Day 8/4 – Out of Control

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Out of Control
Day Two Hundred Sixteen

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”‘ Isaiah 46:9-10

Let me ask you a series or rhetorical questions: Did you determine the date of your birth? Your parents? The color of your skin and eyes? Your sex? The height of your stature? The era of history in which you were born? Your gifts and abilities or the lack thereof? Your genetic defects? The socio-economic environment in which you were born? The circumstances that flow through your life? I used the word “rhetorical” for the answer to all of these is no. These areas are merely illustrative of a myriad of things you did not decide. That which you control is quite limited.

You may well ask why God created you and your world in such a manner. With so little control, note what a mess humans have made of things. Oppression, injustice, greed, avarice, war, all of these are the product of man’s will. God maintains control as an expression of His grace.

You will frequently find people resisting the gospel message for fear of losing control of their lives; they don’t want to submit to God. In truth, they are not in control now, and never will be. The good news is, the One who is in control loves them and desires their best.

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Psalm 66-67 Romans 7 (New King James Version)

Psalm 66-67
Praise to God for His Awesome Works
To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
66
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2
Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3
Say to God,
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4
All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5
Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6
He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7
He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8
Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9
Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to [a]be moved.
10
For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11
You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [b]rich fulfillment.
13
I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my [c]vows,
14
Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15
I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17
I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [d]extolled with my tongue.
18
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19
But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20
Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
An Invocation and a Doxology
To the Chief Musician. On [e]stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67
God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2
That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
5
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6
Then the earth shall [f]yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
7
God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 66:9 slip
• Psalm 66:12 abundance
• Psalm 66:13 Promised deeds
• Psalm 66:17 praised
• Psalm 67:1 Heb. neginoth
• Psalm 67:6 give her produce

Romans 7
Freed from the Law
7 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law [a]has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Sin’s Advantage in the Law
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Law Cannot Save from Sin
13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Footnotes:
• Romans 7:1 rules