God meets us at the end of our comfort zone. But what I’ve been learning is that God takes control when you’re at the end of your rope.
As many, if not all, of you are aware, I’m a passionate and playful person. I adore doing whatever I can to get together with my close friends and bend over backwards to make it happen. What I’ve been realizing lately is that I do the right things, but for the wrong reasons and for the wrong audience. How much different would my life be if it were fully surrendered to the one who granted me life in the first place?
Consider your own life: how much of your daily activity fits in with your God-given purpose? Better yet, are the goals you’ve set for your life truly evident of being yielded to God’s commands or are they self-selected and self-driven? Or, for a grayer area, have you set a goal that’s only rationalized to seem like it’s willed by God?
For years I’ve thought I was doing what I should by just going through with meeting the basic goals of your ‘typical’ 20 year old: nice car, popularity, decent job, good education, etc. While all of these are great things to own or achieve, they’re horrible when worked for in the wrong mindset. Why did I do so, you ask? Parents, peers, society – you name it! Not because I’ve been conscious that these are things God would want in my life. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been made acutely aware that my life could be so much more fulfilling and productive if I were to live it fully for God, not just in part.
To elaborate, I was walking the Walnut Street bridge earlier yesterday, reflecting on this concept when suddenly I began to picture what my life would be like – all the way down to my very thought processes! – if I let God take the reins of my existence. Was what I was doing with my time truly valuable? Did it fit in or progress me at all towards my God-willed purpose in life? This moment only took a split second, but it seemed as though all the fluff of my life flashed before me and I’d been blind to it all. Granted, my parents remind me frequently of these things as good parents ought, but it’s always a matter of my letting Him break my heart for only Him to mend. Don’t misinterpret this, though, because I respect my parents infinitely! But subconsciously I’m so stubborn, I’ll physically listen and obey, but the change of heart won’t be there, even if I think it is. Take my word for it, though, it’ll come back out when it’s not real. So here’s the struggle that is hard for me still to think of doing, but I want to: fully giving up myself to Him.
One person described this process really well for me, taken from “When God Writes Your Love Story” by Eric and Leslie Ludy. To summarize, Eric portrayed the whole of his life as being a ship that he captained, with a multitude of rooms beneath the deck. He finally surrendered the helm to God to steer where He would, but Eric wanted to keep the rooms beneath private for his own personal use. But God refused to allow this and would clank loudly at each door to every tiny superficial pleasure Eric had, wanting to take over to show him the many wonders He could offer instead – which He did in full.
Coincidentally, the RUF meeting this week was on letting God take control and how we can trust Him to do so in all situations. I was really happy about this, because it pointed me right back to the Scriptures I wanted to reference in light of this whole topic. The first of which was Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” I’m going to end this with a passage from Romans 8, as it is encouraging for me in my struggle to let go that I would ask prayers for fervently as it’s not an easy thing in the least. Romans 8: 26-32 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
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