1 Corinthians 10:13-14, The Message

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He'll never let you be pushed past your limit; He'll always be there to help you come through it. So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.

Being weather dependent, farmers can't control hail or drought or flood, so they manage risk with insurance and listening to forecasts. Unfortunately, there are times when there is nothing a farmer can do but sit and wait out the storm, surrendering control the forces of nature. For instance, the hailstorm that tore through corn and soybean fields in Iowa on Sunday morning caused damage that is expected to be in the millions. The majority of farmers carry some form of hail or storm damage insurance, but a storm like the one Sunday means a year without profit and thus without extra capital for expansion or improvements. This is, ultimately, the definition of helplessness for a farmer.

I was praying for my relatives in Iowa today – their crops were destroyed in the storm – and began to think about this helplessness that must be inevitable during this time. I hope those Iowa farmers have more wits than I do because the devastation of losing everything I’d worked on (purchasing, planting, tending, etc) would cripple me.

What situations strip control from you and create panic? Is it financial stress or a reprimand at work? It be a car accident or family emergency that catches you off guard. Whatever the event or emotion, no one likes their control being taken away from them.

I think we do this with God. God is beyond our control and yet we insist on controlling even Him at times. We don’t pray big prayers because we want specific answers that don’t surprise us or because we underestimate what God is actually capable of. When God tries to move us out of our comfort zone, we deny the nudge and make excuses to keep things comfortable. Then, other times, we doubt that God is of any use and become self-reliant. When we become the people who “reduce God to something we can control” – we’re the very people that these verses say to avoid. I don’t know about you, but that’s not where I want the person I want to be.

We are blessed to have a God who is always with us, without fail. He doesn’t play the games with us that we attempt to play on Him, He doesn’t push us further than He’s willing to catch us and He doesn’t let us down. Do you know this God? He’s my God and my life exists because of Him.