"Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
Luke 12:22-26 (NIV)
Let me start today's post with a little story. . .
Once upon a time, there was a girl at the age of aspiring adulthood. She was on fire for God and knew that she wanted to live the rest of her life with Him as her FIRST. She had listened to talks about how God wants 100% of His children. EVERY ASPECT. That in this life we have to die to self and GIVE GOD THE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES. Well, the girl made the decision to follow this principle and to evaluate areas that needed to be given over to God. Areas including, movies, music, thoughts, friends, activities, money investments, and words that would come from her mouth.
*Pause*
You see, it is so easy to say that you are making a decision to give God COMPLETE CONTROL over every aspect of your life, but it is completely different, and actually hard, to live that principle out. We can get in the habit of thinking, Oh, I've given God MOST of my life. He's got control over this and this area of my life, but I really don't want to give Him an ALL-ACCESS pass. I want to remain in some control of my life. After all, it is my life, right?
The thing is, this life is not our own. We were created to live in the presence of God, to draw close to Him, to serve Him, and to submit ourselves to Him and those He put over us.
This is the mindset that is so hard to get our minds to think of when living out this Christian walk and it can be an everyday journey because it is so different compared to how the world thinks.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)
*Resume*
She thought that she had everything under control and that she opened all the doors and windows in her life so God could transform her. What she didn't realize until just recently is that there was a particular area in her life that she was half keeping behind a closed door. She kept God in the loop and prayed for Him to be in the middle of the situation, but she was also not being truthful with her parents. Which in the long run, even if she prayed for God's wisdom and guidance, she could never fully receive it, for she was not respecting one of God's commandments:
“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—
Ephesians 6:2 (NIV)
While seeking God's wisdom, she felt a strong conviction that in order to honor God and to get back on track of offering an all-access pass to Him, she first needed to get right with her parents and honor them. Yes, she was scared. She didn't want to let that area of her life go, especially to the unknown. However, after seeking strength from God and encouragement from a Godly friend, who reminded her that no matter what decision was made in that moment, God's will for her life would (no matter what that may be) succeed.
Finally, she had the courage to GIVE GOD THE CONTROL and let HIM DECIDE THE OUTCOME. After making that decision and confiding in her parents, she realized that God had everything under control the entire time and felt kinda ridiculous for making such a big deal about holding onto it.
Giving God control not only helped her to get on the right track with her parents but also on the right track with God.
*The END*
I am the girl in the story and I wanted to share it with you because you are not alone in your struggles of giving God control. Especially now that I have entered adulthood, I can see that the battle between the world's ways and God's ways can be a lot harder. The constant thoughts of "I'm almost there," "Well, I am an adult now," and others are all too prevalent. Wanting more freedom can also be a constant hindrance because even though I now have the label of an "adult," I have to remember that God has still placed authority over me, not only His but my mom's as well.
Not knowing how a parent will react to something can make a child really nervous about telling them, but let me tell you . . . not telling them will only make you feel as if something is eating you from the inside out and the situation has the potential to be ten times worse if they find out later on (especially when it is not from you). God gave us parents for a reason, to help guide and mold us into the incredible people God created us to be. They are also there to confide in and to seek wisdom from. They can't help if they don't know.
I also realize that not all have parents that are on fire for God and want to train you in His ways. If this is the case for you, I encourage you to seek out a Godly mentor, who you can trust and reach out to when you need a "parent" to talk to. Friends are great to tell things to, but I have learned that nothing beats (in earthly terms) letting a parent in on what's going on and asking them for wisdom.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
I was definitely worried about opening up to my mom about the area that I had been keeping behind a closed door and I was nervous about handing the situation over to God and the unknown of how it would turn out. But God reminded me that:
"For My thought are not your thoughts
neither are your ways My ways,"
declares the Lord.
declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
And this verse also reminded me that:
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.
Psalm 94:19 (NIV)
When I made the decision again to put my worries and cares into God's hands, He gave me peace and comfort that whatever decision was made in the end, His plan for my life would eventually succeed and who was I to worry about it?
Not only will His plan for my life, and for yours, succeed in the end, it will be better than ANYTHING you or I could have EVER IMAGINED! He has great things in store for us:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
and because of this great promise, He also tells us:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
So now I encourage you to put your hopes, dreams, desires, relationships, activities, etc . . . and your secrets into God's hands. Also, share your life with your parents (or mentor) and try to go to them before you let a situation unfold to far.
Let God have complete control over your life and every aspect of it. I will tell you it's not easy, as it's a complete learning curve for me every day, but it's COMPLETELY WORTH IT!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
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