Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's."
A cartoon showed a keeper in a cage full of monkeys. The mischievous creatures had taken the keeper's cap, keys, broom, and pail of food, then left him standing in stunned silence. Outside the cage an onlooker asked, "Who's in charge here?"
Perhaps that scene is the way our daily life sometimes appears to us. Things have gotten out of control. We have set out to control life, and it has turned on us. We feel threatened, anxious, inadequate to cope with even the simplest events. We have been tricked, and we resent it.
Sense will return to life when we learn that "the earth is the Lord's." Jesus' mission was to teach us what that means. He inverted our entire relation to life and the world around us. He freed us to trust our heavenly Father and to live under His order. Suddenly the world opens up to us when we discover that God really is in charge here and His good will is going to prevail. Life is not a cruel trick. Our Lord has overcome the great deceiver, Satan. Jesus said that we might have peace of heart and mind: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
Purpose and order return when we recognize God's will in Jesus and let His will be done through us.
PRAYER: Forgive us, Lord, for ever doubting Your good will. Amen.
(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996, Concordia Publishing House (out of print). For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)
Today's Bible Readings: Exodus 29-30 Mark 2
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