Twisted

One of the places that Dan and I went to this week was the Kinzua Train Bridge in Pennsylvania. It is a 301 feet high and was 2,053 feet long and was originally built in 1882 and then rebuilt with steel in 1900. It stood for 121 years until in 2003 a tornado came through and partially collapsed the massive structure. The remaining structure has been reinforced and is now a tourist site. It's impressive to walk out on the bridge and look out over the valley.

We were able to walk down into the valley and among the wreckage and as we looked at the mangled steel beams it reminded me of a truth we often forget. 

As humans we crave power and success and control. And yet, we really have none of those things. In an instant, all we strive for can be torn down and mangled. We put our trust in ourselves, in our own strength and resolve, and in what we can see. Yet, in the blink of an eye, we realize that we are weak, powerless, and out of control.

When we see the awesome power in the wind, we realize we have no real control over anything. When a microscopic virus strikes and brings the world to it's knees, we see our weakness. When evil occurs and takes away loved ones, we recognize our powerlessness.

And yet, we still feel the need to puff ourselves up, shout out our opinions and words, and shake our fist at others and at God. We try to control other's thoughts, actions and opinions. We try to snatch power through our politics. We stamp our feet and demand our "rights" and our "freedom." We believe that no one has the right to tell us what to do, not even God.

And all the while, He quietly waits for us to realize our need of Him. We are weak and He is strong, and when we rely on Him will fill us with His strength. He is in control and when we relinquish the control we really don't have anyway, He will work. He is powerful and when we stop trying to gain power and humble ourselves, He can move and work through us.

110 mile per hour winds reduced a grand structure to a pile of mangled steel and the same is true of us. It generally takes some catastrophe or crisis to wreck us and help us realize that we need help. We need to shift our focus from our rights and our demands and our power, and relinquish that control to a Heavenly Father who has our best in mind.

Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 ~

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night), I observed all the work of God and concluded that man is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a man labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; even if the wise man claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.