No One Has Power Over the Wind

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
5        Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,

    and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

6        For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

    though a person may be weighed down by misery. 

7        Since no one knows the future,

    who can tell someone else what is to come?

8        As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

    so no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

    so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

(Ecclesiastes 8:5-8, NIV)

 

REFLECTIONS:
It is easier to obey than to try to run our lives, for we mortals cannot know the proper course to take from our limited human perspective. We all feel the frustration of trying to keep control of life in a fallen world. But trying to control life is like trying to master the wind—impossible. Just take death—no one can delay it forever, no matter how hard they try. The Teacher who narrates Ecclesiastes ultimately concludes that we must "fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind" (12:13).

As a quaint example, let's take the topic of air travel. Many people are very nervous, even terrified, during airplane flights. Some folks won't even step foot on an airplane. Statistics tell us that we are in far greater danger riding in the car on the highway. But flying an airplane feels much more dangerous and, as such, is stressful and worrisome. For some, these feelings of nervousness and fear are caused by having absolutely no control over what happens. Those who recognize this have two choices: either they can continue to be miserable, or they can release everything to God and submit to the expertise of the company who made the airplane, the abilities of the controller monitoring its flight path, and the experience of the flight crew to get them safely to their destination.

Do you struggle with relinquishing control? What are some other problems we experience when we will not submit to those things that are unavoidable and inevitable? How can you help yourself to relinquish control, even a little bit at a time?


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I freely admit that I got a little nervous when I flew up to Maine to visit Kate's family for the first time. I hadn't flown on an airplane in probably 25 years, or so. Plus, it was my first attempt at air travel since I had suffered my spinal injury. But, if I had any hopes of marrying the woman of my dreams, I had to take part in the song and dance of meeting her family. Thankfully, JetBlue made our initial flight a piece of cake. They were so good to us. Once we arrived in Maine, we had to make our way out to Matinicus Island, 22 miles out in the Atlantic to meet with Kate's family. To get there, we had to take a "Puddle Jumper" and land on a dirt runway surrounded by tall cypress and pine trees. It was a little hairy, to say the least. But, by God's grace, I survived.