We try so hard to make sure that we have a handle on everything. We want things and situations to go just like we want them to go. We want people to respond the way that we want them to respond. If only things would work out exactly like the scenario in our minds, then all would be well in our world. We have this idea that what we see in all of this would be so much better than what God desires. We think we know best even though deep down we somehow realize that one little word is rearing it’s ugly head in our lives, and that little word is none other than control.

As humans, we have this innate desire to control everyone and everything around us. We want things our way, and when they don’t work out to our exact specification, then we experience hurt, confusion, and disappointment. It’s a rather sobering thought to realize that no matter how hard we try to control it all, in reality we are controlling nothing. We are living with a false sense that we can make others and things do exactly what we want. We are deceiving ourselves with one big, fat lie when we think this can happen. This just isn’t the way that it really is.

We must come to grips that people are free to choose. Sometimes it works out the way that we want, and other times it doesn’t quite go that way. That’s a difficult pill to swallow. There is always great risk here. How are we going to handle this if it doesn’t go our way? How do we process the letdown of what we were trying to hold onto so tightly?

When we feel that we have lost control over every situation in our life, then that’s exactly where God wants us to be. In fact, that is where He wanted us to be all along. We just thought we knew what was right. This puts us in a place of great uncertainty and unknown. It feels so uncomfortable to be here, but this is the place that we learn the greatest truths and lessons. There is a freedom in being able to let go of everything that we’re trying so hard to hold onto. To be able to hand it all over to The One that knows best about everything in our lives. To The One who wants us to experience true rest as He puts it all together.

We are still responsible for doing our part in obedience to God, but in no way are we supposed to manipulate God into what we want. We can try this, but it never works. God sees our heart and realizes the truth of who we really are. Nothing is hidden from Him. Our daily prayer should be for Him to create a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us. He sees the thoughts and intentions of everything we do, and when He sees our desire to control it all, then that’s when He decides that it’s time to change all of that. We will experience things in our lives that will completely take us out of control. Then we will see who was handling it all in the first place, and it wasn’t us.

We are all going to experience seasons in our lives when nothing makes sense. We will just want to run away and forget that nothing is going our way. If only we could have a handle on it all. If only we could take charge and control the outcome, then all would be well in our world, but this isn’t reality. It’s time to take our hands off from all that we’re trying so hard to hold onto, and let God do what He does best. It’s time to rest in His presence and know that He’s working in ways that we can’t see. It’s time to trust The One who is in control of everything. No more trying to push and make it happen. Just a place of peace where we know that all is well.