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Only God manages tension so masterfully!

It’s a “duh” statement, I know; until you realize He manages tension of gravitational proportions which hold the moon in place and allow tidal forces to play tug of war beyond our shores. The underlying science is hidden in the beauty of creation so you and I enjoy the refreshing pleasure of the surf.

Only God manages tension so masterfully!

We look telescopically through lenses, 4.56 astronomical units or 600 million kilometers to a planet named after a Mythological Roman deity, Jupiter. A tension and turbulence of catastrophic proportions yet to the naked eye in the vacuum of space the chaos is silent; we visually capture the true meaning of “Be still and know that I am God.”¹ He orders that which is in disarray and we see broken beauty in the bands of a gas giant.

This God who manages tensions of universal proportions, manages tensions of physical and mental proportions, the “good and bad” moments in our lives. Our “duh” statement is no longer a sly chuckle or head nod but a step back with a question of,

“Why wouldn’t I let a God of such magnitude manage my tensions?”

The God of the scriptures managed the tension in the Garden of Eden and although Adam and Eve had a cold evening and creation groaned in mourning at the pain of separation, God made a promise which He fulfilled in the second person of the Trinity, the beloved Jesus.

He desires to be a part of my life, my whole life, your whole being. From the varying degrees of grandness in creation to the underlying mathematics, science and god-ness behind our existence, our presence exists in His presence and He presents himself with a willingness to love you; “I am here”, says our God Emmanuel.

If we would allow him to move unencumbered, unquenched His freedom would guide the ebb and flow of emotions and thoughts to a measure we learn to manage under His tutelage. By His word, both spoken and through Jesus, God will manage tensions in our lives– so that whatever is produced in us spiritually leads to a place of proper worship and thanksgiving, rejoicing even. Paul writes, “through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Jesus himself, reassures us that we will be cared for, fed, clothed in a splendor greater than the flowers of the field, birds of the air and majesty unknown to royalty but, will we trust him?!

Worry, anxiety, stress, fear will sever the tethers that Jesus says he will hold fast; it is his tension to manage and so often our little faith and lack of trust in that biblical fact forces us to act irrationally and uncontrollably, holding the tension in our lives tightly in our hands as if we are in control- it’s a farce!

When we place ourselves into the cycle of needing God to manage and yet taking the tethers out of his hands and into our weak ones,  we will fail again and again.

David writes often of the tension in his life and releasing it all into the hands of the master. He warns us in Psalm 34 to not fall for the lies of our hearts and lips. Anytime we move to a place of working in our own strength or reverting back into a mindset of “having it all together”, is a subconscious and at all times a blatant lie. We’ve deceived ourselves with the lie of “I got this”, “we got this”, “if our nation would just pull together, everything will be ok” when in reality the fear of God is the only thing to bring about healing and restoration. “Out of the heart the mouth speaks” and this is a principleDavid is quick to remind us of. We cannot manage tension outside of the power and influence of the Master Tension Manager. His word is the grace and truth, the compassion and conviction which settles the storms in our lives.

From the magnitude of God’s creation to the magnitude of His love for you and I, the master tension manager knows how to hold on to the taught lines of our lives, pulling us near when things go awry and releasing some of the tether so we can fly and enjoy the freedom and rejuvenation of His Spirit upon ours; gaining new perspective into this relationship with Jesus and what it means to live this tension of faith in a world that’s not our own.