Risking It All in God's Hands--by Linden Malki

           
God is all-wise, but also willing to take the risk  of having made creatures who are free. If we recognize Him, and are willing to live this life on His principles, we will have rewards beyond our imagining. If we insist on living life on our own terms, we are responsible for the result. We are capable of great good, and also of great evils. We live in a world that is not safe, but we will be taken care of if we choose to follow Him. This doesn't mean than nothing bad will ever happen, but that we will be taken care of in ways we cannot understand ahead of time. Our lives, our jobs, our families are unpredictable, except that we know that living life in God's way is better than not. Yes, bad things can happen, but we are responsible for each other. Even disasters give us the choice of working together for each other, or giving up, or taking advantage of a situation for our own perceived benefit (which usually is not ultimately good for us or others). I recall my husband, facing a third round of cancer therapy after two  remissions, commenting that "God gives us choices, but this is not one of them." We were blessed in that he had had the joy of seeing our kids and grandkids grow up in those years, and were facing life with the best that we could do for them, knowing that they were in God's hands.


 God has given us the information and ability to take or avoid responsibilities for ourselves, our
families, and our communities. We can be realistic about our decisions and deal with the results, or we can blame others for what happens and try to avoid responsibilities--which usually means that we also avoid the opportunity to change the situation. We can try to shift the responsibilities to everybody else, but the only person we can actually change effectively is ourself,  with the power (if we accept it) of God, available to us if we are willing to honor it.  It's much easier to sound off and tell every body else what they should do, but there are a few things we need to remember: we don't know all the factors in the situation; we are limited in our power but unlimited in our greed if we let it have its own way; and we will be held accountable at some point, in this world and/or the next, for what we have done. We don't know all the ins and outs of everything that happens; are we willing to trust God, who does know, and do what He calls us to do--which may involve risk, but also offers the best answers if we trust His judgment over what we think is best in our limited understanding.