When I was younger, I spent a lot of time trying to control things.
After moving to Estevan, it was a struggle to get to know a new group of people, learn the ropes of preaching and simply survive.聽 I had to get a handle on things quickly so that I could feel settled and comfortable. For the most part, I assumed that it was up to me to make things work.
Then I got married, we had kids and life was great. We had lots of friends. Our extended family was doing well. The church was healthy. Our girls were young enough that we could help them with almost any problem that came up. Everything seemed to be perfect.
Lately, though, my sense of peace and control and have started to slip away. One after another, several close friends decided to move out of town. People I cared about got sick. Others passed away and I had no way to help or fix them. Our girls grew up and went to university. Now, they live two hours away and I have no idea how their classes are going and, even if I did, I likely could not help them anyway.
I have gone from being in control to feeling almost completely out of control.
I am, however, learning to pray.
When your focus is to control everything, you do not need to pray because you do not need help.聽 It is only when you realize how little influence you really have that prayer starts to take on more importance.
Colossians 4:2 says, 鈥淒evote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.鈥� This little verse gives us a good pattern to think about.
Be devoted to prayer. Continue in it. Pray all the time about everything.
Be watchful in prayer. This applies to others. Watch over and pray for them. Care about what is happening enough to remember them and trust God to help them.
Be thankful. Focusing on the things that you do not like about your life only makes you try to exert more control. Thankfulness reminds me that I am being, and have always been, looked after.
In the end, we must learn to get out of our own way and trust God, because that is the only way anything becomes what he wants it to be.
Trust beats control every time.
