The Tyranny of Control

"Control Freaks" develop this habit out of fear and a desire to stay safe. They were deeply wounded at one time by physical, verbal and mental abuse. They were not given a "say-so" in the decisions made that affected their life.

Therefore, they decided to take control as soon as they got older. Now they are hyper-vigilant and over-reacting in their approach to life. They believe that "their" way is the only safe way; and therefore, the best way to do things and to make decisions.

They vehemently fight against anyone or thing that threatens their carefully choreographed routine in life. They hide behind anger in order to stay in control and to feel safe.

Most wounded people will adopt a mindset of attempting to control everything about the people in their life too - even when another's decisions have no real effect on their life.

Our only hope of salvation from this demonic plague of fear, self-preservation and control is to realize that God has a perfect plan for our life. No matter what terrors we experience, God is with us in the midst of them, and worthy of all of our praise.

We can trust God with our life. No matter what terrors we experience, God is with us in the midst of them. His presence sustains us and provides for us. He is worthy of all of our praise.

With our confidence in God's faithfulness, we speak up only when someone's decision has an immediate bearing on our life, and we allow others reap the consequences of their own decisions. We mind our own business and pray for others.

We have our confidence in God alone, and that gives us peace and calm regardless of circumstances. We never insist on our own way, but we do insist on finding a Plan C when we and the significant people in our life cannot agree on their Plan A or our Plan B.

If they are unwilling to compromise their plans with us, then we give them the freedom to make their decisions; but then we prayerfully and calmly make our own decisions in order to keep our self safe from reaping the consequences of their decisions.

God has a perfect will for our life. We find it by praying without ceasing; we walk in it by walking in the Spirit, so we do not succumb to the idiosyncrasies and neurosis of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25); and then, we reap the rewards of a life, which is faithful to His love and His will.

Prayer:

Father God, it is not natural for us humans to obey You or to rely on You from the depth of our heart. Our emotions are fickle and shallow at best. Yet, if we obey Your Biblical mandates, we prove that we love You and are willing to walk in Your ways.

If we surrender our will, desires, dreams and goals to Your Spirit's direction, and live in Your will each moment of our day, we live a fulfilled, spiritual and successful life. We will prosper mentally, emotionally, financially and physically as well (John 14:15).

Thought for the Day:

There is healing from this unresolved trauma in the presence of God and our Savior Jesus Christ; this world is dysfunctional and trials are inescapable, but surrendering the pain of the past to the Trinity for healing is the only way to get completely free from its tyranny in our life.

Victorious Living

 

In this life, we often struggle with victory and are overcome by negative circumstances and trials. We focus on the negative aspects and surrender to Satan's lies, ending in depression and defeat. We cannot allow the devil to win victories in our life.

If we consciously embrace the fact that we are blood-bought children of God, we get a glimpse of what it means to live in abundance in body, soul and spirit. We find this life of freedom only through total submission to Christ in God.

God is our Father and He made Jesus our all, who is above all - even the angels - and lives in every authentic Believer. He also lives through us as we totally surrender our plans, goals and desires to Him.

Jesus and our Father are one (John 10:30); and in Christ we too are one with Jesus and our Father God (John 17:21), led by the Holy Spirit and fulfilled in both this life and the next (Galatians 5:15-25). We no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus came to live, suffer and die so that we might have abundant, victorious life on earth and for eternity (John 10:10). We are born of the flesh and are hindered by the flesh, but as authentic Believers we are also born of the Spirit (John 3:6).

We cannot see the wind, but we can see the effects of the wind. In this same way, we cannot see the Trinity at this time, but we can see and feel the effects of their presence within us and as they use us to further God's Kingdom on this earth (John 3:8).

Jesus made the point with the rich, young ruler that no one is good regardless of how closely we keep the precepts of the law. Jesus even told the young man that only God is good. Only as we recognize God's presence in us can we accomplish anything for the glory of God (Luke 18:19).

Prayer:

Father God, You call all of us who are weary and heavily burdened to come to You to find rest - not as this world gives, but only as You supernaturally give us in abundant supply. As we share Your yoke, we learn from You and You shoulder and take the burden of our load of worries and cares and give us Your light and easy yoke in its place (Matthew 11:28-30).

You are our God of peace and you wholly sanctify us as we totally surrender our life and our burdens to You. We live a victorious life of abundance in You. You preserve our spirit, body and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings - and make us blameless when we stand before You at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Thought for the Day:

God is faithful, and He calls us to Himself and provides us with eternal salvation for our entire body, soul and spirit now and throughout eternity. - 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Freed from Bondage

 

If we are interested, God will teach us His ways and help us to walk on His paths (Psalm 25:4). He forgives us, defends us, provides for us and takes revenge for us on those who inflict harm on us in any way.

God takes the persecution of His Saints personally and He will avenge His own (Acts 9:4; Romans 12:19). It is easier for us to forgive others when we know that God will take them off our hook and put them firmly on His.

They will not escape their punishment from Him (Luke 17:2). Our forgiveness of them does not exonerate them from the wrong they perpetrated on us, but it frees us from being in bondage to them through our unforgiveness.

When we exact the revenge our self, it shows a lack of faith in God's protective care for us. We do not believe God cares or can make the person pay for what they did or said to us.

Attempting to vindicate our self leads us into trouble which often makes matters worse and leaves us more vulnerable than ever before (Deuteronomy 32:35-36; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30).

When we view life from a temporal rather than an eternal viewpoint, we often think that God is taking too long to make things right.

We also overlook our call from God to function in the ministry of reconciliation (Ephesians 1:18), and that we are filled with God's Spirit and firmly established in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

God's Spirit gives us the advantage in life by providing us with power in spiritual warfare, which is where much of our abuse by others is initiated (Mark 3:14-15).

Prayer:

Father God, open the eyes of our understanding and enlighten us of Your exceeding power within us. Show us the glory of our inheritance with Your Saints (Ephesians 1:18-20). Open our eyes and spiritual ears and teach us to walk in Your Spirit. Teach us to draw our strength, wisdom and grace from Your Spirit who abides within us.

Thank You for removing us from the Kingdom of darkness and freeing us from Satan's bondage over our life through Christ in us. Reveal to us the extent of Your power within us and teach us how to use it for Your glory and to further Your Kingdom on the earth.

Thought for the Day:

Our lack of power in our Christian walk stems from the fact that we do not fully understand our identity in Christ and the power of His Spirit within us.