Sometimes we clench our fists tight, grasping hold of the pieces of our lives with valiant attempts to stay in control. We push and tug with exhausted efforts, trying hard to make it turn out perfect.
We fight and struggle to stop all the leaks and fill in all the cracks. To repair all that is not smooth.
Our white-knuckled grip is fueled with self-sufficiency, and we aren’t satisfied until we’ve plugged all the holes.
God waits, fervent and steadfast, while we google quick solutions, desperately trying to find hope and reassurance. Our intentions are sincere, but our trust is often misplaced.
We cannot fix it all, and He knows this. The God of the universe, in all His sovereignty, sees the end and is not at all surprised by the circumstances that shake our lives.
There is a religious cliché that says “Let go and let God”. It does hold truth, but it rolls off the tongue too simple and soft. Because, in all honesty, this is hard. And sometimes our fingers need prying loose one at a time.
It is a battle, because control feels safe. But in the midst of our attempts at trying to be God, He waits and He doesn’t back down.
In spite of all our tight-fisted plans, God’s love doesn’t falter. It flows steady, waiting for our heart to trust. Waiting for us to be freed. Waiting for us to abandon our agenda and efforts.
We know we can’t fix it all, and we know He may choose a different ending than what we had hoped for. So we hold tight, afraid of what will happen. Afraid if only one finger is loosened, our whole grip will give way to the messiness.
But this is where He wants us.
This is where trust takes over. Where we grow. Where roots go down deep and solid.
This is where we let go one breath at a time. We inhale His grace. And we exhale in faith.
This is where there are no easy answers, but we trust anyway. We let go of our grip so that we can hold tight to His. We stop the striving and the fixing, and we stop pounding nails of self-control into every corner of lives.
Because when we let go of our control, God pries loose our self-sufficiency, one nail at a time, and we are set free.
We lean into Him.
We trust.
We let faith chase away control.
And we rely on a strength more powerful than we could ever imagine.
Life won’t turn out perfect. But God is more than able to handle it all, and His purpose will always stand. (Prov. 19:21)
In His Grace,
Sherri
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