It’s so nice to know that God is in control.
If I trust Him wholeheartedly, then I can rest in the knowledge that He is in control of the entire universe.
That means that I don’t have to try to control every little detail of my life, which is exhausting and causes anxiety. This is what it means to ‘let go and let God’. It means surrendering the details of your life and trusting Him.
The biggest challenge is to keep trusting when things aren’t going well at all, and nothing seems to be turning out like you had planned. When you’re working your butt off at something for a long time, or some hardship blindsides you, or you lose someone you love, it’s extremely difficult to keep believing that God is good and He knows what He’s doing.
But He is good, He does know what He’s doing, and He has it all figured out. And if we mess up because we have free will, or if the negative powers that also exist in the world cause something bad to happen, God will fix that too. God orchestrates every event in our life for our good, to benefit us in this world and especially the next. One of my favorite lines is:
If it doesn’t come from God, you can’t force it.
If it does come from God, you can’t stop it.
What this saying teaches us is that we really needn’t worry, because God will eventually get us to where He wants us to go, and doing what He wants us to do. He will get us there for our own betterment and growth, no matter how bad we screw it up or no matter what negative forces try to stop it. If we put our trust in God, and surrender to Him, He’ll get us to where we need to be no matter what, you can count on it.
That’s why the Bible says to thank God in ALL circumstances. We don’t know what the heck he’s doing a lot of the time. But our understanding is drastically limited here. The Bible also teaches that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) And that His paths are unsearchable, beyond tracing out. (Romans 11:33) That means there’s always a reason for everything that happens to us, even when it feels awful and we don’t understand why it’s happening. There’s either a lesson in it for us, or a course-correction, a protection, something. Always.
That means that no matter how hard we try to understand, driving ourselves crazy with the ‘Why’s’ of life, we may never know on this side of Heaven. These tests of adversity were designed that way. If we knew why, then we wouldn’t need faith, would we? It’s ALL a test of our faith. So pray for Jesus to give you the steadfastness of faith to endure your tests, and He will give it to you.
Granted, some tests seem absolutely cruel. I’ve been there, believe me, in the depths of utter grief, loss and despair, not even wanting to live anymore. After tragedy, it can all seem pointless, I know from experience. But the Bible says thank Him, even in adversity, even when we don’t understand. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
The important thing to remember is that God is with us and for us. He loves us infinitely more than we can even fathom. He has a GOOD plan for us, not only while we’re here, but for our future in Heaven. We can trust Him.
Psalm 136
Isaiah 55:9
Romans 11:33
1 Thessalonians 5:18