The difference an extra inch can make...

First of all, stop thinking that sinners!  LOL

Have you ever thought about how easily so many things in life could be altered by an inch?  I say this because I watched the first game of the Mavs-Lakers series, and Kobe had a shot at the buzzer that was just one inch too long, and missed.  So the Mavs celebrated, while the Lakers hung their heads.  That shot was just one tiny inch from totally changing the fate of the night, the series, many bets, the moods of men and families, etc. 

Life is that way in everything.  Sports are easy to point out, but think of driving.  How many times have you heard of wrecks where the damage just missed a major artery?  Or a car barely missed another?  We can make this case in probably any topic we can think of, right?

Well, the reason I say that is all about the recognition of God's plan and authority in our lives.  He controls it all.  He knows all of our breaths, the hairs on our heads, our thoughts, etc.  He knows the plans He has for us, and He executes them with His perfect authority.  So why do we try to take control of it all ourselves?  Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a man's heart... but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." 

There are times in all of our lives that we can see where there was a close call for something.  I "truck surfed" some in high school.  STUUUUUUUPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIID!  It is where you stand in a truck bed riding down the road trying to keep your balance.  Needless to say, I am writing this because one particular time I was almost thrown out, and barely hung on.  Anytime I hear of people losing their lives from the back of a truck bed, I quickly thank God for that extra inch my fingers had to hang onto the tailgate that kept me off of the pavement!  I could have been one-inch from death.

So stop sometime and think of those close calls.  Also think of times that didn't seem to be close calls but might actually have been.  God is watching every step of our lives.  He is the ultimate authority in them.  Be sure and thank Him for working things out the way He does for you, as He is working always for the good of those that are His, even when we don't recognize it or see it as such.  have that kind of faith!


Also, thanks to all of you for the kind birthday wishes.  God has blessed me with great friends and loved ones in my life.  I look very forward to what this year will bring for this 34-year old!

God is good!