As I was praying one morning, God just about bowled me over: “And so you think you are in charge of your life?” The fact is—I would probably like to deny this statement but the way I live often confirms it. Even if I don’t allow God to be in charge of my life, it’s clear I have very little control either. There are too many things I cannot control. For example, the thousands of other people driving down I-44 who may or may not be paying attention; whether I’ll be the next person diagnosed with cancer again; whether one of my children will be taken from me by a drunk driver; etc.
My friend, we need God more than we know and choosing to walk WITH Him is much better than walking WITHOUT Him!
Jesus paid the ultimate price so we could walk with Him. Independence from God is original sin. Satan promised Eve her life would be better without God and she bit the fruit he offered. We often do the very same thing. Every day. What’s the proof? Well, it’s in the fruit. When God is powering our life, it is evident in every area of our life. The fruit of His Spirit is so abundant it affects everyone around us. His supernatural wisdom and strength are so evident that we know it’s all Him. Is this you?
When God is in control, we do not want to live even one hour without His presence!
But, the struggle to place God in control of every area of our life is a huge shift for most of us. But when we take charge, we are only getting in the way of God’s progress. Whether it’s work, personal life, ministry, or leisure time—God cares about it all, and His logistics are mind-blowing. He creates endless opportunities.
One of the big reasons we fail to place God in control of our life is we don’t know God for Who He is. Our mind has placed Him in a box. Look, someone WILL be in charge of your life. It may be your family, your peer group, someone you’re trying to impress, your boss, or just—yourself. But there is no one as qualified as your Creator!!! He made you and He knows your operational limitations. And—oh, be careful about what you think about being in charge of your own life because we puny humans have very little control of our circumstances. Tomorrow you may be in a bad car wreck and be on life support. We need God MORE than a fish needs water. We must learn to live in complete dependence upon Him.
When we allow our sense of God’s presence to grow beyond the confines of our own imagination, we experience His supernatural creativity, strength, and wisdom!
When we intentionally strive to develop the attitudes of Christ, we find that life with God is quite a glorious adventure—even in the hard times! God takes great care of those who seek Him with their whole heart and make HIM LORD of their life. The book of Isaiah reminds us:
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
”For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
”For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
Isaiah 55:6-12
