God is still in control of what happens

I was sitting in the woods the other day, waiting for a deer to come along, (it never did) and while I was there, I was able to experience the beauty of the woods “waking up.” If you have never been in a woods at 5:30 in the morning, and seen what happens when the light of the rising sun begins to penetrate the darkness of the woods, it is quite an experience. At first, you can only hear the noises of the animals waking up; the squirrels as they chatter and jump around, looking here and there for a nut or something to eat. The geese and the ducks, flying overhead, searching for a place to feed. The birds like the Red-Headed woodpecker, the Cardinal, the Blue Jay, the Blackbird and the Sparrow…all clamoring around for food. The rabbit as it hops along, looking for something to eat. All of these animals have come within a few feet of me and didn’t even know I was there. I could watch them and see what happens in their world — it was pretty neat. And then, if you are fortunate enough, as I have been a couple of times, you actually get to hear and then see…deer.

One morning, a doe and what appeared to be her fawn walked along a leaf covered path on a cold winter’s day, and I could see their breath as they breathed into the frosty morning air. It was really neat. I had never seen that before. I watched as they walked by, unaware that I was within 15 yards of them.

I have seen the trees change from green to majestic colored to barren branches that are snow covered. I have seen it rain and snow — personally, I like the snow better. And all the time, I know that God created all of this. What an awesome God He is. From the smallest particle of dust to the largest tree, from the caterpillar that crawls on the ground to the majestic buck that proudly walks through the forest, our God made it all. And…He is in control of His creation. That, to me, is a very wonderful thing. In spite of everything that is going on in this crazy world today, God is still on His throne, He knows what is going on and He is still in control.

Now…if God takes care of the creatures of the forest and makes sure that their needs are met on a daily basis, don’t you think He will take care of you too? Of course He will.

Next time you have an hour or two and you don’t know what to do…step into a woods, sit down and be still. Listen to what’s going on in “that world” and know that everything in there is ordered by God. And then, when you walk out, back into this noisy, crazy world that we live in, understand and believe that God is ordering everything in your world too. He loves you and he wants the very best for you. That’s why he sent His Son to give His life so that you might receive the free gift of eternal life.

I encourage you to think about that and if you haven’t done so, receive God’s gift to you. Do it today.

God loves you just like you are, but He loves you too much to leave you like that.

Pastor Thad Gifford is the founding and lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.