Every day, you have to decide who’s going to be in control of your life—you or God.
That choice is a battle.
There are things in your life that you want to control. You want to make your own rules. But stress relief always starts with letting God be God. It always starts with saying, “God, I’m giving up control, because you can control the things that are out of control in my life.”
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
I don’t know what you’re going to face this week. You don’t, either. But I can already tell you what God wants you to do: Let go, and know. Let go of control, and know that God is in control. Let go, and know. This is the first step to serenity in your life.
Whenever we face out-of-control situations, we tend to go to one of two extremes. For some of you, the more out-of-control your life gets, the harder you try to control it. Some of you do the exact opposite: You just give up. You have a pity party and invite yourself to it.
Both of those reactions to stress are foolish. They don’t work. Instead of being a victim or becoming hyper controlling, you need to pray the prayer of surrender.
The No. 1 reason you’re under stress is because you’re in conflict with God. You’re trying to control things only God can control. You can’t control your husband or your kids or your wife or your job or your future or your past or any of that stuff. The more you do it, the more you’re trying to play God, and that puts you in opposition to Him. Not only are you going to lose that conflict, but you’re also going to be tired.
Millions of people pray the Serenity Prayer, which is based on the Lord’s Prayer, but most have never read its final eight lines: “Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen.”
That’s where the power is.There is power when you surrender to God the very things you’ve been trying to take control of from Him.
Talk It Over
- What does it mean practically to “live one day at a time”?
- Think of the things in your life you’ve been trying to control. What have been the effects on you?
- What is the result—physical, emotional and spiritual—when you surrender to God the things you want to control? {eoa}
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.
For the original article, visit pastorrick.com.
