"Resting in the hollow of God's hand"

About a month ago Tony Snow wrote an essay for Christianity Today reflecting on his experience with cancer, and how the experience affected his faith. I quoted from it at some length. John Schroeder has noticed another part of what Snow wrote:

Earlier in the CT piece, Snow says:

Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?

In the wake of my father's death that choice has been so evident to me, as the people surrounding dad have taken such different paths. Snow hits on very key points with this, "humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations..." Tragedy, whether the death of a beloved parent or diagnosis and treatment for life-threatening cancer, calls us to remember that God is in charge. We can fight to try and control our circumstances or we can choose to rest in the hollow.

If there is anything I have learned through the last couple of months, and I am certain there is much more to learn in the coming months, it is that if I am not content in the hollow of God's hand before the tragedy, I will not be content when it strikes. ....

When tragedy strikes in your life, and it will strike, if you are not already resting in the hollow of God's hand, you are gong to find it very hard to get there. But if you are there, all you really have to do is keep resting.

Blogotional: From Sorrow, Grace