes, it takes the Father’s right hand to make things right. At such a time there is nothing for the believer to do but trust the Everlasting Father, he who knows everything and is able to rearrange life’s circumstances so that his glory can be seen and the praise that results could come no other way. You see my child there are certain things that are God’s prerogative. He does it or it will never be done. His children’s lives follow a course he has ordained. The timing is completely his. So relax and let God have his way in the lives of your children. It shall be well. As he has promised, so shall it be.”