Who Is In Charge?

A conversation between God and Moses. Living Bible Edition
Ex 4:2-14 (Living)

2 "What do you have there in your hand?" the Lord asked him. And he replied, "A shepherd's rod."
3 "Throw it down on the ground," the Lord told him. So he threw it down--and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it!
4 Then the Lord told him, "Grab it by the tail!" He did, and it became a rod in his hand again!
5 "Do that and they will believe you!" the Lord told him. "Then they will realize that Jehovah, the God of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has really appeared to you.
6 Now reach your hand inside your robe, next to your chest." And when he did, and took it out again, it was white with leprosy!
7 "Now put it in again," Jehovah said. And when he did, and took it out again, it was normal, just as before!
8 "If they don't believe the first miracle, they will the second," the Lord said,
9 "and if they don't accept you after these two signs, then take water from the Nile River and pour it upon the dry land, and it will turn to blood."
10 But Moses pleaded, "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me, for I have a speech impediment."
11 "Who makes mouths?" Jehovah asked him. "Isn't it I, the Lord? Who makes a man so that he can speak or not speak, see or not see, hear or not hear?
12 Now go ahead and do as I tell you, for I will help you to speak well, and I will tell you what to say."
13 But Moses said, "Lord, please! Send someone else."
14 Then the Lord became angry. "All right," he said, "your brother, Aaron, is a good speaker. And he is coming here to look for you and will be very happy when he finds you.

• In your life, who runs things?
• When you get sick, who is in charge?
• When the doctor tells you there is a problem, and there isn't anything you can do? Who is in charge?
• When the boss, the teacher, or the authority does not respect you? Who is in charge?
• When you lose your job, your friends, your family, and/or your possessions…who is in charge?
• When a hurricane moves in, or the earth shakes, or the snow piles up, who is in charge?

Misfortune of every kind, shape, and variety moves into our life. Regardless of who we are, where we are, or how we are, the misfortunes of life strike us.

God controls much of our life around us. Some people believe God controls everything. The problem with the idea of God controlling everything is we leave ourselves and our free will out of the picture. If we believe God controls everything, we can then unfortunately leave our potential to do great things for God, out of the picture. God controls a lot. However, we don't fully know who, what, where, when, or how God's "control characteristic" works. What we do fully know is each of us has a job to do. Regardless of whom we are, where we are, or the trials we must endure, all of us have a job to do for God.

In the business world, there is a document used called a job description. When a company has a job opening, a description of the job is written. Amid the misfortune of life, what is your job description here on earth? What is your job description as a person of faith? In scripture, your job description says you are to glorify God in all things, you are to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might, and to love others as yourself.

We are all very little people compared to God and compared to the misfortunes of life. Compared to God, compared to cancer, hurricanes, earthquakes, or the power of a boss or a teacher over us, sometimes we have very little power. So who is in charge? The answer is…we are in charge of some parts of our life while God is in charge of the rest. When adversity strikes, your job is to take charge of as much of your life as you can. When adversity strikes, you are to take charge of as much as you can without griping, complaining, or whining. In adversity, you are to do the best job you can with what you have. A chilling thought for many people to consider is…we are responsible. And when things go wrong, when misfortune strikes, you are still responsible for handling the misfortune.

So who is in charge? The big answer, the ultimate answer is…
You are in charge of your part of your life, and God is in charge of His part of your life. Truthfully, there is a division of responsibilities between God and us. Sometimes we don't know where the line is between what God does and what we should do. Sometimes we don't do what we ought to do. Sometimes we do more than we ought to do. Sometimes we cross the line. Because we do not know where the line is between God's actions and our actions, we tamper with things belonging only to God. We must also remember, getting an answer to "Who is in charge?" isn't nearly as important as doing your job.

What is more important, "What God can do for you or what you can do for God?" If you are primarily concerned about what God can do for you then you are really going to want to know God is always in charge. However, if you are primarily concerned about what you can do for God, and you really try to live out doing for God, then getting an answer about who is in charge is not that big a deal for you.

The toughest question, the biggest question, the most important question you can ever answer is "What do I do, and what kind of person am I supposed to be, when bad things happen?" We can all do pretty well when things go smooth. Doing and being what we are supposed to do and be is a lot easier when things are going smooth. Even if you could know who is in charge every minute of your life, your knowledge would not change the answer to the heavy duty question of doing and being.

Your answer to the doing and being question is more important than the answer you get from the "Who is in charge?" question. When bad things happen, when the sky falls, you should be a praying person of God. Then you should take charge of as much as you can and always know God will always be fully in charge of what He can do.

 This article first appeared in August, 2007, in the Virtual Church web site at http://www.shepherdscare.net