The Benefit of Confessing Our Desire for Control

The key to this truth is the source of the strength. Christ gives us strength. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” There is healing in confessing our desire to control situations in our lives, and submitting instead to the strength we have in Christ to give us the restraint, patience, and self-control we need to wait on the Lord instead of taking matters into our own hands.

My journey as a mother won’t get easier in this life. There will be challenges, sickness and hardship which I cannot prevent from happening to my children. But there will also be inexplicable joy only He can accomplish for them. Paul wrote:

The fear of losing control will rob us of the peace Christ died to give us. He has given us life to the full. “Trying to take control of what can’t be ultimately controlled, we set ourselves up for fearfulness in times of inevitable trouble,” Kristen Wetherell wrote for The Gospel Coalition. “Since Jesus is Lord, we don’t have to be.” Because of Jesus, we can embrace Paul’s words:

When we toss and turn at night, stomachs churning over hurt we cannot heal and things out of our control, the Lord is with us. We do not lie awake alone. He is there with us. Jesus is so worthy. God is so faithful. He sees what lies in the darkness, and His army of angels battle with us while we prayerfully fight. “God gives us the prescription for anxiety- and that is prayer,” the Bible Study Tools Staff explains, “we cannot understand supernatural peace until we surrender our mind to God’s ways and thoughts.”

In all things, we are called to lead in love, as Jesus does. He leads us to peace which surpasses all understanding, not anxious thoughts which keep us awake through the night. There will be trouble in this world, pain we cannot prevent. But God is bigger. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. And so our reaction is this:

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Meg is a graduate of Ashland University. She is a writer, author, editor, and digital content creator. She stepped away from her job in Internet Marketing in 2008 to raise her daughters, which gave her passion for writing a chance to shine through her blog, Sunny&80… Life within the Love of Christ. Meg has served as a Children’s Worship Team Leader and Middle School Leader for her local church. She founded and led the Breakfast Club Bible Study for Tweens, has served as a Young Life Leader and Committee Member, and led Women’s Bible Study. She has also volunteered as a content creator for her local church, studied Bible/Ministerial Training through Global University, and completed COMPEL PRO Writers Training. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the team at Salem Web Network. You can find her entire library of books on her Amazon Author Page.