Is there an area of your life where you consistently lack peace?

No matter how many times you’ve tried to “get it under control”, you can’t.  It gets the best of you and seems to mock you, putting your flaws on parade in front of you and other people.

Then congratulations!  You’re human, having a human experience.

So what if the solution for humanity’s common struggle is surprisingly simple?  Not easy necessarily.  Simple.

I have a question for us.  What is the hallmark of Jesus’s presence in our lives?  In every biblical situation where Jesus was present, what was the result?

He said it Himself: Peace.

When He rules an area of our lives – instead of our feeble attempts to control our behavior or our less-than-effective ways to muster up our own confidence/ courage/ strength – we can rest in Him.  We surrender the control we presume we have and give it to the One who actually does.

Jesus calmed storms.  He healed people of real ailments like blindness and lameness and bleeding disorders.  He encouraged an adulteress and lovingly spoke with a lady who’d been married five times and was living with her boyfriend.

In each scenario, Jesus righted things that were out of order in each person’s life, things that weren’t in line with His perfect plan for them.  He doesn’t want people to be sick, lame, diseased, or having sex indiscriminately.  And He didn’t want His disciples to perish in a storm.

So He showed up and brought His peace with Him.  

When each person came to Him with their need & limitations (their broken body, messed-up relationships, storm-tossed ship), He brought His authority over the situation and BAM!  Magic happened.

Miracles, actually.

In order for Him to do the same for us, we must admit we can’t do it ourselves.  That we can’t control our over-eating, we can’t heal what hurts inside our hearts or even figure out WHAT hurts us so much, that we can’t ever make “enough” money to satisfy our limitless pit of wants, that we can’t bring back a miscarried child or undo abuse we’ve endured.

We can’t do it.  We are humans, having a human experience, and that human experience is that WE LACK CONTROL.

The sooner we recognize our common limitation, the sooner we’re able to get help from the One with none!

I can tell you from my own life that He waits and allows us to make our own poor choices before “interfering”.  He will not rob you of your God-given freedom of choice!  God will let you continue on your broken path, messing up your life, trying to gain control over everything and everyone around you (or appearing to gain control, that is).

Sometimes He’ll allow reminders in your life to show you that you aren’t in control, such as illness or financial struggles or a failed relationship. Is that His will for you? Likely not. But He wants you to come to depend upon Him because your life will never make sense until you do.

So why don’t we just stop the crazy cycle and get off the control train? Let’s admit we don’t have it under control and that we never did!  And then let us – in that same breath – ask Him to take control of our lives. NOT IN A CREEPY WAY – He is not a control freak!

He will only take over the areas you’ve given Him.  But until you surrender them to Him, those areas of your life will be in chaos.  Please take it from me!  But if you’re a true control freak, you likely won’t take my word for it, will you?  I know I wouldn’t have before I went through my own storms.  I was master of my own ship, or so I thought.

Surrender.  He asks for your surrender over each area, lovingly, gently, but firmly.  You can choose to… or cling to a delusion of control and your life will continue spiraling downward.  You’ll burn other people along the way and waste your life as a sinking ship.

Wherever Jesus reigns, peace rules. If Jesus is not in charge, chaos ensues.  

Give Him authority over every part of your life – especially the outta control ones – and watch Him change your life.  And quiet the storm in your heart – the struggle for control.