Hi friends!
Mia here- nice to see you again! This past week, I've been gearing up for finals and majorly stressing out about that (if you feel the same way- check out Kat’s most recent post here. It honestly helped me out a lot), and I discovered something. I hadn’t had much free time, and I was going into serious computer withdrawal. I know- that statement really made it sound like I have no life. Not true, my friends. I’m still breathing. But I do spend a fair amount of time on my computer, writing and such.
But today, while I was waiting for it to power up, I noticed something that I never really paid attention to before. There are these two little keys on either side of my space bar labeled “Ctrl.” I don’t use those keys much, and I’m ashamed to say it took me way longer than it should have to remember what they were used for. Okay, I’ll be honest, I’m still not sure what their actual purpose is (I’m not a tech wiz in the least), but I know the “Ctrl” stands for “control.”
Control. That word has an assortment of connotations- some things associated with that word are good, and many, many more are bad. For example, having a dictator in control of your country is not necessarily a good thing, but having control of your vehicle while it is in motion is very, very useful (unless you like using trees and buildings and things as means of steering). What about having control of making decisions for ourselves? That’s a nice freedom to have, isn’t it? God blessed us with a free will, and although some people use that to do stupid things, others can do a lot of good with the control to decide for themselves. It is not something anyone wants to give up.
We don’t like it when things are out of our control. You know the feeling- there are times when it seems like you’re just along for the ride, whether you want to be or not. If you’re lucky enough to have never experienced that feeling, let me tell you- it’s not pleasant. As human beings, we like to have at least a little bit of control over our surroundings. We like to be able to decide when we want to turn off the hot water in the shower, rather than having it shut off on its own and being drenched with that burst of cold water that makes one hop around like a penguin and scream. We like to have leverage whenever a group is deciding what movie to go see at the theaters. These things are somewhat petty (I won’t say completely petty, because hot water is very important to someone in the shower…), but isn’t it true that we feel this way?
Sometimes it will feel like life is out of control. We can’t deny this, sisters- we’ve all been there, or will be at some point. The status quo will change, and sometimes the odds won’t be in our favor. That’s just natural- it’s just life. Doesn’t make it any more pleasant, but that’s just the way it is. Fortunately, God can and will help us through these times. 1 Corinthians 10:13b says “…God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape…” (ESV) Temptations, troubles, worries- God will help us get through all of them! In reality, the feeling of “lack of control” is just an illusion; God is in control of everything.
And you know what? All those little mundane things we can (normally) control, like what clothes you put on in the morning and how much salt goes on your onion rings and the volume of the radio- I think God might’ve given us those things to help us too. When the world is crashing down around me and life feels out of control, I take great comfort in controlling those little things. Maybe I’m just weird, but those things remind me that things will eventually sort out, and everything will get back to normal.
And sometimes we just need that little bit of control. Sometimes we just need a hug. Sometimes we just need to be told that things will work out and that all will be okay. And when people tell you that, as a Christian, you can be sure they aren’t lying. You see, Romans 8:28 also tells us that “…for those who love God all things work together for good…” (ESV) Although- and I know we’ve all thought this way at some point or another- things may seem hopeless at times, God promised us he wouldn’t just leave us hanging. We aren’t promised an easy life where everything falls into place, but we’re promised help and a happy ending (you can’t get much happier than Heaven, right?).
This week (and really, always), let’s keep that happy ending in mind!
Keep calm and trust God,
Mia
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