Releasing Control
In the book of Jeremiah, we find the following statement from God. “My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me, the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13) Paul David Tripp states that these two sins of mankind are autonomy and self-sufficiency. Autonomy is saying to God that “I am responsible to no one. I have a right to rule my own life.” In the words of A.W. Tozer, “He challenges God’s selfhood in relation to his own. In all else he may willingly accept the sovereignty of God; in his own life he rejects it. For him, God’s dominion ends where his begins. For him, self becomes Self and in this he unconsciously imitates Lucifer, that fallen son of the morning who said in his heart, ‘I will exalt my throne above the stars of God….I will be like the Most High.’” A.W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy, Harper and Row, 1961 Pg 36.
The second of these two sins is Self sufficiency. It is to say to God and ourselves that we are adequate to control ourselves and our environment so that all of our needs will be met. Indeed, our very schooling and culture endeavors to teach and affirm to us that such is the case. If we only had the right education and the opportunities, our efforts would lead to success. We multiply efforts, change jobs, attend special seminars, move to new locations, and try new investments. All of the above can be exhausting and lead to anxiety, depression, and damaged relationships. The more we try to control our own lives and the environment around us, the more anxious and depressed we may become. Those who are apparently successful in control of their lives may be the most prone to experience problems. If we assume control of our own lives we become focused upon ourselves, on others, and on our circumstances. Such was the case with a man named Asaph.
In Psalm 73, Asaph describes his plight in these words. “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold, for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (Psalm 73:2-3) In this statement he reveals his own effort to be self sufficient and finds that he compares unfavorably with others. Because of his inability to control and manage his life with his own efforts he concludes the following in verse thirteen. “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.” He admitted failure in his effort to control his surroundings and his own life in order to produce the satisfaction he desired. The recognition that one is not able to control their own life to their own satisfaction is the first step toward relinquishing control of one’s life.
The second step is to recognize that there is Someone who is abundantly able to guard, to control, and to fulfill that which is best for our lives. He is the only One who knows us perfectly, who has designed us with an eternal purpose, and who is aware of our past, present, and future. He alone knows what each day will bring, because he has written it in His book before the beginning of time. (Psalm 139:16) Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us that “The Lord Himself will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.” It is when we are most aware of our need that we can be assured of His care. Job was a man who was under duress of a degree which few have experienced except the Lord Jesus. His torment was unexplained to him. All his friends but three deserted him, and they accused him. Yet, even in his worst moments he realized the truth of God’s control of his life. “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When He is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:8-10)
The truth is that it is impossible to escape the fact that the Lord has complete knowledge (El Roi-the God who sees), complete control (El Elyon ), and is the One who pours forth spiritual and temporal blessings on our lives. (El Shaddai) This knowledge should produce a trust in the Lord as to His infinite love and perfect control of our lives. Such a One as this is the One who created each of us for His glory and will prepare us to share His Glory for eternity. Knowing these truths intellectually, and living in the power of them, however, are two different things. If we are convinced that He is able to control our lives and that He is the only One able to do this, then why don’t we trust Him to do it?
In his book, Disciples are Made, not Born, Walt Henrichsen states that both God and mankind want the same thing, namely, what is best for mankind. The problem is that mankind wills one path, while God wills another path. It is, ultimately, our will that stands in the way of relinquishing control. It is only in relinquishing that control that we are able to enter the path that God has chosen for us. In His will and in His path there is to be found the security and significance which our hearts desire. Ray Stedman once commented that to ask in God’s will meant three things. 1) What God wants. 2) Dependence on Him to do it. 3) Dependence on His process to do it. If we are to release control of our lives and rest in Him, it will come from trusting Him for these same three things in our lives. Firstly, what God wants is that the Lord Jesus be manifested in our lives each moment of every day. We are united with Him for that purpose. Paul states in Galatians 2:20. “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (KJV) It is God’s will that the invisible Christ is made visible in our lives each moment of every day.
Secondly, we are dependent fully upon the work of the Holy Spirit to manifest the risen Christ. As the Lord Himself depended fully upon the Holy Spirit to manifest the Father through His life, we are to depend moment by moment for the Holy Spirit to manifest the life of Christ. Indeed, He tells us this in John 17:18. “As you sent me into the world I have sent them into the world.”
Lastly, to be controlled by Him, we are dependent upon his process to accomplish his will. This process is described in II Corinthians 4:10-11. “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.” This process provides opportunities to depend upon His power to manifest His presence. The circumstances that come our way each day are orchestrated by our Heavenly Father for one purpose, that the risen Christ may be made visible in and through our lives. The response that we make to each event in our lives is made in dependence upon the Holy Spirit with one end in mind, that Jesus would be made visible and the Father would be glorified. Some of these situations in which we find ourselves are pleasant, and we are thankful for them. Others seem to have no meaning or purpose at all. Still others represent difficulties for which there is no explanation. Some, however, we can see in retrospect have represented situations in which the Lord clearly wanted to manifest Himself. Such an event was described by Jim Peterson in his book, Living Proof.
While in Brazil, he had labored for months with one man, sharing the Bible at length, exposing him to different people, various authors, meetings and requiring much prayer. When he at last confessed that he had trusted Christ, Jim asked him what the key event was that had convinced him. He asked about various talks, conversations, scripture references, etc. His friend looked at him and said, “No, none of those things.” “Then what was it?,” asked Jim. His friend said that one evening Jim’s family was in an uproar during the Bible study and they could hardly concentrate on the topic. His wife was in tears and Jim calmly went over to her, held her and spoke words of comfort to her. His friend then said that his response to that trying situation was what convinced him of the reality of the message that Jim had been teaching him. He then said “That was the kind of life that I needed, and your faith in Christ is what I wanted in my life.”
We were created by the Lord to be controlled by Him. As J.I. Packer once commented, “When we stand before Him in glory, we will then see that nothing that was needed for our perfection in Him was omitted. We will also see that nothing was permitted that was not necessary to complete His work in us.” As we release the control of our lives to Him, we enter into a security and significance from Him and with Him that glorifies Him and will prepare us for our role in His eternal Kingdom. May the Lord direct you in His will, by His power, and through His process to accomplish His work through your life.
In Christ, Richard Spann