God is Sovereign

On Saturday Roberta and I were in Lincoln, Nebraska. I had the joy of officiating the wedding of Corey Chandler and Amber Lechtenberger. The wedding was great and we enjoyed our time in Nebraska. We had to leave the reception early, however, because we needed to get to the airport in Omaha for our trip home.

We arrived at the airport at about 5:00, plenty early for our 6:30 flight. We were scheduled to fly from Omaha to Denver and then from Denver to Burbank. We were looking forward to getting home as I had a full day scheduled for Sunday. But then the fun began.

We were notified that our flights had been cancelled. What? They told us that they tried to call us but since we bought these tickets before we moved from Texas all they had was our old telephone number. Curious. When they were informed that the number was no longer in service, why didn't they try a different means, like e-mail (Our e-mail address is still the same)? Well they just didn't. So now the scramble begins. They are able to put us on a Frontier Airlines flight from Omaha to Denver and then a United flight from Denver to Los Angeles. Small problem though - our car is in Burbank. So we quickly call Ben to see if he can pick us up in LA and drive us to Burbank. No problem. So we say ok.

Next we have to walk the length of the terminal to the Frontier desk. We explain to them what is happening and they are careful to mark our baggage as going with them to Denver and then with United to LA. Everything seems ok so we get something to eat and relax a little before moving on to the gate. When we go through security though, our tickets indicate that we have been randomly selected for a full security search. What joy - but we survived. When we get to the gate we find out that our flight has been delayed by a half an hour. This creates a problem because now our connection in Denver will be really tight especially since Frontier and United are in two different terminals.

So, we fly to Denver and then we sprint through the terminal to make our connection. And we did. So we sit back and relax thinking everything is working out just fine. When we get to LA we go to baggage claim and there we stand watching and waiting - waiting and watching. Eventually that sick feling began to rise in my stomach that our luggage didn't make it. I went to the United baggage claim room and tell them that apparently our luggage isn't here. They checked and they could not find our luggage anywhere in their system. That was not very comforting. They gave me a receipt and told me that when the luggage arrived there they would call me and make arrangements to deliver it to my house. This meant that on our way home, Roberta and I had to stop and buy some essentials that were in our luggage. We finally got in bed at 11:30 (1:30 Nebraska time where our day had begun).

Sunday was a full day and our fatigue didn't make it any easier. I did get to do the baptism part of our evening service, though, and that was a great joy to me. I was encouraged by the testimonies of those who were baptized. After church I had a short meeting and then, finally, I was able to go home to relax. Had we heard anything from United? Nope. So I made a note to myself that I would need to call them on Monday and track down where my luggage was.

At 3:30 on Monday morning I was in a deep slumber because of the fatigue from my busy weekend when I heard the door bell ring. No way I am getting up to answer the door at 3:30 in the morning. However, the door bell rang again and the thought flashed through my mind that this might be our luggage. No way - they said they would call first. Just then the phone rang. I answered the phone and the man on the other end said that he was standing at our front door with our bags. Wow. This is customer service from the people who roam the friendly skies? Well, I was gald to get my stuff back.

Why did I drag you through my travel woes? One simple reason. When we say that God is sovereign we mean He is sovereign over the every day stuff. All of it. If I forget that I will get all anxious and angry. When I remember this truth I can remain peaceful and calm. My God is in control of all things and He is working all things for His glory and my good. If I forget this truth I will forfeit the benefit of what the Lord is doing. By remembering I experience the peace and joy that the Lord tells me about in His Word. I gain in patience and in perspective. While I appreciate the stuff that was in our bags, I could live without it.

God's sovereignty is more than just an intellectual, theological truth, it is extremely practical and beneficial. God is sovereign over everything that happened in your life today. Would you rather have it some other way?