By Pastor Tim Eaton

Pastor-Tim-Eaton-Edgewater-Lutheren

Life throws us curve balls. Things don’t go as planned. Pains can break our hearts.

Worrying about any of these things can make us lose our minds. When it seems our world is spinning out of control, we can often get out of control ourselves. No matter how big or small the catastrophe, when our fight or flight instinct is tripped, more problems are on their way.

If we choose to stay and fight, we can lose our cool with devastating effects, hurting our future or other people emotionally or physically.  Unfortunately, when we choose flight we can often fly to exactly the wrong place. Maybe we disengage when we are needed most. Perhaps we hide in a comforting, but damaging, addiction.

What are we to do in the face of catastrophe? Fight and flight are equally poor choices. A better choice is to run into the arms of Jesus Christ. There, we can discover that life is not out of control – only out of our control.

“It’s out of my control.”  It might be frustrating to submit to these words, but it might be one of the most freeing phrases ever spoken. When we are not in control, the worry isn’t ours; the burden of a solution isn’t ours.

Just how comforting those words are has a lot to do with whom we realize is in control. If it is a doctor, boss, or a policy, it might provide some comfort. But, if we realize that God is in control, it can bring true peace.

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  The “because” is the peace.

Isaiah 53:4 reassures us, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”

When catastrophe strikes, remember that even though it might be out of your control, God is in control.  How much better life will be if we know we are always in His hands. Then, we can avoid the panic, and live in His peace every day.

Discover His Peace at Edgewater this Easter:  Good Friday, April 3, 7pm; Easter Sunday, April 5, 6:30, 8, and 10 a.m.  See their ad on page 12.

Edgewater Lutheran Church meets Sundays at 10 a.m., worshipping at Harada Elementary, 12884 Oakdale Street, Eastvale, CA, 92880; http://www.EdgewaterLutheran.org.