By Jessica Rivera

My whole life I’ve always been a planner. It’s actually hilarious that I ever thought I had full control over where my life was going. I’d sit in my room and plan out four years of college, then a career, a marriage (thanks Pinterest), a family, everything! I’d write it out, and then when I loved the plan I had come up with I’d type it out, color code it, print it off, and keep it somewhere safe, only to be greatly disappointed that a month, sometimes even a week, later God would come back and say, “Ummmm, no”.

Now we are not all color-code freaks, but we are all control freaks. Your planning may not be as obvious, but in your mind you are probably operating as if you think you are in control. We need to recognize this as a lie. We are not in control.

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” – Proverbs 19:21

So why do we always try to be in control?

• Fear of the unknown
  • These are the “what if” questions that haunt us (What if I never get married? What if I end up poor?) I had convinced myself that I couldn’t possibly handle anything God would throw at me, so I tried to take the reigns.
• We think our plans are better
  • Consider this: “God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything He knows.” ­– Tim Keller

Why should we give control to God?

• You will grow weary
  • We were not designed to be the managers of our lives. We were made to follow. Taking control is exhausting because our plans are futile.
• We each serve a purpose in God’s perfect Kingdom, a purpose that He chose for us (Jeremiah 1:5). When we try to fulfill our own purpose rather than obey God’s purpose for us, we stand in the way of His Kingdom being furthered, and we deny Him.
• We actually deprive ourselves of so many incredible things God wants to show us, do for us, and give to us!

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” – Ephesians 3:20

How do we give control to God?

• Surrender daily
  • I still have to wake up every morning and tell myself that today, and every day, God has the control.
• Pray about your decisions
  • Start recognizing the areas in your life you decide on your own rather than seeking the Father’s will. Your major. Involvement in organizations. Running for a leadership position. Going on a date. One decision at a time, you will come to understand what it actually means to “let go, and let God.”

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3

Other Resources:

Bible: Isaiah

More Legacy Ladies:

“All I Am is Yours: What it Means to Truly Surrender”

“What do we do when God doesn’t give us a plan to accomplish a task He has called us to?”