He's ALWAYS In Charge

Matthew 26:26-30
As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take eat: this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My Father's Kingdom." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

How many times have I read this passage, heard it in church and took it simply as an account of the Last Supper? Max Lucado has found deeper meaning, which certainly speaks to my heart right now! He writes:

"When you read Matthew's account of the Last Supper, one incredible truth surfaces. Jesus is the person behind it all. It was Jesus who selected the place, designated the time, and set the meal in order.

And at the Supper, Jesus is not a guest, but the host. The subject of the verbs is the message of the event: 'He took... He blessed... He broke... He gave...'. He was in charge and still is."

For the past three months, I have been directing a play, "My Soul Looked Back and Wondered." It is a celebration of the African-American experience, and my husband wrote the beautiful script. Of course, we know that God wrote the script using Derek as His instrument, and as such, I believe God has directed this play as well.

So why the stress? Last night our first rehearsal in the auditorium was less than stunning. There are still a lot of details to iron out. Then, the one person whom we most wanted to be a part of this production suffered a death in his family and cannot be in the show, after all of his hard work. What am I going to do? How can the show go on? What if other people back out? WHAT AM I GOING TO DOOOOOOOOO?

Do you see what's happening here? I'M NOT IN CHARGE!!! Say that with me, "I'M NOT IN CHARGE!!!" Why is it that our human-ness struggles for so much control? Why is it so hard for us to remember all the times God made it work? How many shows have we produced that were this far from finished, this close to showtime, but turned out to be incredible?

After a very long night where I couldn't stop myself from sounding like Eeyore, one of our newest cast members emailed me and said, "Read Philippians 4:6 as you brave the next few days."

Phillippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the Peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Ahh, what a Word. How I needed that. How we need God! We can't and we shouldn't be foolish enough to rely on our own strengths and abilities. If we do, chaos ensues, and we surely will fail.

But when we remember that "we are weak, yet He is strong" and give God the glory for the gifts that He has given us and then use those gifts to again reflect glory on Him, we can rest.

He is in charge, always has been, always will be.