Stop Acting Like You’re God

That title…

I’ve heard that phrase a few times lately and every time it shakes me to my core.

I like to think I’m God. That I can play God. How? Because I love and need to be in control.

I’ve realized lately that fear and pride can be related to control. They usually are. Maybe trust issues can even be thrown in there, too.

Have you ever had to make a decision and you don’t know what to do? Yes, we can joke about the trivial life decisions – Chic-Fil-A or Bojangles? Mimosa or Bloody Mary? Chocolate or sour candy?

I mean the real life decisions. The big, seemingly scary ones that make you overthink what’s going to happen if you decide this route. Or, that route.

I think sometimes in our prayers for direction, we’re demanding answers from God. We may not even notice it, but our intentions play a big role.

Are you coming before the Lord with an open hand and a heart of submission ready to accept whatever answer He gives you?

Fear and pride creep into my circumstances when decision time is getting closer and closer and I still don’t feel the Holy Spirit leading me in a distinct direction. I begin panicking and getting anxious.

I doubt God. I think my timeline is best. I want control.

What’s ~~funny~~ ironic about all of this is, Jesus is the only perfect man to exist and yet as imperfect, sinful, messy humans we would rather take control then give it all to God.

Ultimately, God’s plan and timeline always prevails, but we so often pray for our timeline rather than His.

“He sees our future, He sees our present. He sees His plan for us. He sees our plan. He sees them on a collision course, and when that happens, out of an expression of His love, He will get our attention so that we might listen to Him and be saved from ultimate ruin.” – Charles Stanley

This is God being a good Father.

Wouldn’t you do that with your family or best friends? If you saw them headed for trouble, wouldn’t you do something to stop them while coming from a place of love?

Sometimes He answers us through unanswered prayer because when a time sensitive situation happens, it causes us to examine our spirituality. If prayers aren’t being answered, sometimes it means we’re asking for the wrong reason (James 4:3), we’re being disobedient (1 John 3:22), or we’re asking outside of God’s will (1 John 5:14).

“Closed doors to prayer may sometimes be a sign of God’s hand working to redirect our focus to other needful area of our lives.” – Charles Stanley

We fear the unknown and what lies ahead. Here’s a kicker, guys, we don’t deserve to know the unknown.

In a recent sermon, the preacher at my church made the point that we aren’t capable of comprehending God’s plan for us. If He laid it all out for us, we wouldn’t be able to process it. He is far too great and His plan is far too intricate for our human brains.

Not only are we not capable of comprehending it, we aren’t in a position to ask God to give us all the puzzle pieces. Who are we to ask the Creator to answer to us? We didn’t speak the Earth into existence. We didn’t part the Red Sea or leave the perfect triune to come to Earth and die for humanity’s salvation.

Jesus did.

Maybe there’s something in your life you’ve prayed about for a very long time and God hasn’t acted on it. Hence the trust issues. I’ve been there. I am there and, honestly, it had a part in me walking out on my relationship with Jesus in the past.

I walked out. But, Jesus never walks out on us or our situations.

I’m sorry sin has impacted your life in that way, but through it all, God is still good. We may question it. We may doubt His goodness. But, He is always at work through every punch life throws at us. His plan is just beyond our comprehension and that’s where faith steps in.

It’s time to set aside fear, pride, and trust issues and simply try to live in a state of peace and joy.

I say ‘try’ because I know how hard it is to give up control. I struggle with it daily. I pray for God’s will to be done because I do want to walk obediently in it, but I still find myself waiting for Him to make things happen on my timeline. I want Him to give me the answer I want or think is best for my situation.

I am not God.

Let’s Be Friends!

@morganashley_w