He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Psalm 95:3-7

He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands…..He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

As I slowly awakened this morning, the children’s song kept going through my mind as I laid in bed and began to meditate on the truth of that song and my response to it over the years.

When I was a young child going to Sunday school and learning it for the first time, it was simply the obvious truth. God created the heavens and the earth; he made me and my parents; I was safe and secure and life was good. There wasn’t much worry or stress about what I should be doing nor was I doubting or even wondering about the goodness of God or His loving hand upon me and my life. The whole world was in His hands and there was nothing to worry about.

And then I hit puberty and junior high school and friends that betrayed me or made fun of me. I also realized that parents aren’t omniscient nor omnipotent; they sometimes made dumb decisions and were often powerless to bring healing to my world or correction to my circumstances. So I withdrew into myself and tried to build a wall of protection around me, telling myself that God has the whole world in His hands and that one day He would make everything right by setting the world straight and vindicating me in the eyes of those who were hurting me.

As I grew into adulthood, though, I began to see just how hard and unfair life can be. I began to think that if the whole world is in God’s hands, why is there so much pain? Why are there so many senseless wars and horrible genocides and unspeakable atrocities? Why was it that good people that I knew were cut down in the prime of life while others who were violent cheaters lived prosperous lives? Why did my prayers go unanswered? Where was God when I needed Him? The questions haunted me and I began to think that if the whole world was in God’s hands, He was either evil and manipulative or He was simply doing a bad job because life basically sucked and the world was full of pain and injustice.

Then, through a series of seemingly unfortunate events, God got my attention and brought me to an end of myself. As He called me to Himself and opened my eyes to how much He had done for me through Christ Jesus, I began to understand that the seemingly unfortunate events were actually good for me as it drove me to Him. I began to understand that God has a perspective that is far different than mine; He can see the whole world, every person in it, and each person’s eternal destiny as well. I realized that there is more to life than our earthly circumstances; there is a whole new in God that is waiting to be explored. I was born again, born from above with an abundant and eternal life of limitless love, unspeakable joy, and everlasting peace. I understood that God has the whole world in His hands, and He loves every one of us, but to truly experience Him and His love a person has to put his or her trust in Jesus and His work on the cross.

So I set myself to live for God and help Him spread the Good News that there is hope for this life and for all eternity. I tried to be an evangelist and even a church planter but soon realized that my true gifting is as a pastor and teacher who was made for the purpose of shepherding God’s people. I still share the Good News with people from time to time but primarily I shepherd the people of God, prayerfully watching over them and feeding them the Word and encouraging them to follow Jesus and the teachings of the New Testament. I knew that God had the whole world in His hands but I also knew that He gives people free will and that we have an adversary who roams about like a roaring lion, causing chaos and wreaking havoc around the world. As a result, my life revolved around serving God and trying to persuade people to give Him first place in their lives.

Now that I am in my fifties and have served the Lord for more than 30 years, I am realizing that God doesn’t really need me as much as I thought when I was younger. Yes, I have had the privilege and great joy of being a part of people’s lives and influencing them to embrace life and live for Jesus. In a sense their eternal destiny and the course of their world did depend on me being faithful to extend the Word of life to them. But on the other hand, if I didn’t do it, God could have used someone else. So I still have that sense of urgency that comes from knowing that we have an adversary and that people have free will but I no longer feel the weight of the world on my shoulders or that a person’s only hope is that I alone point them to Jesus. I take comfort in the knowledge that the whole world is in God’s hands and I get to be a part of His plan of redemption but it’s not all up to me. It’s up to Him and all of us who make up the Body of Christ and become His mouth, His hands, and His feet.

As I look forward to growing older and continuing to love Jesus and serve Him, I realize that the pendulum is swinging back towards where it started. I began with an innocent trust and an understanding that He has the whole world in His hands. Then I doubted and wandered, but eventually came to understand that while He has the whole world in His hands, I was a part of His body and have a responsibility to represent Him to others and extend His reign on earth. I look forward to continuing to dispel darkness with the light of the Word, to set death to flight with the life of Christ, and to see people healed and set free from sin by the blood of the cross.

But I also know that as I approach the evening of my life, I have less energy to serve enthusiastically and am drawn more to simply spending time with God. I still have a heart to serve, but my heart is drawn more and more to simply spending time with Him, enjoying being with Him and ministering to Him with songs of worship and words of praise. I still have a heart to pray for people, but the prayers have become shorter and the praise has become longer as I trust that God knows what they need better than I do. In short, I now spend more time loving God and trusting Him to intersect people’s lives, bring them to salvation, and go before them in whatever they are facing.

As I grow older, assuming the Lord grants me a long life, I will likely grow in childlike faith. My body might not be as strong to serve and my mind might not be able to grasp the deep theology, but in my heart I will know that the whole world – including my world and my eternity – is in His hands. I will once again be able to rest easy and live free from stress and worry, because the whole world is in His hands.

As we go to prayer today, know for certain that the whole world is in His hands and as we go through life we have different responses and different responsibilities to that truth. Embrace the season of life in which you find yourself, and pray and live accordingly.

Let’s Pray Together: Lord, thank you that you have the whole world in Your hands and that we can trust You to extend Your reign – your life, your light, and your loving-kindness – to people throughout the earth. Show me Your plan for my life in the eternal scheme of things. Guide me as I pray for Your plan for my life and for these people that I lift before You now….

Scriptures: Romans 8:28, Matt. 6:33, Matt. 24:14, Romans 12:1-8, 1 Cor. 12:1-31