This morning I drove to the church office.  I drove all by myself.  I was in complete control of my car.  (If you missed yesterday’s sermon, you might want to check it out here to understand what I’m ranting on about!)  I know no matter what happens in the next few years with self-driving cars, I will struggle to give up my control.  Of course, I struggle to give up control in almost every area of my life.  Sometimes we have a choice to give up control and sometimes we don’t.  Any parent will tell you that once a child is born, control is taken away.  The parent has lost all control of their lives.  If they were able to keep control, they wouldn’t be up every two hours for feedings!

Life seems to be a fight for control.  As we saw yesterday, that fight started in the first three chapters of Genesis.  We naturally want control and can’t give it up.  But Jesus did.  He yielded to God’s will over His own.  It wasn’t easy and it cost Him a lot.  But He understands what it means to give up control.  With His help, with the help of the Holy Spirit within us, we too can give God control.

What areas of your life are you struggling to surrender?  I think for most of us, one area we all struggle to surrender is our schedules.  We are all so busy and the world keeps asking us to do more.  We just don’t have time to do anything.  And what is the first thing that seems to get cut when we have too much to do?  God’s time.  Whether we skip our time in God’s word, shorten our prayer time, drive past church on a Sunday morning on our way to do errands, or simply forget to pause with a word of gratitude before we quickly inhale our brief lunch, it’s always easier to short God on His time in order to fulfill our long to-do list.

In this season of Lent, what would it look like to give God complete control?  What would it look like to lay everything down at His feet and say “I can’t do it all…I can’t keep up with this schedule and I don’t’ want to keep cutting out my time with you.”  It’s amazing—when we yield control to God and follow His will, everything usually falls into place.  Some things don’t seem as important anymore and some things seem even more important.  In His perfect way, God reveals how all the pieces can fit together in the time He’s given us.

So whatever you’re holding on to, whether it’s time or some other area, ask God to help you find the strength to let go and give Him control.  Trust Him enough to be God and believe He loves you enough to want what is best for you!

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Jan