Who's in control?

I've never been a fan of those "My father was a Jewish carpenter" license plate frames or stickers that say "I'm not perfect, just forgiven". I always thought they were tacky and somewhat flashy.

Recently, my friend's newborn baby was admitted to the hospital with bacterial meningitis. She's only two weeks old and meningitis is definitely scary; it's scary for adults, let alone a 2-week old. I was driving to work thinking about what a horrible situation this was and wondering how something so bad could be happening to a family so faithful. I pull up behind a car and their license plate frame says "God is in control". Oh ya...how did I forget that? All the sudden, those license plate frames didn't seem so silly.

We are not in control of our lives. So many times I find hope in that. I praise God for that. If I was left to make decisions based on my own human thinking, who knows where my life would be. I was praying with my co-worker the other day and she was thanking God that His plan is "immeasurably more" than we could hope for ourselves. Immeasurably more. I'm blessed to be reminded often that my life is not my own and that I am not home. This is not the end for me. This life is just a speck compared to my eternity, but it's still important how this life is lived. Am I living like I'm in control or like God is in control? Am I living for my glory or for Christ's glory? Sadly, the answer is not always the same.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)