yielding control

As was the case a few weeks back, yesterday's message at Colossae was exactly what I needed to hear the Lord speak into my life. Based on the final section of 1 Peter, Chuck titled the message "Humility and Faith vs. Pride and Anxiety." At it's core, the message was focused on our deep need to humbly yield to the God our desire for control, our desire to know what is going on in our lives, and the resulting anxiety and stress, so that we might stand firm in our faith and live accordingly.

The Lord is our faithful creator (4:19), He has a mighty hand (5:6), and He is good (5:7). And still I (we) struggle to yield control and entrust my life to him; pride, and more specifically arrogance, gets in the way, compelling me to try and wrest control of my circumstances away from the One that is actually in control and who's best I actually want for my life. To live a life of faith, however, I must trust him from the core of my being, with the entirety of my being. Humility lives in faith, even amidst uncertainty.

There is far more to this message that I'm not touching on here. I've heard it twice and am still processing the first two verses. My intent here is merely to begin working through it for myself and to share it with others that also have a hard time yielding control of their circumstances to God. If that's you, please listen to it.

God's peace...   

1 Peter 5:6-11
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."