Finding success by losing control

Proverbs 3:1-6 (NIV) My child, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in mind. Then you will live a long time, and your life will be successful. Don't ever forget kindness and truth. Wear them like a necklace. Write them on your heart as if on a tablet. Then you will be respected and will please both God and people. Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success.

How do I find peace in my life?  By obtaining wisdom because, according to God's word, it (wisdom) will bring peace.  Wisdom will give life to those who use it (v. 18), and everyone who uses it will be happy.  If I hold onto wisdom, Proverbs assures me that I can lie down and sleep in peace.  I won’t be shaken or afraid of sudden trouble.

So if wisdom brings peace…how do I find wisdom? According to Proverbs 3, I have to hold onto the word of the Lord. I have to strive to keep the Lord's commands in mind and not forget his teachings. I must remember kindness and truth by wearing them like a necklace and write them on the tablet of my heart.

But there’s more…I also have to trust God with all my heart. I have to give up all dependence on what I believe is best for me in the situation or current circumstance and trust the Lord in everything I do and then He will give me success.

At times, I tend to be a control freak. For example:

I played softball until I was about 35 years old. Every time I'd step up into the batters box I'd dig my feet in and grip the bat so tight my knuckles would turn white. I'm not sure why I held on so tight...I probably didn't want to sling the bat across the field when it came time to drop it and run. So I held tight. Like holding onto the bat and digging my feet into the batter's box, I can hold on to a life issue so tight...trying to control every little detail. It's exhausting and it's a lack of faith and trust in God on my part.

God doesn't want me “white knuckling” the circumstances of my life. He wants me to bring them to Him and lay them at His feet and trust Him. When I try to control circumstances it seems they either get worse or nothing happens at all. I am trying to "fix" something I have no control over in the first place. When I allow God to work, He takes over the chaos and control and works all things together for my good (Romans 8:28). In the process, I will learn to rely on God, grow in wisdom and knowledge and most importantly find success because I "let go" and "let God."

 

"Shopping cart" madness

Leviticus 20:7-8 (MSG) Set yourselves apart for a holy life. Live a holy life, because I am God, your God. Do what I tell you; live the way I tell you. I am the God who makes you holy.

Today, I believe God wants me to understand that HE is God and I am not.  (Simple truth right...why can't I get that through my THICK head sometimes?) I have a tendency to "control" things that are completely and totally out of my control. Like grabbing a shopping cart at a grocery store and "steering" it up and down desired isles, I grab a "shopping cart" in my life and won't let go. I try so hard to "steer" things the way I want them to go. By trying to control the "cart" (outcomes of circumstances that I have no business trying to control in the first place) I fail miserably. 

Plain and simple: When I try to "take control",  things don't get better…they get worse. 

God doesn't want me calling the shots of my own life. He wants my total surrender. He wants me to hold back NOTHING from Him. He wants it all: my life, my spouse, my child, my finances, my job/vocation, my talents, my time...etc. 

I have to let go of the "cart".

When I surrender fully to Christ and allow him to "steer the shopping cart of my life" amazing things begin to happen. I see Him instead of the circumstance. I feel His peace instead of the chaos that surrounds. I find deep joy that carries me through the most emotionally gut-wrenching blow. I see abundance in the midst of despair and poverty.

This process of "giving up control" or "total surrender to Christ and his lordship" never ends. When I decide to release control of my life over to Christ, He will show up in ways I would have never dared to dream or imagine.

Truth will defend your heart against worry

Philippians 4:6 - 7 (MSG)  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Imagine never worrying about anything. I would absolutely LOVE to know what that feels like. The harder I try not to worry...the more I worry. Now what's up with that? I truly DO NOT want to be a worrier. Yet, not worrying sometimes seems like an impossibility.
 
We all have worries; on the job, in our homes, at school, and by what we see happening in our country and across the world.  I know for me, worrying produces a feeling of anxiousness and fear of the unknown.

Paul's advice in Philippians is to turn our worries into prayers. Do you, like me, want to worry less? Then pray more. When you feel yourself beginning to worry about something, thank God for the revelation and then turn that worry into a prayer. For example: You are worried about your teenager and the group of friends he or she has decided to spend time with. Instead of worrying about what might happen as a result of this choice, pray something like this:

Father, I know you formed [insert name of son or daughter] in your image. You know everything about him/her. You are familiar with all his/her ways. You know his/her innermost thoughts and every  word that he/she will say before they even roll of his/her tongue. You have [name of son or daughter] in the palm of your hand and I know you have a plan and a purpose for his/her life. Nothing about what he/she is doing right now is a surprise to you. Because of this truth, I am choosing to give you all of these worries. You are sovereign and in control. You are my God and I will not fear because I know you will help me. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.

When I find myself praying the truths of scripture I am able to turn everything over to God and let him "deal with it". After giving my worries to him, I declare the truth over worries.  

I choose to think on things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, and gracious. I choose to think about the best and not the worst; the beautiful and not the ugly. I choose to put into practice what I have learned from you God. In the name of Jesus. Amen

Allow God's truth to defend your heart against worry.

Praying you have a "worry-free" day today.