Day 22 - Loosen Your Grip
Many plans are in a man’s mind, But it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out). Proverbs 19:21 (AMP)
Please don’t shoot the messenger, but I need to tell you something: YOU’RE NOT IN CONTROL. I mean, sure, you control things like what you eat and your reactions towards certain situations, and your day to day movements. But, overall, God holds the plans for our lives.
I believe one of the hardest things to reconcile or comprehend is why, if God is in control, does He make us experience such horrific or gut-wrenching situations. I mean He says He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, so why would He take certain people from us, or drag us through painful, traumatizing events? I actually don’t have the answer, because, well, I’m not God. But I have some theories that have come out of some of the hardest points in my life…
God Wants us to be Malleable (Click Here to Read Jeremiah 18:1-12)
People, like myself, who have a need to be/feel in control are typically rigid in their behaviors and beliefs. This becomes a problem when those behaviors and beliefs don’t align with God’s plan. In order for us to be useful to God, we must learn to become flexible and adjust when things don’t go the way we had envisioned. Our first response is often to push back in an attempt to counteract our anxiety of the unknown. Sometimes, God allows us to go through drawn out, difficult situations so we can learn that we need to readjust in order to endure. Sharpening our ability and wisdom to adapt, allows God to confidently use us in unique and ever-changing settings.
God Wants us to Understand His Sovereignty and Our Purpose (Click Here to Read Isaiah 45)
I know that some people may roll their eyes at this, and others will think I’m just being too deep, but why do we constantly fight against God’s will, when we were created for and by Him in the first place? I’ve been trying to find the answer in my own life. I really am my own worst enemy sometimes; my stubbornness has been a roadblock more times than I care to admit.
When we finally grasp that we were created by Him for His Glory, the pressure of living up to other’s, and even our own, expectations falls away. Our lives, including the bad parts, are not our own. This is the very revelation that frees us from devastation of having a chronic illness, the burdens of relationships, or just the frustrations of life. Magnifying His plan in our trials minimizes the negative effects.
He wants us to Trust Him in Everything (Click Here to Read Isaiah 26:3-4)
In an effort to be as transparent as possible, I’m confessing that I didn’t really, like really, trust God until a little over a year ago. I was able to trust Him in certain situations and with things that I had so selflessly (insert sarcasm) handed over to Him. But the big stuff, like my family, health, and my vision of my life remained under my control. Or so I thought.
Sometimes God will allow us to see or experience chaos and suffering in order to build trust that He is in control. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s only through losing some things that we understand that we never really had them at all; but God did. He holds everything in His hands, and that’s where everything should be, because He’s really the only one we can trust 100%.
“So, I’m Still Confused. Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen? And What Does that Have to do With Control?”
Again, I don’t know the full, true answer to this. But, it’s my belief that when we learn to relinquish control and follow God’s plans rather than our own, we can fully step into our purpose. And I truly believe that within each of our purposes exists solutions or remedies for the problems that exist in this world. Our negative experiences should be catalysts for creating positive change in and around us.
Letting go of control is hard and scary. But as with anxiety, we can’t let it hold us back for walking in our calling. Being victorious in 2019, at least to me, means being successful in my God-ordained purpose(s), first and foremost. My desire for this year is to willingly allow myself to be molded into what He has called me to be, and trust that He is doing what is best for me. I pray the same thing for you as well.