Is God REALLY in Control?: Trusting God Through Life’s Detours & DelaysSample

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong? When you wake up with grandiose plans for an amazing day, and by early afternoon, you realize that this day may not go as smoothly as you'd planned. I experienced one of those days a couple of years ago.

I was heading to my dad's apartment so we could watch the new Mahalia Jackson movie together. Usually, he comes over to my house - he loves being there and enjoying my cooking (there's something special about your daddy loving your food). But this day was different; looking back, I now understand why.

Nothing was going according to plan. I was running late, missing the start of the movie, and facing delay after delay. You know those moments when time seems to work against you? When every traffic light turns red just as you approach? That was my afternoon, and it seeped right into the evening.

But God had a greater purpose in mind.

When I finally arrived at my dad's apartment complex and began climbing the steps, something stopped me in my tracks - the distinct smell of gas coming down the hallway my dad's home was on. Now, normally, I would have taken the elevator, but something inside me (now I know it was the Holy Spirit's guidance) led me to take the stairs. That "inconvenient" detour led me past an apartment where someone had fallen asleep with their gas stove on! Looking back, what could have ended in tragedy became a moment of divine intervention.

Have you ever wondered why certain things happen in your life? Maybe you've questioned those unexpected detours or delays. I've learned that sometimes our greatest frustrations are actually God's divine orchestration. Every delay that day, every "red light," was actually His providence in action. Had I been on time and taken my usual route up the elevator, the outcome could have been devastating.

This is what God's sovereignty and providence look like in our everyday lives. John Piper explains this idea of sovereignty and providence so well, "His sovereignty is His right and power to do all that He pleases. His providence is the exercising of that right and power purposefully."

When our carefully laid plans go awry, it's natural to feel frustrated. But what if those redirections are actually God's providence at work? What if, behind those seemingly random delays and detours, He's orchestrating something far greater than we could imagine?

Pause and Ponder: When you look back at the interruptions in your life, where do you see God's sovereign hand guiding and protecting you?