Living in a world of turmoil and confusion can be very distracting. We tend to get caught up in our daily routines and have our own ideas on how we view the world through our eyes, and forget that it was Jesus that once said in Matthew 6:27:
“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
How is it that we can be so distracted by living our lives and forget what is most important? What is it that draws us away from the One that should matter to us the most?
It’s easy to get caught up in being condescending and judgmental toward our fellow person by the very nature of our beings. Does this have to do with our being born in the inherent sin that we read about in Genesis 4? Can we correlate the noted chapter with why we act the way we do?
The question we need to ask ourselves is, how do we come to grips with something that is beyond our control? How do we deal with people in our lives that seem unreasonable and too demanding? How do we find peace in the lack of control we have over others? How do we find peace in the lack of control we have in ourselves?
You would think it would be relatively easy to find peace through the thought that we are saved and have eternal life with our Lord and Savior, right? Not always, at least for some. We sometimes find ourselves losing control of our tongues and blowing our witness in front of those that really need to see what the power of God has done for us in our lives.
Even when we know that we have been redeemed, why are there times we can’t find the strength to be obedient children of the Most High? When we feel the waves of life crashing down on us, the first thing that should come to mind is to rejoice in the fact that we are children of God, and that the things of this world should not matter. Speaking for myself, it doesn’t always work like that.
Because of the worldly way of thinking that comes so easily to most, our first thoughts tend to be all the bad stuff such as anger, resentment, hatred, bitterness, malice and slander. Completely opposite of what the Apostle Paul tells us to put behind us in Colossians 3:8. The first thing out of our mouths more often than not is cursing a horrible situation.
How can we change this and overcome those feelings?
I think that a few of the first thoughts that need to come to our minds whenever we feel like a situation has gone really bad are 1. Am I just blowing this out of perspective 2. How important is this in my life, and 3. Will this really last for as long as we think it will? Then if we still feel like the thought or situation is not getting any better, we need to ask Jesus for the strength to pull us out of the current mindset that we are in, and quickly.
One of the first things that we need to overcome is doubting or forgetting the fact that God’s promises are real. What are His promises to us? The first one that comes to mind is that He will never leave or forsake us ( Hebrews 13:5 (b)), and Hebrews 13:6 states
“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
As true as the above statement is, it reminds me of the the saying, “I know you hear me, but are you listening?” We know what the Bible says, but are we listening? How do we take to heart the words of God in Psalms 27:1(b),
“The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
or the verse in Psalms 46:10(a),
“Be still and know I am God.”
How do we place all of our trust in God and give up all control? This seems to be an absurd thought when it comes to someone that feels the need to control everything around them.
The first thing we need to ask ourselves is, why do we need to control everything? When I think about it, what little do we control? I do know one thing, we can and do need to control our decisions. If we feel the need to control our environment, fate, and the things that really are the outcomes of our decisions, we should probably start with the obvious, like unhealthy dependencies and urges.
Ultimately, it is our decisions that control the outcome of our fate. (Free will?)
Is it true then, that controlling our decisions will control the outcome of our lives? Most definitely. In spite of the fact that God knew us before we were even conceived (Jeremiah 1:5), and that some of us are chosen to be the elect of God (Romans 9:11), it is by the choices that we make in this life that make life easy, fun and enjoyable, or one that is plagued by chastisement and sadness. Which is the better choice? The former, for those of us that want to live in peace.
So, the big question here is, why do some of us make it so difficult to live in this world by making poor decisions regarding letting go and letting God do His work in us? The answer is easy in theory, but complicated in implementation. We have to give up the power that we innately have in us to control, and trusting God to take the lead. There would most certainly be some relief by the weight lifted off our shoulders. After all, didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 11:28,
“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”?
In hearing these words from our dear Lord, you would think that the decision to let go would be an easy one, but for some is not.
All decisions start with a thought. When we fill our heads with useless information and noise, that becomes the dominating force in our lives. What are we to do with that? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5(b) to
“take every thought captive to obey Christ”.
How are we to ever do that? With all the thoughts and impulses that run through the human mind every second, it seems an impossible task to accomplish. It must be done! In order to defeat the principalities of darkness and the ruler of the air, we must be obedient to our Lord and Savior, and as stated plainly in Ephesians 6:18(a),
walk in the Spirit with “all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit”.
All the while, we must ask God to give us the strength to change our hearts and our minds with every breath, and have the faith that all things are possible with God.
