Relinquish Control

No soul can be really at rest until it has given up all dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone. As long as our expectation is from other things, nothing but disappointment awaits us. Hannah Whitall Smith

When we come to Jesus with our cares and burdens, He asks us to leave them there with Him. But when we insist on taking them back, we are really saying that we cannot trust Him with our burdens. We are saying that we don’t have confidence in Him to manage and take care of them for us. When we take them back, we worry about how we think our burdens should be taken care of. How our issues should be solved. We want things done our way and in our time. We don’t seem to understand that God, in His omniscience, wants so much more for us and in His omnipotence can do so much more for us than our feeble human frame can. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) says,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God is waiting for us to see that His ways are higher than our ways. He is waiting for us to relinquish control. To let go of the reins. He is waiting for us to stop trying to solve our problems ourselves so that He can be given the room that He needs to do what only He can do – the impossible.

 This is what Hannah Whitall Smith so wisely says,

“It is wonderful what miracles God works in wills that are utterly surrendered to Him. He turns hard things into easy (things) and bitter things into sweet. It is not that He puts easy things in the place of the hard, but He actually changes the hard thing into an easy one.”

Indeed, the things that we find hard to bear now become easy because God changes our perspective on them. He helps us see that when He is in control, He will give us:

Hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5)

Peace in the midst of the storm (John 14:27)

Grace to carry us through (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Patience to wait on Him (Psalm 37:7-9)

Faith that can move mountains (Matthew 17:20)

I would like to challenge you today to relinquish the control that you may have taken over your burdens and give them to Jesus. When you do, He will do what seems impossible to you. 

The willingness to be and to have just what God wants us to be and have, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else, would set our hearts at rest, and we would discover the simpler life, the greater peace. Elisabeth Elliot

Reflect 

Are you having difficulty relinquishing control over the situations you are facing? Take time to think about your limited wisdom and resources, and God’s limitless, infinite wisdom and power.

Prayer 

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you that you know exactly how to solve the challenges I am facing. Lord, I relinquish every right that I think I have over these challenges. The right that I believe I have to try to solve them myself. Lord, help me to trust You and not doubt that You are more than able to do what I cannot do. Thank You that You are a miracle-working God. I yield to You so that You can do what is best for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.