I am a recovering Control Freak. I say recovering because as with any other addiction you have to learn to fight it every day. I always would justify my need for control by saying I was just trying to make sure everything was good for everyone. I was the fixer in the family. I thought that by being in control of things I could make sure everyone was okay.
I have learned over the past 3 years that there are some things that I can’t control, and that is okay. I have also learned that while there are some things I need to control I need to give God total control over it all!!
I have always trusted God, but recently I have had to examine that trust. I have found out that I didn’t trust completely. If I did I wouldn’t let worry consume my heart. Yes, we are going to worry about things. However, it is when worry consumes us so much that it steals our joy when it becomes a problem.
God speaks to me through songs. Just Be Held by Casting Crowns came out, or I discovered it, right after my separation. The chorus states:
“So when you’re on your knees and answers seem so far away. You’re not alone, stop holding on and just held. Your world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place. I’m on the throne, stop holding on and just be held. Just be held, just be held”
“Your world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place.” That line makes me think about the potter that God is. He is molding our life into what He wants it to be. Sometimes everything has to fall out of our control so that He can finally do what only He can. Don’t get me wrong he could do it without it falling apart. However, think about a kid fighting a parent to do something that they shouldn’t. That kid only sees someone trying to boss them around, they don’t see the love the parent has for them. The parent knows what is best for the child. It is the same with God. We can not always see God at work when we are trying to control everything.
God promises to take care of us. He is a faithful and loving Father. We are His children. We don’t have to worry and try to control everything. He wants us to lay our burdens down and trust Him.
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?
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:26, 34 ESV
Letting Go
Trusting is the way to let go of control. Open your hands, pry them open if you must, lay everything down at the feet of your Father and watch Him work.
Now, please understand I am not going to lie to you that doesn’t mean you will not have problems, because you will as stated in John 16:33. It just means that you will have a Heavenly Father walking through each trial with you. He didn’t put out the fire in the furnace, take Daniel out of the Lion’s Den, or dry up the Red Sea. He walked through it with each of them just like He will you.
As you are going through your journey remember sometimes all the pieces you are holding onto have to fall to the floor so that God can pick them up and put them together in the way He intends for them to be. It is also important to remember that the pieces may not come back together exactly the way you expect them to, it is okay. Trust God He has so much better in store for us.
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that we don’t have to be in control. Thank you for loving us and always being there for us. Lord help us lay our problems down at your feet and give total control to you. You have a plan for our lives and we trust you with that plan. Lord, you knitted us together for your purpose. Help us seek you daily as we walk the path you have for us. Thank you, Lord, for providing a way to find that path. Thank you for sending Jesus to be the light we need to follow in this dark world. In Jesus Holy name we pray, Amen.
Following His Lead 