March 15 - Psalm 20:7

(submitted by Erin Gildner)

Psalm 20:7—“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

I have never considered myself a particularly controlling person. But ever since Caleb has been born, I have found that my biggest struggles as a mom are in my inability to control him in one way or another. I’m the kind of mom that has outlet covers everywhere, safety locks on cabinets and safety knobs on door handles. I try to give a “controlled freedom” of sorts. But I’m starting to understand what my mom and dad experienced when I was Caleb’s age. I was hit by a car once, fell under a car twice, almost lost my eye in a bicycle accident, had countless bumps and bruises and scrapes, and went to the emergency room two other times from accidents while playing at church. I’m starting to understand just how much they have had to trust in the Lord just for my life.

I’m starting to learn this lesson also. About a month ago I was having a nice impromptu lunch with a friend in my kitchen. I had been working on our finances earlier in the morning and had a mess of papers spread out on the table. I noticed that a paperclip had slipped down under the table. I left it there, tired of constantly crawling into tight spaces to retrieve lost objects…or people. “I’ll get it later,” I thought. “Later” came. After a series of attempts Caleb realized he wasn’t going to get the attention he wanted during lunch, so he resigned to playing by himself and soon he ended up under the kitchen table. Soon I noticed that it had gotten rather quiet and in a split second I remembered the paper clip. For some reason the outlet cover under the table was off and when I looked, Caleb had the paper clip half an inch away from the outlet.

Have you ever had the terrifying realization of a “what-if”? Have you ever felt like all you do is ultimately useless in protecting your loved ones? Psalm 20:7 talks about trusting in chariots and horses, which in our world is trusting in outlet covers, fences, and anything we try be in control of on our own power. We like controlling our environment, our children, our job, our relationships, our bodies, and even our hurts. Chuck Price wrote the devotional on March 5 and he talked about how God is in charge of our growth, He is in control. Do you realize that we have a good God? Even during the excruciatingly painful experiences. Our good God is in control of your life and has your good in mind.

In my story with Caleb the reality of my children and loved ones literally being kept in God’s care, in the palm of his hand, under his wings (Psalm 91!!) hit home. We feel we are in control of what happens to us in so many ways and we try to trust God for so much. Funny how one mommy who is careful about her curious child and always keeps outlet covers on can be so close to catastrophe.

What do you try to control? What do you hold tightly in your hand, unwilling or unable to release to God’s control? Do you really think God is good? Do you recognize His hand in your life, your children’s safety, your finances, your spiritual growth? Do you trust in the name of the LORD our God?