I’m a control freak…I like to be the one to drive, I like to have my say in the restaurant I go to and I don’t really like being “restricted” by speed limit signs!
However, one of the things that the Lord has been really pressing into me lately through His Word and a very godly counselor is that control is merely an illusion…it is amazing when we sit back and begin to understand how little control we actually have in the world.
- I did not control the day I was born!
- I did not control who my parents were!
- I did not control where I was born!
- I did not control the color of my skin, eyes and hair.
- I will not control when and where I step into eternity.
- I cannot control other drivers on the road.
- I cannot control what other people think about me.
- I cannot control my daughter’s future. (I can try to direct it…but I can’t control it!)
- I cannot control the weather.
- I cannot control how fast (or slow) my food gets to me in a restaurant.
- I cannot control how fast (or slow) the person in front of me is driving.
- I cannot control whether or not someone I know and loves prays to receive Christ.
- I cannot control the fact that my body is breaking down (I heal/repair MUCH slower at 40 than I did at 20!)
- I cannot control God by my religious performance.
In fact, if I can control anything…then the very thing I can control is so small and insignificant that it would hardly register on the eternal scale in regards to things that actually matter.
However, I do not write this to discourage you…I write this because it is literally one of the most encouraging revelations I’ve ever received in my life.
Freedom, TRUE freedom, is understanding how out of control we are and then placing our faith in a God who has NEVER ceased to maintain control over what He has created.
God has the amazing ability to use all things for His glory and our good! (I literally know no one else that can pull that one off!)
So…to everyone who feels like you are out of control…it’s because YOU ARE!!! And, the more we try to control the more likely we are to live in complete rebellion to the one who is in control, who has all things in His hands and who constantly calls us to surrender to Him so that we can experience the joy of living under HIS Sovereignty rather than having to constantly discover that we have none of our own!
If there is an area of your life that is completely out of control…it is most likely the Lord trying to get your attention and get you to surrender control…because until He is in control we will be out of control.
Control is nothing more than an illusion…we have none, He has it all…and in His hand is THE BEST place to be!