Our lives could be so much easier….

If we just gave the control to God!  Why are we so afraid to let go and let God take control of our lives?

I was thinking about this the last time I was on a plane.  I had worked for an airline a long time, and I knew the precautions they put in place to assure a safe flight.  All the same, I was a nervous flier.  So, as I was sitting there waiting for take off, I was contemplating this fear, and I realized it was because flying was one thing I had no control over.  I couldn’t even fool myself into thinking I had control.  No, I was totally at the mercy of the flight crew, the ground crew, those in the control towers, the weather, and the structural integrity of the aircraft itself.  I could do nothing to ensure we would take off, fly, and land safely at our destination. As I was thinking about this, God brought a thought to my mind, “like your whole life…control. Let go.”

That was a great moment for me in my faith journey.   I immediately intensified my already planned pre-flight prayer.  My normal “please calm my fear” prayer had radically changed, and so had my life, as I would soon come to realize.

My prayer when something like this.

God, I realize I have no control over this flight I am about to take, but I also realize I if I had control, I would be helpless to do much.  I recognize my fear comes from lack of control but also from the realization that I also lack the understanding to fly this plane, even if I had control.  For me to say to the pilot, “do this” or “do that” would be silly.  I have no real understanding of the circumstances and needs of the moment.

The eyes of my heart and mind are wide open, God, and I see how I have lived my life a lot like that.  I say to the Pilot of my life, “do this” or “do that” when I have no real understanding of my circumstances and the real needs of the moment.  I can’t see them from the Pilot’s viewpoint.  And so I sit in worry and fear, in despair and depression, and in anxiousness and stress, when all I really need to do is let the Pilot have control and trust Him, knowing that He knows all that is needed for my life at any and every moment. Forgive me, Jesus.  Please forgive me. I give you permission to be the Pilot of my life from now on.  Amen

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

Why carry all the burdens when we can just let them go, and let the One who can really make the right course corrections, the right flying decisions, and the perfect weight reduction.

I’m renewing my strength every day now.  I know where to go when I’m troubled.  I know who to trust with the controls of my life.

I hope you will give your life to the One who can lighten your load and help you renew your strength and soar like the eagles.  Life is so much better this way.