It’s late September in Mobile, Alabama. Almost “Fall” but the high temperature was 96 degrees yesterday. A solid 10 degrees above normal. Inside I scream, “It wasn’t 96 degrees in August!” On the outside though, I am calm and silent.

Hot or not, what a stunning sunrise.

I take it in for a moment before snagging a photo. Then just like I do every morning, I hopefully check the ten-day weather forecast on my phone to see if it is on the way and…nothing. No cooler days in sight. Today and this week it is just going to be hot, again.

Nevertheless, even though I am unsure of the arrival time, I know there are cooler days in my future. I have 100% faith and confidence that God has put them there and even though there is no evidence on the horizon, they are coming. I know this because “God’s creation”, unlike “our creations”, runs flawlessly.

“Our creations” are an exercise in ultimate futility. We spend our days, and sometimes nights, trying to manage every detail of our lives, home, vehicles, family, relationships, career, etc. The list is endless. However, no matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we work to maintain it all, “things” still happen. Something breaks, wears out, falls apart, comes off the rails, someone disappoints us, or we disappoint them. It’s inevitable.

We think we control so much in our life but in reality, we control so little.

All the while “God’s creation” hums along like a predictable well-oiled machine. The universe stays in order, the planets remain in perfect orbit, the earth keeps spinning, gravity keeps working, the seasons keep changing and the sun rises every morning without fail. Some mornings it’s just beautiful.

In “God’s creation” nothing misses a beat. In fact, it runs so flawlessly that a sunrise, or a sunset, can be predicted in Mobile, Alabama, to the exact minute…10,000 years in advance. We can’t predict what is going to happen in “our creations” in the next 30 seconds.

Ponder that prior paragraph, and ponder this…

If God can create, manage and maintain the vastness of a universe, then it stands to reason that placing our faith and confidence in Him to guide our tiny, but eternal, lives while on this earth is a solid decision. Further, how could any plan we dream up for ourselves possibly compare to the plan God created for us, his most magnificent creations, to fulfill for His Kingdom in this life?

The only thing God waits for from us is our permission. Our permission to go to work in us, in our lives, to fix our broken. Then ultimately through us, to reach others with an offer to fix their broken. That’s how it works.

It took me 46 years of “my way” and lots of broken things to finally give Him the keys to my life, but I did. Is it problem free today? Hardly. But it is exponentially better in so many ways. For that I am thankful.

Just like I am thankful that cooler days are ahead.

Get in the boat. Do your part.

 

Shane / #16

 

Shane Hale is a “redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player” and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where
he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at http://www.the1sixproject.com.

Pictures: Banner: Cooler Weather, photo by Shane Hale. (1) Image from Alexandr Smol…Fast Driving in Autumn, YouTube.com.