A ‘Thought for the Day’ for Black Cat Radio – May 2020

Someone recently said something to me that I found very interesting. She said that ‘not being in control is not the same as being completely controlled’. I’d been talking to her about feeling powerless in the face of our current situation and how I felt like I’d had all control of my life taken away from me, but those words gave me a new perspective.

There are always things we can’t control. We can’t control weather, illness, accidents and many other things. But this doesn’t mean we’re at the mercy of blind forces and have no say in anything. We can dress properly for the weather we have, follow doctors’ advice to stay healthy, take precautions to reduce the chances of accidents, and so on.

And even in the face of Covid-19 we still have some control. We can choose how we will approach the challenges, whether we will act responsibly to help prevent its spread, what we do with our time at home, even down to small things like deciding to get properly dressed for the day. And we can choose whether we give up in despair or remain hopeful.

The Bible teaches that God is ultimately in control, but we still have freedom to make our own choices – good or bad. And the same is true in our current situation – we’re not completely in control but we’re not completely controlled either.