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.

Heaven Can't Wait

Heaven is a place that may or may not exist. We cannot prove it is there; although several people say they went there during a near death experience, came back to life on this earth and wrote a book to tell about what they saw.

If heaven is not a real place, then our view of eternity is dim and our troubles on earth are intensified and depressing. Paul mentions that, in Christ, our trials on earth are a drop in the bucket compared to eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17); but if there is no heaven, then tribulation is hopeless.

Believing in Heaven takes faith, which is hope for unseen things (Hebrews 11:1). Yet, we have more than blind faith. Jesus lived on earth, suffered crucifixion, died, rose again, lived on earth for about 40 more days, and then was translated to heaven in His immortal body in front of eye witnesses.

When we surrender our life to God in salvation, we are joint heirs with Jesus of everything pertaining to God's Kingdom, including heaven. We are freed from the penalty as well as the penchant to sin and freely given the righteousness of Christ in exchange (Romans 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

God calls us to remove from our life the distractions on this earth, which compete with our relationship with Him. He invites us to draw nearer to Him each day as He fills us through our entire being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19, Amplified Bible).

We will finally grasp the reality of heaven when we pass from this life into eternity. First, we have the privilege of abiding in the presence of God moment by moment for the rest of our life on earth. He satisfies our longing and fills our hungry soul (Psalm 107:9).

Prayer:

Father God, as we grow spiritually, our intimacy with You increases daily, and our unity with You is more focused and dominates our thoughts, words and deeds. When You are our delight, You put Your desires in our heart (Psalms 37:4), and You shower us with Your love and blessings. As we commune with You each day, Your Spirit fills us with the divine nature and character of Christ who dwells within us (Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4). We decrease and He increases as we surrender our life, goals, plans and desires to You (John 3:30).

You help us to reject a life imprisoned in the here and now on this earth. We no longer concentrate on the temporal, but keep the eternal in constant focus; give us a consuming love for eternal rewards; fill us with Your Spirit and Your presence and walk in us through every trial we face in this life. Help us to draw nearer to You, and to live in eternity now (John 17:8).

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus whom He sent, which begins with the moment of salvation and continues in everlasting life in God's presence. - John 17:3

Emotional and Mental Health - The Whole Person

 

A lady, who has been in our church Body since before I started writing this blog, found out this week that I write a post as a nightly devotion. She said, "I'll bet it is a good read, because you are very spiritual, aren't you?"

I answered, "I write about what I'm learning at the time. I include the body and soul, as well as the spirit. I believe in ministering to the whole person." She stared at me like I had two heads.

I have a Biblical precedence for my ministry goal with my blog. God includes the body and soul with the spirit in his ministry to people as well (Psalm 23-all). During His ministry on earth, Jesus regenerated the spirit from death to life, forgave sins in order to free the soul and healed the sick in body and soul (Matthew-all; Mark 2:9).

Paul taught us to include the body and soul in our spirituality when he admonished, " So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

We can successfully accomplish nothing in this life apart from the Spirit of God. God even uses some unregenerate people to accomplish His will, although they do not even realize it (Ezekiel 29:4, 38:4).

If it is necessary, God will cause a donkey to speak by His power (Numbers 22:21-39).  He is a creative God, as well as a caring and loving God. He wants what is best for us. That is why He created Paradise as our original dwelling place.

It is the wayward, prideful choices we make that block God's blessings from our life. We want to do things our own way, controlling our own life and being responsible to or answerable to no one, not even to God.

God's ways are certainly higher than our ways, beyond human comprehension sometimes, which makes it harder to trust His wisdom and intentions. Yet, if we totally surrender to God's will, we find our self blessed beyond our most vivid imaginations.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for caring about our body and soul as well as our spirit (Psalm 23:1-3). You provide for all of our needs according to Your abundant riches (Philippians 4:19). You are worthy of all of our praise, service and attention. You want only what is best for us, even if we do not recognize Your intentions at the time.

We usually, eventually see the wisdom in Your answers to our prayers, even if we do not understand while we are in the midst of our trials. You send the right people at the right time in the right place to bless us beyond our expectations. We thank You for saving us through regenerating our spirit, sanctifying our soul, and we look forward to You glorifying our body when we see Jesus face-to-face.

Thought for the Day:

God gives us joy beyond words and new mercy every single morning. - 1 Peter 1:8; Lamentations 3:22-23