Who's In Control?

Today is my first time joining in a meme called "Smile Sunday." I'm going to try my hand at this, while still staying within the borders of this blog's topic, apologetics. I do hope you will all find it interesting, and hopefully, encouraging. Let me know what you think! Here it goes... I once heard a little story that went something like this: There once was a big building in the city. If someone were to be passing by this particular building, here is what he would see: On one side, someone had graffitied [Is that even a word? I guess it is now!] these words: "God is dead ~ Nietzsche." A classic saying, is it not? Apparently, someone didn't think so; on the other side was graffitied, "Nietzsche is dead ~ God." :D So why does this make me smile? Well, obviously, the joke is kind of funny on it's own. But seriously, Nietzsche thought that he had a better way than God. So did Hitler. So did Mussolini. The Communists thought that to win the battle was to win the war -- that to win was to rule the world. They did not want to believe in God so they said that He was dead -- of course, that does not make it so! Interestingly, their statement only shows that they thought that they WERE God; but the problem with this is that if God dies, and they are God (or so they thought) what makes them think that they won't die, too? They eventually lost it all in their deaths, just as Matthew 16:26 says, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" My point is that God is in control, not us. Sometimes, we, too, think that we have a better way than God. But God is just looking down and smiling; He knows that we are NOT smarter than Him. That should be great news to us, shouldn't it? Yet, sometimes, we cry, "God, what are you doing?" But if we were smarter than God, if we understood everything, WE'D be God! All that God asks from us is pure trust. The Bible talks of so many fruits that a Christian should see abundant in his life, but these only come when one has true faith in God. Yet we still don't always trust Him; we're just "not sure if/how this is going to work," and so we take matters into our own hands -- and we usually mess things up in the process. That is what happens when we try to do God's job, when we try to take His place. We may not actually think in our minds that we want to do that, but our actions betray us. So this is why I am smiling today: I have had a rough weekend, but I am so glad to know that God is in control (and it is great to be reminded of it again and again). Yes, we all have to do our part in God's special plan, but God is ultimately in control. It's only when we let go of the wheel and let God drive the car that we see the victory; we can't do it on our own, but we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. And if God is driving the car, we aren't going to crash -- our battle is already won, and that makes me smile! :D "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." ~ God (1 John 5:4) Have a great week, everyone! P.S. Speaking of God being in control, my blogging friend, Ruth, has a great post on taking up the cross which brings out this point quite well; please go and check it out!