Our daughter is preparing for the birth of her first baby in the days ahead.  There has been talk about a possible c-section and she was making plans for the day she wanted to have it done.  As we talked, it occurred to me that even though she’s been in the driver’s seat most of her life, the baby was calling the shots this time.  This was a matter that even though being able to dictate the time and day would be convenient and a lot easier to prepare for, in this situation, it was not that easy.  Throughout the conversation you could see a light come on when she finally realized, “I am not in control of this matter at all; rather this little one with soon to be poopy pants holds all the power.”  As a matter of fact, even her doctor picked up on her desire to plan this unplannable situation out and said, “Yes, even control freaks can have babies!”

We laugh about it, but there are times when I think needing to control everything is not good for our spiritual growth.  We serve a Supernatural God and there is nothing about Him that we can control if we truly want to experience Him in His fullest.  There are many who “control” their spiritual lives allowing only the known to be a part of their daily walk with God.  However, it is those precious times when God shows up on the scene and makes Himself known that encourages me and strengthens my walk.  These times reinforce that I am not serving a distant or uncaring God; rather, He is right here beside me all the way.

The world we live in teaches us in certain areas of our lives to make things happen…take control of your destiny…if you don’t do it, no one else will.  You’ve heard those comments before haven’t you?  Just like the man in my photo today though, often the ropes that we play tug of war with trying to maintain control and have our way have a funny way of wrapping themselves around us…holding us in bondage day after day.  At some point, we begin to look silly for hanging onto those things that bind us.  At one point the man in the photo was confidently tugging and fighting to stay in control.  Eventually, he found himself tangled in a mess of ropes, wondering just how he got to that point.  Trying to serve God while maintaining control of everything in our lives is almost as silly as us telling our daughter to hold it until we can be there for the birth of our grandchild.  It just doesn’t happen.

We see God work miracles in the Bible over and over.  So why do we pause to question it when He does today?  Is He not the same God today as yesterday?  If I believe in the Bible, I must also believe that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  He is never changing.  One thing that I gleaned from the book titled, Forgotten God by Francis Chan, was the fact that God is Creative.  He in fact is the Creator.  He doesn’t do the same trick over and over so to speak.  Instead, He shows His power in a variety of ways and rarely does the same miracle twice.  So why are we surprised when He does something miraculous in our lives that we’ve never experienced before?

I get excited when I see Him at work and rejoice in the fact I serve a Living God.  Yes, sometimes when He shows Himself in a situation, it is surprising and catches us off guard.  However, we can’t control God.  If we continue to choose to keep Him safely in His box we have created for Him, we will never enjoy all He has to offer in this life.  When we learn to allow God to hold the reigns of our life and control our comings and goings, we will be free indeed to experience His miraculous power in our lives.  Yes, even control freaks can learn to let go and let God!  And when they do…it is a beautiful thing!

What are you holding onto that you know if you let go of, God could do a much better job handling?  Have you judged someone because they had an experience in the manifest presence of God?  Just because God didn’t show Himself to you in that way, do you automatically think something’s wrong with them?  We can’t go through life chasing emotional spiritual experiences—that’s a fact.  However, when we finally get to the place of letting go and letting God, He is free to show Himself in bigger ways than before.  He loves to be in the driver’s seat…taking us to destinations unknown…ones He knows will bless our socks off!

May you be freed from those things you feel the need to control and bask in the freedom of God’s Spirit this week.

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Galatians 4:9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?