I traveled to Dallas this morning to visit a family whose loved one has survived a very serious motorcycle accident from this past Sunday. Their 'watch' is being held at Methodist Hospital of Oak Cliff where they are surrounded by friends, church members and loved ones. And though "Scott" will be OK, the family now faces surgeries to repair broken bones, months of rehab and recovery, and certain - even if only temporary, 'life-change' along with it.
Now the longer I live and serve as a pastor, the more I have come to expect that things are NEVER as tranquil as they appear. I can be marrying one couple today, with yet another talking of divorce. At the hospital rejoicing over a new birth, and turning to my phone to hear another has just died. Life takes quick turns - not just as a metaphoric comparison of people - but sometimes with the self-same one. Scott was enjoying a peaceful Sunday ride down a farm to market road outside of Aubry Texas when his 'turn' came. The next thing he knew was that he was being careflight-ed to Dallas. In an 'instant' his reality was changed and this one turn turned his life upside down.
Maneuvering our turns, then, is the operative - not avoiding them. And all the 'platitudes' in the world, however well meaning, are just not enough. In short, there's not enough 'real' comfort or confidence gained in the words - "He's in Control" - though He is. Because there has to be more than surface understanding of this truth, God is in control, we need Scripture to help us.
God helps us maneuver our turns as we realize...
1. He loves us - Romans 8:38-39
2. He cares for us - 1 Peter 5:7
3. He has a plan for our life - Jeremiah 29:11
4. He will never forsake us - Matthew 28:20b
These truths may not take the turns away from life, but they will help us maneuver them.
Till Sunday, then -
Pastor Sam
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