Our Control Is Only An Illusion

"The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell." (Ps 24:1)

"Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all." (1 Chron. 29:12)

"For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
⁷ But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another." (Psalm 75:6-7)


We Human Beings are funny creatures - we are so interested in the future. We pay psychics over the phone, read horoscopes and other claptrap to see if we are going to have a good day. It isn't a new thing either (what is, really different between us and biblical human beings? - nothing), King Saul committed a grave sin by using a medium to contact a dead Samuel rather than trusting in the Lord.

This morning this topic resonated with me because I was having some nightmares about my children. It always centers around them wandering and falling into a danger that I cannot control.

As a parent, I am constantly worried on some level about my children. It usually doesn't rear itself in my daily life, but in dreams it can be quite frightening for me. It is my worst fears realized in nightmare form.

My fears in daily life (when I'm awake) usually center around provision and the desire to provide for the needs of my family and the hope that should something happen to me, they will be well cared for. At the same time, I hope that my career will grow and mature. When I was a younger single Christian, my primary desire was to find a good woman who was willing to spend the rest of her life with me (a seemingly insurmountable task at the time - praise God that He can work miracles!).

All these things are connected because they are all out of my control. I surely want to control them - to make sure my family is safe and secure and that my career is blossoming, but I cannot.

That is where the need to trust in and pray to the Lord comes into play. Trust is evidenced and developed over time - much like how a new marriage is fragile because it is so young, so too is our walk with the Lord when we are new Christians. Over time, the Lord's faithfulness is evidenced - not in the way that we envision, want or desire, but instead in the way that He desires for us, knowing the beginning and the end of our lives.

Consequently, our lives never ever develop in the way that we believe it will go. Yet, looking back on the time that I have been a Christian -- would I change anything? Would I trade my life for another? How can I? I am living the life that the Lord has granted to me, and it is well with my soul.

The Lord doesn't promise us perfection in life - living in a fallen world, tragedies happen all the time. Thorns and jagged edges abound everywhere and we can be cut physically, mentally and emotionally.

However, as a child of God - one whose Lordship is no longer our own, but given over to Christ, God promises eternal life and also to use our lives in a way that is beneficial to his kingdom - a life that is fulfilling because it fills our purpose for living.

At this point, earthly control - earthly results are no longer important. There is an eternity for us to look forward to. As Paul says boldly in Philippians 1:21, to live is Christ, to die is gain. There is no need for control over our futures, instead we merely need to focus on self-control and discipline in living God's ways (one of the fruits of the spirit in Gal. 5:22). Living in submission with Him, He will guide our steps and use us in the way that will maximize our lives, and the lives of our families.

Lord Jesus, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the dangers of this life can seem so large and imposing. I forget Your perspective and Your will all too easily. You are in control and You are my Lord. Let my life flow in whatever way and direction You desire. Let me never try to possess my life as if it is something for me to grasp or to lay pride upon. I am yours, and my family is yours. Help me instead to be the best that I can be for them and ultimately for You. In the amazing name of Jesus - the name of salvation, I pray. AMEN.

Christ Redirects Us Through Life Changes

"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." (Psalm 91:14-16)

Things in my life had been proceeding smoothly - busy and hectic, but smoothly nonetheless. It is usually during these times, that 1 Cor 10:12 typically comes into my mind - "Be careful if you think you stand, lest you fall."

Recently, my boss let me know of a situation with the Company which may or may not necessitate cuts, transfers or large wholesale changes during the next two years. Unlike most people who are suffering from "job insecurity" or unemployment, this situation is more of a slow moving event than and a quick cut. That is a blessing in itself because I have time to prepare.

However, I was running a bit on cruise control in my life and I was enjoying my job, the company culture and everything that went along with it. My wife is 6 months pregnant and we had recently purchased a home. A common scenario here in the USA. So, the first few days or so were filled with many moments of thought about the future.

The overriding theme of my thoughts was just a sense and a coming back to the fact that our lives are really set up by the Lord in ways that we do not and cannot imagine. It is our unfortunate tendency to think that we have a lot of control to plan our lives and we make those plans and expectations in our mind. We think, "First I'm going to do this, then this and then finally this will happen and I'll be happy."

This is not to say that goal setting is unworthy - it is obviously proven to be a key in progressing in any endeavor we do. However, my point is simply that we are not the ultimate arbiters of what will transpire in our lives.

Job loss, Sickness, Accidents, Theft - are just some of the things that can pop up in our lives which will send us spiraling away from the path that we have carefully chosen for ourselves.

The saving grace for those of us who call on Jesus is what He has promised to His followers and believers. We are not bereft of protection in the most dire of circumstances. If a large change in our life occurs, He can not only help us to overcome, but He will help us to use it to help others to move us to a more beneficial place.

We can call on Him in trouble and He will answer. He answers because we know each other and we have a deep abiding relationship that comes many conversations, trials and prayers. Too easily I forget all that He has already done for me in my life and I am glad that He still remembers all those moments and helps me to recall that He has never failed me, and that He never will.

Lord Jesus, you are the ultimate planner and user of my life. Please use me as You will and not as I will. You have never failed me before and never will fail me as You have promised this to those who love You. So, use this event to move my life in the direction that it needs to go. When we called You "Lord", we also gave over control of where and how we are serving. In Your blessed name we pray. AMEN.

Submitting to His Lordship

³⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35 NKJV)

Within Christendom, there are two types of people who take on the name of Christian. Those who believe in God, and those who have made Jesus Lord of their life. The former tends to exhibit little fruit in their life and often are difficult to distinguish from non-believers. The latter are radically changed in their behavior, attitude, and life path. They are sometimes mocked and ridiculed for their radical faith because it seems unstable, but no one would ever doubt that they are Christians who love Jesus.

In this famous passage above, Jesus clearly commands that we must give up our lives for the sake of the gospel (good news of Christ), or else we will not gain salvation. There is no halfway faith for believers in Christ. If Jesus is Lord, our old lives are dead and lost and we must conform ourselves to His ways with everything that we have.

This is not to say that we don't have jobs, personal lives or possessions. We aren't automatons, but we will be asked to change our lives in ways that we aren't familiar or comfortable with in order to align with Him. Our souls, being "born again", will gladly embrace these changes because they are pushing us toward being authentic with who we are in Christ. There won't be a sense of being forced to conform to God's new shape.

On a personal level, this involves asking myself, "in what ways have I held back on Jesus? Is there anything that He cannot take from me, should He choose?"

I think there is little wonder that Christians who have made Jesus Lord will have phases in their lives where they are stripped bare of the reputation and identity they have with the world. It can come via layoffs, or through big relationship challenges, but in some way our previous reputations in the world that we've held so dear, will be blown up to the point where we are just left as ourselves... naked and bare before the Lord. It is then we will cling to Him and Him alone -- and finally at that point, He can build us up in His image of who we were meant to be. It is then that we will let go of our preconceived notions of who we are, and what we should be, and simply follow Him where He bid us go.

Lord Jesus, I'm not quite sure where You will have me, but I am so glad to have been stripped bare of my previous identity in the world. Frankly, it was wearing me down because it wasn't authentic. I know that You have a greater plan and a greater future than I could create on my own, and I welcome that. Praise Your name in every way. Amen.