God is in control

God is in control

Tim Connor

Control people must have control.  Perfectionists must have control. Negative people get stressed when things don’t go the way they want or planned. Here’s the problem – even the things we can control – and these are very few when you think about it are often not really within our control.  Yes you can control what you eat, buy, decide, do, feel but can you really control the ultimate outcomes of these actions or behaviors?

The more I consider each of life’s actions and decisions the thought keeps coming back to me that in the end I really don’t have control of most of the important areas of life.

Yes I can control the career I choose but not all of its circumstances and outcomes as the months or years pass.  Yes I can choose the relationships I want to pursue but I can’t control each of the dynamics that will eventually become reality during their existence.  Yes I can control what I choose to buy but can I really determine their ultimate impact on my life?

You might think I am digging too deeply into the weeds or being negative but consider – Life happens and not always the way we want it too.

So where does ultimate control reside? Or better still who or what is really in control of our lives?  I don’t know your spiritual beliefs or inclinations but for me giving up control to God, and He has had it all along, has been a difficult and challenging journey.

Humans by nature want control and behave rigorously to get it and maintain it but let me ask you – have you ever been disappointed by an outcome or incident that happened in your life when you thought you had control?  I will wager that your answer will be – yes.

So, what are we to do – just sit back and wait for God to run and rule our lives?  No, I don’t believe that is His purpose for the years He gives us but I do believe He wants us to let go of our insatiable need to have things our way.

Struggle, disappointment, pain and grief come to all of us sooner or later.  Is this due to our actions or decisions or is it His way of guiding, teaching and leading us in the right or even a better direction?

I could write a book about all of the disappointments in lifer I have experienced but in more serious contemplation I learned each of them was due to my need to have it “my way, on my terms and on my schedule”.  Lately I have come to understand that my relationship with God is a partnership.  He leads and I follow and things sooner or later work out for the best.  Or he leads and I don’t follow and things just take longer with more pain to finally accept the simple concept that He is in control.

Yes, we have free will and the right and ability to make decisions and take action and He will let us travel the wrong path for awhile hoping we will learn what He wants us to learn but if we fail to learn - the pain or struggle is sure to follow.

One of my favorite lines was spoken many years ago by one of my heroes, Eric Butterworth.  He said, “God’s law of adjustment regulates all of the affairs of our life.”  In other words, we are all in control of what we do but He is in control of the learning and the learning that will always be in sync with His purpose for our life.

Ever had a person come into your life just when you needed them?  Ever had an event you didn’t see coming enter your life that was needed to guide you back on the right path?  Ever read something – out of the blue – that changed the rest of your life?  Coincidences or a part of a larger plan?  You decide.

“I shall not believe that God plays dice with the world.”

Albert Einstein