Let Go!

Job 23:¹⁴ “So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny.”

God has taken us through letting go of baggage and bitterness. Over the next few days, God is taking us through how to let go of control. Guess what? God is not talking to that controlling friend, or spouse, or colleague. God is talking to you. We tell ourselves that we are not controlling, we are just helpful. People say, maybe I am a little bit aggressively helpful. People even say, I am just thoroughly organized so I want everything and everyone around me organized (controlled). How many of us will honestly say that there is at least one area of our lives that we want to be under control? Most of us want at least one area of our lives under control. Many of us want more than one area. But I hope you want at least some of the areas of your life under control.

Do not get me wrong, it is not that it is bad to want control. That is how human beings are wired. In fact, humanity has been able to make progress because of managing and controlling the environment, and by improving upon what the last generation had done. So generally, wanting control is not bad in itself. As we draw closer and closer to the festive season, for instance, many of us want to control our budget and our spending. Most of us want to ensure that things are generally going well and under control. By itself, wanting control is a natural instinct. However, control can get out of hand.

We take things a little too far when we try to control other human beings. We try to control our children, for instance. We get used to controlling what they wear and the kind of hairstyle they have on as children. When they become adults, sometimes we do not want to let go. You are still telling a full-grown human being in his or her twenties or forties what to wear. And because you think you are their parent; you are still complaining about things you should not complain about. We even try to control what our children study. In some homes, they say, it is either you are a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or you are a disgrace. When you try to control the human spirit, you become something that God has not made you to be.

We try to control our spouses, we try to control how they drive, what they say, and how they say what they say. We try to control the big events of our lives. We even try to control what God does and how He does it. But what we will realize about life is that the best things in life happen when we give up control. The best things in life actually happen when we give up control.

Prayer: Father, I choose today to surrender control of my life and its outcome to You. Take the stage of my life and have Your way, Lord Jesus, in Jesus Name. Amen!