Some may say that being in control or wanting to be in control is natural. That if it\u2019s our life and future, then we have the right to take control. Others may say that control is just another word for planning\u2014being organized and forward-thinking. I remember thinking that my intense, planner-loving, type A heart was just that\u2014that the reason I was so set on planning my life\u2019s outcome was because I cared about my future. Those who said things like, \u201cOh well, it\u2019s God\u2019s timing\u201d often rubbed me the wrong way. (Can someone say red flag?) How could people not care about their lives enough to take some action and control to ensure it all panned out?<\/p>\n
But in all reality, I had bitten into the same piece of fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the garden. I had traded in God\u2019s beautiful design for my life for the forbidden fruit of control. It looked promising, but ultimately it separated me from God and His perfect plan.<\/p>\n
From Genesis to Revelation, we read about humanity\u2019s tendency to turn away from God and take matters into their own hands\u2014and the tragic consequences that inevitably follow. One of Adam\u2019s sons, Cain, was possessed by jealousy and sought to control a situation that had gone awry, culminating in the murder of his own brother (Genesis 4). The people of Babel craved control and power over their own destinies and built a tower to the skies, only to be divided and scattered by God (Genesis 11). In Exodus the Israelites who were so graciously liberated from slavery by God through Moses almost immediately abandoned their divine rescuer in favor of empty idols (Exodus 32). Jonah refused to minister to Nineveh when God called him and tried his very best to edit God\u2019s master plan, only to find himself in the belly of a great fish (Jonah 1).<\/p>\n
These were all people who knew God, who had seen His goodness and power to save, who had every reason to trust Him. But they still tried to grab control for themselves.<\/p>\n
Have you been there before? Have you told yourself that you trust God with your life but in the same breath turned around and insisted on your own way? Have you struggled to hold on to control, only to be left feeling defeated and frustrated with God when your plans didn\u2019t pan out? I think we all have. I know I have.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the good news. Here\u2019s the beauty among the ashes, the hope among the chaos. You and I were never meant to have control over our lives\u2014even if your plan and dream seems to have your name all over it. You and I are not powerful enough or good enough to direct our lives. Yes, friend\u2014that is good news, though it might seem like a hard pill to swallow. Why? Because\u2014 let\u2019s be honest with ourselves for a moment here\u2014we are utterly hopeless without God. We are sinful human beings. We were designed from the very beginning to need God. We were created from the ground up to depend on Him. Because of the gospel, we are not only saved from the consequences of sin but restored to a chance to live according to that beautiful, original plan\u2014 trusting and depending on our loving Father. That\u2019s what makes our neediness such unexpected good news\u2014God Himself is our sufficiency, and He loves us enough to write a better story than we ever could.<\/p>\n\n\t\t