My wife and I had planned a trip to Daytona Beach last week.
With much excitement, we drove down to the Sea-Tac airport, but when we arrived, I saw a notification pop up on my phone alerting me of the anticipated hurricane. I used to live in Florida, so I knew hurricanes were a part of Floridian life, but I was concerned because Hurricane Ian had already devastated the state recently.
Due to our excitement for this trip, if we saw any sign of it being safe enough to go, we were going to board this plane — even if it became a storm-watching trip rather than a beach resort trip. However, when my weather app showed the severity of Hurricane Nicole as, “Significant threat to life or property,” I started to second guess my resolve.
Just 10 minutes before boarding, I called our hotel and learned that Daytona Beach was evacuating.
We rushed to the airline representative to change our flight to another warm destination since we only packed summer clothes. I was losing control, and I like being in control. Humanity has advanced so much, but we still can’t control things like the weather or a cancer diagnosis. We sometimes pretend to have everything under control and it makes us feel good, but things like this hurricane remind us that we’re not in control.
How do you feel when you lose control of situations in life? I lean on my faith in a God who ‘is’ in control.
Matthew 6 contains stories that encourage its readers to trust God with our needs. I recognize that people are concerned about the economy and the impacts of the pandemic. Please read Matthew 6 — especially the part about not being anxious. The author doesn’t tell us to stop worrying because our troubles aren’t real; he points us to a God who knows our needs and sustains us through our troubles.
I can’t always be in control of situations, but I can trust God who is in control and knows my needs, and is delighted to help me. Will you trust him, too?
