Jesus Take the Wheel: How to Let God Lead and Take Control
81I like to be in control. I do not want others to make decisions for me on what I eat, what I do, what I wear. I want to decide what occupation I do, where I work, what house I live in. I want to choose how many kids I have, when I go to sleep and when I wake up. Unfortunately for me, we often have limited control over our lives. I keep trying to make a life plan, but every time I do, there are twists and turns throughout my life.
For instance, I wanted to have children five years later, we decided to adopt an infant. I am happy to announce that our daughter moved into our house in July of 2009. She was five. As you can see, as I planned life, life went on happening without me. I don't know what my life would have been like
if things had turned out the way I planned them, but I might not have my beautiful daughter, and a great relationship with my husband. Although there was one thing I did have complete control over and that was my dedication to Jesus Christ and choosing salvation. Despite my lack of control over my own life, I have an incredibly blessed life, and I would not change any of it for the
world. God is in control of my life, and I would not have it any other way.
God Is In Control
Often times we need to humble ourselves and let God be in control. We try so hard to micro manage our lives, that we sometimes don't understand why things get so out of control. In those moments, it's time to hand over the reigns, and let God guide your life to where He wants it to be.
He is not going to let your life fall to shambles, in fact He says in His word,
For I know the plans I have for you. plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
As you can see, He wants us to succeed. In fact, He wants us to succeed
in our plans as well. But He also knows when there is a better route
for us to take. Just because we are not getting our way when we have
planned our life, does not mean it's not turning out for our good.
Ultimately, God is in control. If we hand over the reigns, he promises
to give us hope, listen to us, and help us prosper. One hubber sent me a link to this hub, Be Still and Know that I am God, it's filled with great verses that help remind us of His presence.
We Can Do Great Things Through Christ Our Lord
As we realize that we have limited control over this world, our need to reach for great things becomes more apparent. God will give us what we need through our talents and interests, so that way we can carry out his plans. We need to continue to make plans and forge forward, and remember to:
...do everything through Christ, who gives (you) strength. (Philippians 4:13).
He will also
...cause everything to work together for the good of those who love (Him) and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 28:8 ).
So we need to analyze our life, and see are we loving God. Do we try to please Him? One of the greatest ways to show you love Him is to Obey Him. Obey His commandments, do His will.Some of you may ask how do we know what our will is, well simply ask what are you good at, what do you think about most, what do you desire. Chances are, one of those answers will be the answer to what God has planned for you. One of the greatest books that helped me in that area was 48 Days To The Work You Love by Dan Miller.
God Will Take Care of Us
Although most of us who are Christians, know that God will take care of us with our minds, our hearts deceive us. We make plan after plan, when all God wants us to do is to trust him. Too often our planning is hindering God's ultimate plan for us and doesn't give us the opportunity to be blessed. Paul emphasizes this when he speaks to the Philippians:
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
Remember this comes from a man who at one time crucified Christians, but because of God's amazing grace turned from his wicked ways and found Jesus Christ as His savior. He had a true conversion. Paul understood his unworthiness, and yet was amazed at God's loyalty in caring for him.
God will take care of us and our needs. I have a friend who complains day after day that money is tight, but the truth is, despite the hardship, her daughters have clothes, they have food, they have a vehicle, they have a home. Their life is hard, but God has not abandoned them. God understand that we might hurt and feel neglected, but that does not change the fact that He will take care of us.
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very nice encouraging hub, well written...
Encouraging sentiments.
Can't seem to help yourself, can you? I've read your writing that states Christain hubs just do not do well, yet here you are writing another one......I admittedly am no spirital giant. I went from intense right winged Christian dogma to close to being an atheist, and back to somewhere in which I am keenly aware of good and evil, but don't know what is what.
Still, I must way that I have been taken care of throughout this past year of underemployment, have made many new friends on my little part time job at Curves For Women, have stayed in shape with free workouts, and have been able to write non-stop. During my years of career success I held many positions at higher levels than most in my field ever reach, and that was one career goal. If I ever had a dream; however, it was to become a published writer, and not just another published writer, but one who is able to impact society in some positive way. I'm not sure of what I believe about the presence of God, but the difference between good and evil forces are clear to me. If you are correct, perhaps I'm moving in the right direction for my ultimate dream, though it feels I'm going nowhere while my family carries me through many, many months of poverty. Thanks for a positive upbeat hub. I wish I could be sure it is true. (:v
Angela, Of course another great hub. This is something we all need to remind ourselves as we try to manage our lives.
One of my "key" behaviors. However, "Faith without works is dead..." One must have the wisdom to "help." To be passive at times is the best choice. However, there are times you may "Thank God for unanswered prayers..."
I agree with what you said about adopting your five year old. You can't imagine life without that child now. But the bigger thing to me is that God knew that child needed YOU and you accepted His will. Awesome hub!
Thank you Captain Jimmy, I will make a reference to your hub in this hub. Thank you!
Thank you Samson. :) I appreciate that comment coming from you. :)
Thanks dahoglund!
Valerie, it is very true, christian hubs do not do well, but no I can't help myself. It's the essence of who I am. I am definitely sure of God's presence. I'll pray that someday God will bring you to an understanding of who He is more than just a definite understanding of good and evil. My beliefs feel that God is taking care of you, He is our ultimate provider. But He has His reasons for letting us through hardships, and sometimes even death. I believe in Him. Thank you for reading this, even if you don't know how you really feel. I appreciate your support even if we don't see quite eye to eye on everything. Then I guess we'll never meet a person who believes exactly as we do all the time.
Thank you Aunt Barb, I appreciate your comment. :)
Dallas, one of my greatest thank yous to God is for an unanswered prayer. If he had provided a baby in my womb, I would never have met my daughter. Although I wouldn't know the difference, I can't imagine life without her. :)
Thank you bayoulady, I've never really thought about it in those terms. :)
Actually in all respect, God gave us dominion on earth and we make decision some good some bad. Then we live in that results.
An Interesting Hub.
Thanks Vladimir. Yes, you are very right, but I still do believe there are somethings God is in control of.
If you know that God is in control, why do you insist on trying to have things your way. You know God has set your path and has plans for you, it is like you don't like his ways or ideas.
Brother Dave.
Just some encouragement
2Cr 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Ti 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
God speed
Thanks for the uplifting hub. I really needed that verse from Jeremiah today and appreciate you putting that in. Life is so much easier when we let go and trust in God's path. God Bless.
Brother Dave, I think it's very important to still strive for things, but I recognize He is in control. We need to make sure our plans have Him in mind, and that we know that we are being true to Him in all our decisions.
Thanks Hoowantsono for the encouraging verses.
Minnetonka Twin, that's actually one of my favorite verses of all time. :)
Angela_michelle
I am a type A, on the move, planning and preparing type of person who strives to push on through life. I reach one goal and then look to see what is next. I am learning more and more to ask Jesus to show me each step of the way. I want Him to engulf every bit of me until people no longer see me, but see him. What I hear you saying in your hub is that we really have little control over the world or even our lives because ultimately God is in control. I totally agree. In my learning to submit and surrender all that I think is right He is moving in me and more and more - every day he is the air I breathe. I have been a Christ folower for 24 years and I have had many times in the valley and yet always, alaways he brings me out..and lifts me up...To Valerie, I will pray for you too. Your honesty about where you are can be taken to prayer - even if you are not sure that there is even a God who hears pray" telling him the truth about how you feel and asking him to reveal truth will take you so far...God bless you in your journey
Angela - be blessed in Jesus
CS
Coffeesnob, thank you so much for your beautiful comment. Someday I would like to say I have been a Christ follower for 24 years. I became a Christian when I was 20 years old, and let's just say I am not yet 44. Thanks for sharing.
This is a beautiful heartfelt testimony. Thank you for sharing your shortcomings. I know I relate. I like to think I can steer the ship. I am grateful I try not to any longer. It is to time consuming and as you shared the plans always change. Gods plan is much better then my finite mind could muster up. Make plans do not plan the out come.
I Love your writing style. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet believers at the hubs. DO come over for a visit. You have a new fan. Love ya.
Very enlightening.
On many occassions in life, we just have to let go and let God take the wheel.
Very nice. I enjoyed reading this hub. It is definitely great to find other Christians on Hubpages. Being new at it, I didn't realize that Hubpages is such an "anti-christian" community. But that can change . . .
Again, very nice hub.
Skyetoday,, I really liked how you said, "Make your plans, but do not plan the outcome." Or something like that. i think I am going to steal that from you. :) Yes, it's so refreshing to find Christians on here. Hubpages isn't always very friendly to Christian believers.
Exactly freelanceauthor. Sometimes I forget that just a little too often. :)
Tina, maybe I'm just too sensitive. I just know that I often will get negative feedback for Christian stuff. Maybe it's my way of expressing my Christianity, who knows. :) Don't get discouraged because you heard me say that. I could be wrong.
Great hub. It really inspired me, and it was something I needed to hear. You never know when what you write touches someone, and reading this touched me.
very uplifting and I am truly proof people cant plan every detail of their lives. My life has completely turned upside down this last year. Great hub!!!
This is all just religious hogwash. Get real, get up on your feet and help put people for real than waiting for miracles to happen.
Angela said:
"we sometimes don't understand why things get so out of control. In those moments, it's time to hand over the reigns, and let God guide your life to where He wants it to be."
I can NOT let a statement like this go Angela because you're making a big mistake. God is not an external being. God exists WITHIN you. The consciousness that you call yourself or Angela is actually God.
Then you said: " ... Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)"
To call upon God, in the name of God (which we are told is "I AM"), you say "I AM " This essentially amounts to imagining you already have that which you pray for (sound familiar?).
You have already proven my assertion to be true. You imagined yourself adopting a child....poof! prayers answered...you got a new child.
God is internal and HE is You! Please consider what I say because its very important...God wants me to tell you this...He's not external...You do play a part in His play...but YOU are the only director.
-Pete
FEED MY SHEEP
This morning's subject is "Feed My Sheep." This is simply saying: practice the truths you have heard, for it
means to shepherd the thoughts of the mind. For most of us, our thoughts are like rambling sheep that have
no shepherd. We are called upon now to rule the thoughts, to rule the mind. As you know, the kingdom of
Heaven is as a man starting into a far country, and he calls unto himself his servants and gives them his
property, his goods. To one he gives five talents, to another he gives two, and to another he gives one -
"every man according to his several ability", and when he returned he asked for a reckoning. The one who
had five traded and produced another five. He was highly commended and told as he was faithful over a few
things he would now be ruler over many. The one who had two, he too traded and produced four, and he
too was highly commended and told to enter into the joy of the Lord; but the one who had one was afraid
because his master - so he thought - was a hard man, and so he buried his talent in the earth and did not
expand it. But I think you know the story. He was condemned for his misuse of the talent. It was taken from
him and given to the one who had the most, the one who had ten.
Well, now you have received talents in the last few days or few weeks, each one according to his ability.
Some of us came with more prejudice to overcome, with more superstition, some with other beliefs that did
not quite coincide with what we heard from the platform, and many of us had to overcome certain things
before we could accept others. So, some got one talent, some two, some five, some maybe more. Now, a
talent that is not exercised, like a muscle that is not exercised, finally sleeps, and as far as we are concerned,
it atrophies. It doesn't really die, but it goes so sound asleep, it might just as well not be part of ours. We
must practice what we have heard, for without practice the most profound understanding in the world will not
produce the desired results. So a little talent, call it a talent now, if you really expand it, if you exercise it, will
be far more profitable than many talents that you do not exercise.
This morning we will just take one or two of the talents that we offer you - I can't force them upon you - we
offer you. Here is a statement from the Book of Amos, "I will sift the House of Israel among all nations, like
as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." I will sift him and scatter him all
over the nations of the world, but not the least grain shall fall upon the earth. Do you know who Israel is?
Who this Jacob is? The Israel means "Is Real." You can't find it on the earth; don't look for it on the earth -
and yet you must find him, for " formed him in the womb to be my servant and to bring Jacob, which is Israel,
again unto me." [Isaiah 49:5] So you and I were formed from the womb to be the servant and to bring Jacob
unto the Lord. He is scattered all over the world but you will not find him, no not the smallest grain upon the
earth, but you will find him within yourself. For the cue is given in Jacob. Jacob is the smooth skinned lad; he
is not like his brother Esau who has hair, which means something external, so the Israel you are looking for
this day is the thing you want to realize in the world. Do not look out and hope to find it or even to be
encouraged that you will find it by judging after the appearances of things. Do you seek health for a friend?
That's Israel scattered, but not on earth. In all the nations of the world I have scattered the house of Israel,
but do not look into the eyes of a doctor for hope. Do not look into the eyes of the patient for hope of his
recovery because you will not find him on earth. Not the least grain has fallen upon the earth.
So do you know what you want in this world? If you know exactly what you want, where do you see it? You
see it in the mind of yourself - that's where you see it - so when you know what you want, here is a part of
Israel scattered, and you didn't see him on earth, you saw him in the kingdom within you, for the Kingdom of
God is within. So you saw a piece of Israel; now go bring him. I formed you from the womb to be my servant
and to bring Jacob again unto me. You take that thing you have seen in the mind's eye, which, to make it
practical, we will think of as a friend in need. It may be physical need; maybe he is unwell, or it could be he
needs a job. Well, now, you be the one who will decide what part of Israel you will bring to the Lord and
prove to the Lord you are a perfect servant; for the promise is that when you prove you are the perfect
servant, then you will no longer be called servant, he will call you his friend. "I no longer call you servant for
now I call you friend for you do whatsoever I command you and, therefore, if you do what I command you,
you are no longer my servant, you are my friend." And now we will commune as a man to a friend, face to
face, and after you have had this association for a while, for that is the purpose of it, to move from the servant
to the friend, and after we become the friend of God for a while, then we turn to that of the Son. We no
longer are the friend, we become his Son, but we cannot recognize the Sonship of God until we first prove
ourselves as a servant. So the servant is to bring Israel. Now, we come back to the friend in need. Represent
him to yourself as though he now embodied the state you want him to realize in this world. If it is a job, see
him gainfully employed, take your imaginary hand, which is Jacob's hand, and put it into his imaginary hand -
leave it in that imagined state until it takes on the tones of reality. When it seems to you real, that you are
actually touching him, clothe it with all the reality of the external world. So Jacob clothes himself in the skins
of Esau to deceive his father into believing that he, Jacob, was Esau. So you take the Jacob within you, which
is the smooth-skinned lad, which is simply now the wish.
You want to congratulate him. You want to hear his voice. You want to hear him tell you he has never been
so happy in a job in his life, he has never been so gainfully employed, that he loves going to work, he just
loves everything about the job. You actually hear himas though you heard him. Now you clothe it with all the
tones of reality. If you have two talents give it two, if you have five give it five; begin to make it more and
more real. The day will come, maybe this day, you will so clothe your Israel with the skins of Esau that you
can actually bring it as an objective fact to your Father and prove you are a servant, for he formed you from
the womb to actually be his servant; and what is the servant to do - to bring Jacob unto me again. So here
Jacob is scattered - lost in all the minds of men. You won't find him on the earth, you will only find him if you
know where to look. Now to prove you know where to look, to prove you are a good servant, go bring me
Jacob; so when you bring Jacob you bring Jacob clothed in your own mind's eye as though you heard what
you want to hear, as though you touched and you witnessed what you would like to touch and see in this
world. And when you remain faithful to your vision, the vision willmake for itself that perfect body in which to
abide. Then you will see an objective corresponding fact, but it is not there, it is allwithin your own mind; it is
there where he scattered it, it is there where he sustains it. He will simply project it for you onto the screen of
space that youmay have tangible evidence that you do know how to find and bring Jacob. If I know how to
go searching for my Israel, if I know how to go looking for him and how to clothe him and give him the
appearance of reality and I don't do it, then I am not the good servant who took the five talents and
expanded them; I amthe one who buried it.
Now, some of us are almost afraid to test it because we are comforted if we can believe this without quite
putting it to the test, for if we put it to the test and we fail, then we have no faith. We cannot go back to the
former comfort that we enjoyed, say,
Lesia, I am so glad that it touched you. :) I always hope my writing touches someone.
izettl, I think there are more people like us, but I am curious what has happened in your life to make you come to this realization. :)
Very Interesting PJK,Thanks for your input.
Hey Angela...like this hub of yours...I am also liking this time in America where Jesus is back in the spotlight. John 3:16 and its message of invitation just aired in a Focus on the Family commercial, Tim Tebow inspires young people with his faith, and now the Cindy Tucker song John 3:16 has catapulted a relativley unknown singer/songwriter into the spotlight. Keep up the dialogue....in His name.
I'm curious what country are you from. We are very blessed in America to have freedom of religion!
Captain Jimmy 21 months ago
Good Hub!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Be-Still-and-Know-that-I-A