Eliminate Control And Fear To Trust

This is a week where I'm already needing to just trust Him. Fully commit every thought and action in the future, the past, and the present to Him. It's the hardest thing to do when as a human all we want is control. Control of our lives...control of the future...even control of our loved ones. We want to be able to go places and see people and keep people. We want to be able to control what happens to us...whether it be the score of the game we are watching or the people who enter and exit our lives. We wish everything to be picture perfect, a dream come true. And when our dreams are "coming true" we all of a sudden have a bad jolt to this lovely wish and when it all goes down we wonder what happened. It was reality coming back to hit us square in the face. Yes, our lives *can* be just as beautiful and perfect as our favorite movie. But not if we dictate it...it will only end in absolute disaster at that point. As humans we are nothing but faulty...we err and mess up...we make *huge* mistakes. We become blinded by our sin and that leads to unbelievable disasters. But not even once has God ever messed up...He has had no sin and so cannot be blinded by it and He has had no unbelievable disasters or huge mistakes of any kind. Now I ask...why *wouldn't* we give over the writing of our life story to Him? Why can't we wake up every morning and pray for the ability to just let go and let God rule our whole day...to not worry or try and control the circumstances that enter our life..why can't we pray for that daily?

This leads me to another point of trusting God (or rather the lack of trusting God): fear. Fear gnaws at us throughout the day...and night. I know far too many nights where I've stayed up to watch some movie or TV show that has left me running to bed with all the lights in the house on for fear of the monsters (spiders, ghosts, aliens, animals...you fill in the blank) under my bed or hiding in the darkest corners of my room. Now, maybe this isn't the best example to give...what if I give the instance of knowing some test is coming up and you're not prepared? What if you have to meet with people and give a speech? What if you have an intensive work schedule and you're not sure how you'll handle it? What if you meet people and you find yourself constantly wondering if they were offended or disliked you? What if you dash around the house before you leave for somewhere because you're not sure if you can get everything you need together in time? Okay, before we go any further...I'm not saying if you've ever done any of those things that you didn't trust God. Sometimes He does employ tactics (like running around the house at breakneck speed trying to gather stuff together to leave the house) to be able to give us a kick in the pants for, say, not getting up early enough. Maybe He does plant these little scenarios in your life just so that you can stop in the middle of it, refer back to God, and then be able to realize that you are just a small human capable of error, that God is a great and powerful God who is fully capable of controlling every situation, and you should just lay whatever burden you have and are struggling with over to Him entirely. I say entirely because I know that a lot of times when I trust God it can turn out to be a "half-way trust". Meaning that I say I trust Him...and for the most part I do...but at little intervals I make time to worry about it in the tiniest corner of my mind.

So what does this mean for us in terms of application? It just means that God is great and good...100% of the time. We are really small and rather sinful (a lot!) and we mess up...we worry and try and control as much as possible. But that is not to say at all that it's not possible to just trust God! It just means that it's going to take some work and dedication. Meaning a good study of the Scriptures on a regular basis and a life that is led by and defined by prayer. Scripture and prayer are SO incredibly powerful and I'm coming to realize this more and more each day! God has come down to us...His little people...and made Himself very close and personal and all we have to do is open His words to us (located in the Bible) or just *talk* to Him (by the use of prayer)! It really is so simple that I don't know why a lot of Christians today say that they "just don't have time to devote to stuff like that a lot". Well I ask you...God gave you time...He gives everyone time. And He gave you just as much time as the rest of us...not even us in the present...but in the past.

Just as much time as great people like John Calvin, Martin Luther, R.J. Rushdoony, Augustine, Athanasius, Robert E. Lee, George Washington, C.S. Lewis, Albert Einstein, Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, Bach, and Walt Disney. Some of those were pretty weird examples, but my point is...those people did *work*. Great work that influenced the lives of others. Why can't we do the same? We can influence...spread our great talents and work. But only if we choose to stand up and make a difference. We do have the time...but we waste it. I'm reading a book called "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper and I am hugely impressed by his points and how he points out that so many people just waste their lives. They die and those around them are effected yes, but who else? Most of the people reading this have been alive long enough to have witnessed someone great who died. I remember Michael Jackson dying and I remember that great female singer who died...now her name escapes my memory (she obviously wasn't that important to me!). But it's not only death that can effect people...it's other things. I remember when it came out that Michael Phelps was doing drugs and stuff and I remember when Tiger Wood's affair came out. These are really big events that shook up and really did influence a lot of people. And not in a really good way.

Why is it that the people of today who effect the "great American people" are not good or Godly people, yet as we look back at our past at people who made a *good* influence they are the ones who were solid Christians, leaning and trusting on God? Why can't that be us? Why can't we regain those good morals and foundations that we once had? Why can't we have Godly people who influence us instead of the pop celebrities who lead lives of ruin and destruction? It is because we as a people have strayed far from God. We've strayed from His word and decided to dictate, run, and control our own lives. We have taken matters into our own hands instead of trusting the One "person" who can do it right. I believe that if we are to ever return to God and a flourishing nation that we need to start by trusting God. But that won't happen until we are saturated and grounded in Scripture and in a Godly theology. All in God's timing, of course...and something we must pray for and trust God for...but reformation is something that this world is desperately in need of.

I know I strayed a lot from my original topic...I hope that you are still with me. Those are my thoughts and insights on a whole bunch of topics. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear any of them. I'm also considering adding Scripture to these "lectures". Often I get to rambling and I don't have any verses written here to "back me up" or support my cause. So I am considering doing that, though it will take more time to write up posts then. I think it will be a good way to spend my time though...I am trying to reap something from the book that I referenced earlier "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. I highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to get their life on the right track and stay motivated to live a life dedicated and devoted to God. Anyways, I am praying for you, my readers, and hoping you have a beautiful and blessed day!