There are things in life you can control and things in life you can’t.
Overall the things in life you can’t control outweigh the things you can.
The World seems to be set up that way, but it’s hard to tell when you are in the middle of it.
There comes a time when this awareness, this lack of ability to control ceases to be important.
Why?
I think of how God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, to fulfil His call of Place and Purpose. Adam, whether or not he realised it, had a sphere of influence. Was Adam aware of this? You can debate it either way I think. I sometimes wonder how different things would have been had Adam trusted, and I mean fully invested who and what he was to that state of faithful trust that God, Creator and Father and Sovereign had things under control.
To be in the presence of the One whose Love was responsible not only for the things that can be controlled but also of the things that can’t... My realisation that I play only a very minuscule part in God’s overall plan brings me to a point of both humility and gratitude.
Things don’t always pan out the way I want them to. After all it’s not my level of ability to control that is important. Is it? It is all about Who God is and What He does. And, even more important Why He does it.
Adam felt he needed to do things his way. He ignored the role had had been created for. He didn’t take the critical step up to assume the mantle of husband, and later father. (I am thinking of Cain and Abel here, and how different it might have been had Adam put down boundaries that were clear and which were enforced. But I digress into speculation.)
Adam stood back and allowed things to develop. He didn’t step in and say “Eve, listening to the Serpent is a really bad idea.” And by doing so prevent disaster. By doing so, fulfil his mandated role of Priest, Prophet and King, by doing so exerting his small in the moment influence that ended up having massive consequences generations to come. I need to look at the example of Adam and know that’s not the right response and build on that. But also to know that even though we make mistakes God is there working out the perfect rescue plan, and Oh, Praise Him for how Perfect that plan was and is! Amen.
If only ... to be able to step back and acknowledge God as Father, and allow Him to guide and advise. Through Scripture, through Prayer, through Worship, through every day seeking a fuller, deeper relationship with Him.
I can almost say that what I can’t control doesn’t worry me. I confess that I still sometimes lie awake at night when it is still and dark, and turn things over in my mind, instead of doing what I know I should and admit that there are Big Things and that there are little things, but each and every one of them really, belongs to God. And the things I can control, I shouldn’t try to without first seeking God and bringing my worries, my cares and concerns to the Throne of the Father as he tells me I should, as is my right as a true Son of God
In the end I am humble that God allows me to be in a place of small influence, and I am grateful that I can step up into that Place and Purpose God has created for me, every day, fully acknowledging Him knowing that only by looking to Him and being with Him do I have any hope of getting even the most minuscule bit of it right!