Life’s small trials remind us we are not God

Have you ever been in a hurry to get things done, and it seems that every little thing works against you? I’ve only been home a week, so I am still catching up on many of the jobs and chores that pile up when a person is gone from home.

Not only has there been worship on Sundays and Wednesdays to plan and lead, but there are people to visit whom I haven’t seen for a while. Today there was a funeral. Two weddings are coming up Aug. 10, and other regular ministry and activities awaits attention. In addition to this, our yard needed some care and I had responsibility for the Kiwanis Golf Tournament on Friday. When there is a lot to do, it seems little aggravations can delay the work, such as this devotion, or can even keep the work from getting done.

So Saturday morning, I was trying to mow the lawn and then get to church for the funeral. But I couldn’t get the Weed Eater to work. It’s old. I worked on it for a while and gave up, and am now behind. I met with someone at church around noon and needed to make a copy, but the copier did not turn on right away. I worked on the funeral, but had some computer issues.

These are not the big problems of life, just little aggravations. Do you ever wonder why these aggravations come just when you are trying to get everything done? Why do these little challenges delay us from doing what is on our calendar for the day?

I do not have any deep answer for this question, but I have learned a lesson from life’s aggravations. When things don’t go as I planned, if I consider patiently what is going on, these aggravations teach me that I am not God.

I think Americans, and Alaskans especially, can struggle with life’s aggravations. We are a “can do” kind of people. We figure if something needs doing, we can get it done. We have learned to trust ourselves. Truth is, there are some things we just can’t do. God is the Creator. We are the created. He is all-powerful. We depend on and need his love and his help. Even though we don’t want to admit it, there are limitations to our ability.

In Isaiah, God speaks through the prophet to the people of Israel who were turning from the one who had saved them and to other gods. They were also turning to themselves and their own strength. God says in Isaiah 44:6, “This is what the Lord says — Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.”

It is good to face aggravations, to stumble at times, to be humbled. Even these small trials of life remind us that we are not God and we really need the Lord. If we struggle with the small disruptions in life, imagine how much help we need facing the sin with which we are born and imagine how much help we need facing judgment and death. But God is Lord of all. He has conquered sin and death in Jesus. Apart from God’s love we are doomed.

So life’s little aggravations can be a blessing. (At least I tell myself that.) They remind us that we are not God and we need his power and his love. And, when life is more than aggravating — overwhelming — God is there in Jesus to give us the victory of forgiveness and eternal life.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

Opinions expressed on the Faith page are the author’s and are not necessarily those of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, its staff or its parent company, Wick Communications Co. To submit a column or other news for the Faith page, send email to news@frontiersman.com, or call 352-2250.