Sit Still and Trust the Engineer

Pastor Dave Monreal, Lead Pastor

Corrie ten Boom’s observed, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

2020 has been a tumultuous year and is proving to end the same way! Like many of you, I watched the presidential elections with a sense of interest and uncertainty. Would we know who won on election night? On election week? Would the election play out like the polls suggested or would it be wildly inaccurate? Well, that one we found out pretty quickly!

In addition to the election we are living in an unprecedented period of history. We have seen peaceful protests on the streets turn to riots as the darkness fell. We are in the middle of a pandemic which has caused fear, uncertainty, and controversy. The fallout from the initial shutdown of the economy caused tens of millions of jobs to be furloughed and many to be lost permanently. Churches have struggled to balance the importance of meeting together in person while being sensitive to the various needs of the medically vulnerable.

There are 51 more days until we turn over the calendar and start a New Year! One thing you can be sure of, the New Year will bring with it a new set of uncertainties. Our hearts can become filled with anxiety and uncertainty. We are tempted to focus on the problems around us and fixate on swirling chaos of the world we live in. We are reminded by the quote above, we do not jump off the train when we find ourselves in darkness but we trust the Engineer!

“Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:8-10 ESV)

The world has not slipped from our Lord’s fingertips. It is not careening out of control. The Lord is on his throne and is ruling and reigning. We can have confidence with all the twists and turns of life because we know that our loving Heavenly Father is working things out according to the counsel of his will and is moving all of human history and our lives towards his desired end. And nothing, absolutely nothing can stop or thwart the Lord’s plans!