Calling All Control Freaks!

I am not in control. I am not God. God does not need my stamp of approval when He makes decisions. Therefore, I don’t have to understand all of the decisions God makes.

It’s a shocking epiphany, I know.

I’m a closet control freak. By that I mean that I didn’t even know I had control issues until the Holy Spirit told me I did.

…more than once.

It actually took a while for me to get it and I still forget that it’s something I struggle with, which makes it great ammunition for the enemy. Anyone else relate?

I recently watched the new Disney movie, Encanto, and this line in the very first song really stood out to me:

“My family’s amazing, and I’m in my family so…”

This is the very beginning of the movie when Mirabel is describing all of her family’s gifts to the children in the village, but avoiding telling them that she didn’t get a gift… or so she thought.

When the enemy attacks, I begin to believe the lie that I’m nothing special and have no gifts. But as a redeemed follower of Christ I’ve been adopted as a child and heir to the throne of the Almighty God alongside Jesus Christ.

And guess what? If you acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life, you have too.

My family's amazing, and I’m in my family so…

How would you finish that sentence? I think the Father would say you are amazing because He made you that way.

He adopted you into the family so you can take on His name, His holiness, and His goodness.

“...you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self…Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and…forgiving each other…and above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” - Colossians 3:10-14 (summarized)

[Side note: I highly recommend you pause here to read all of Colossians 3. Don’t worry, it’s short and SO worth it!]

Therefore when the enemy says, you’re nothing special and you have nothing to offer, you can say, “On my own, you’re right! But, I’m not on my own. I’ve been adopted into an amazing family, and my Father has made me His own which means I am loved. Jesus Christ has redeemed me and is making me holy. The Holy Spirit himself dwells within me and has given me special gifts to use by His power.”

I know what you're thinking: "Here she is rambling about gifts and Disney movies and this is supposed to be about control!" Just keep going - I promise we're still on track.

The thing is, to believe all these things about yourself, and to effectively use the gifts you’ve been given…

you have to give up control.

Sneaky isn’t it?

You’re not amazing because of the to-do’s you check off the list or the dinner you prepare or the ministries you serve in. You’re amazing when you put down the reins and let the Father take control, because with His power inside you, your gifts will grow into things you could have never imagined or accomplished without Him.

A big part of letting go of control is Trust. Say it with me now…

God is good. Therefore He makes good decisions.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6

Think about some of those Old Testament examples of God’s wrath. It gets pretty intense. God is not afraid to decimate his entire creation with one crazy rain storm (Noah and the Ark). Or brutally destroy entire cities (Sodom and Gomorrah).

It can be challenging for us to wrap our brains around why God does what he does sometimes, and that’s okay.

Consider His sovereignty in the story of Joseph, for example.

Here’s the highlights:

1. Joseph was the favorite son.

2. His brothers got jealous, so they sold him into slavery.

3. Joseph worked his way up the ladder in Egypt.

4. He (unjustly) got thrown in prison and forgotten about for a while.

5. Eventually, he regained his good standing with Pharoah.

6. Joseph is now second in command over Egypt.

7. Seven year famine hits the land.

8. Joseph’s brothers come to him for food.

9. Family reunion!

Now, that was a pretty vague overview, but you get the gist. You can read the whole story in Genesis chapters 37-46. It’s a doozy of a story with lots of twists and turns.

The point is, as Joseph’s story begins it looks as if there is no hope at all. But, He trusts in God all the way through this series of crazy events, and God doesn’t just protect him. He goes above and beyond to use his brothers’ malicious act of jealousy to save the whole family and preserve the family name.

What started as evil, God turned around for good. Out of jealousy and hopelessness, He brought life, unity, and hope. If I was Joseph, I don’t think I would have seen that one coming.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” - Romans 8:28

There are so many moments that happen that we don’t understand, and may never understand, because we don’t have God’s perspective. That’s why it’s not our job to be in control of our life. Give it to God and He won’t fail you

Based on this story (and every other story in the bible) I think we can conclude He is a good God. We don’t have to understand all of His decisions in the moment; we just have to trust that they are ultimately for good.

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” - Romans 9:20-21

I’ll leave you with this: because of the Fall, we have a broken view of right and wrong, derived from a place of rebellion against God. So, don’t measure His decisions by your own sense of right and wrong.

Let’s flip that on its head and measure our decisions by God’s standard of right and wrong, giving Him control and trusting that He is always good.