Set Up

You remember years ago when a favorite past time was setting up dominoes, perfectly spaced, so that just one slight push on the first one would tap the next one resulting in a ripple effect.... and through a sequence of reactions....they soon would all lay down one after another. There was a family conversation the other night...and the phrase "set up" got stuck in my mind. God does that sometimes.... where He allows one word, or one phrase to make its way to my mind and he then lets it sit and I continue to ponder long after the conversation has ended. It occurred to me that life is very much like those dominoes. It is a Godly set up.....one reaction, one adventure, one thought, one deed, one mistake, one success, one regret, one accomplishment....all have ripple effects....that God uses for his ultimate purpose. And that is to tap us so that we will "fall" into his arms of grace.

We have all been there....when tragedy has hit, or news has come to us with a blow, or disappointment has set in, or depression has found a place to fester, or fear has captured us....and there are effects...sometimes lasting effects that manage to direct us to reactions and responses that pull us down and under with a current that we can not seem to overcome. But as I thought this through....the realization that God is in control once again manifested itself. Because He in fact is. He is the one who has allowed the "set up" to be programmed as it is.

If you really think about it....it is in times of distress, when we are falling due to unexpected taps that we do start looking for help...from anyone...or anything...a force strong enough and timely enough to interrupt the ripple effects.We so many times forget that Help is always available...we just have to remember to ask God for it. But too many times we rely on self and on others...and leave God completely untapped. ....able and waiting but not called on. I thing so many times think that when we fall...it is God allowing us to fall to maybe get our attention...and help us to realize that there is someone....watching and loving us from above who has all the answers, all the strength, all the wisdom, all the ability to overcome odds of failure and fear and disappointment and uncertainty. .
When we fall...we have choices....do we fall flat without hope or confidence in the ability to get up again and be postured for what is to come or.... do we fall in the arms of God's love and grace, knowing that ultimately this set up, and the effects of circumstances that come before us and behind us will end up with Godly results in our character and our dependence on a force much greater ourselves. We are scared, I think of being dependent on God when in fact we should be scared of being dependent on ourselves. We are such bozos....ok I will speak only for myself on that..but too many times I am thinking I can do a better job of handing myself and my life and my set up...and completely leave God out of my decisions or my grief or my daily activities and events....or so I think! Because he is in everything....and decidedly much more capable at running my life and my set up (that he created) than I am.

I look back on my life...as I am sure you have occasionally looked back on yours...there is sequence of events that have gotten me and you to where we are today ...in our faith and our walk with the Lord...sometimes the events have been slow and subtle, sometimes clearly visible....but nonetheless...I realize that my series of taps have pushed me into a decision ... Do I trust God with my life, with my family, with my possessions, with my direction, with my career, with my finances, with my time, with my choices, with my health, with my trials? And then I look for a minute what I have just said....they all have the word "MY' in them....Therein lies my choice and decision....NOTHING on this earth belongs to me ...it is all God's anyway. I am going to fall...into fear or frustration or blunders that I wish I could take back....but when I fall...I have to be ready to restate what it is that I know to be true. God is "in" the set up. He might not have ordered it but he surely has allowed it....and is there to work me through it no matter what sequence of events has been set up. He can and will and does orchestrate those events in our lives for his purposes...to bring us to a comfortable fall right into his arms love and grace. He will catch us and keep us from falling further into a state of chaos.......and stand us up again and line us up according to his plan to further his kingdom.

Life is a set up...one timed event after another...each having a ripple effect from what is behind us to how we move forward. God has a front and center seat and is watching from above as each event chases another... and he knows the patterns of how all it all falls....and he, in his love and grace, has allowed the set up in each of our lives to be as it is...for his ultimate good and for his glory...we don't understand it...we don't always see the rewards or the results but what we do know is that each event is used to be God's tapping ground for something else....or someone else. We are a part of a greater picture than any of us can realize. The events that we encounter, no matter how gripping or how joyful they may be are all a part of a set up that God has masterminded.....for His glory. May it shine through each of us as we go down and fall into Jesus' arms of grace, and with His help stand up again. God is in charge of the set up...but we are able to set our hearts according to his truth. .

1 John 3:19
This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence

Dear Lord, we all deal with a sequence of events that hit one on top of another. Help us to realize the "set up" in in your hands and that you are using whatever comes our way to bring us closer to you. Help us to be able to trust you when we fall so that we can get up again in your strength, and through your help....and again stand ready with courage and strength for what is next to come. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!


website:
www.cathyjodeit.com
email address: cjodeit@gmail.com
The blog link below has all devotionals from the beginning of the year:

http://simplygod-cathy.blogspot.com/