Held Together in His Hands

It was the summer of 2020. Headlines about COVID-19 were rampant. Riots wreaked havoc across the country. Deadly wildfires swept through California. Political tensions were high. Social media posts sparked hostility between friends and family members.

In late July, my family drove 10 hours to my sister’s lake house, nestled on a dirt road in the mountains of New Hampshire. The pine-scented air ushered an invitation to rest. We look forward to this trip every year, but in 2020, it was especially treasured.

Sitting by the lake in the quiet morning hours, I watched mist rise from the glassy lake as birds flitted from tree to tree. I dipped my toe in the clear water and noticed fish lazily swimming past. Late at night, after the campfire was doused, I looked into an inky black sky sparkling with hundreds of thousands of stars.

For those few days, it felt like all was right in the world. Then it struck me—God’s creation was not freaking out. It was carrying on in happy oblivion.

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they” (Matthew 6:26)? When it seemed that the world was spinning out of control, the birds were not worried. Nor were the fish. The sun still rose each morning, and the stars came out every night.

Though we can’t deny the pain of this crazy, broken world, we can let the beauty of creation remind us of God’s power, love, and care. Even when it feels like the world is falling apart, He is holding everything together in His good and sovereign hands.

What aspect of creation reminds you that God has it all under control?