God Is ForeverSampel

Control is fleeting, but GOD is forever 

I learned from a local doctor how common it is for teenage girls to cut themselves. Self-harm might seem like odd behavior, but the doctor’s reasoning made sense: “They want something they can control.” Many young woman are dealing with parents they can’t control (will they divorce?), friends they can’t control (will they share my secrets?), and a future they can’t control (will the college accept me?); so they turn to something they have total control of.

I’ve never been tempted to self-harm in that way, but I do understand the frustration of feeling out of control. 

Do you lose sleep thinking about the things you can’t control? Does anxiety consume you when you don’t know the future of your career, your chemo results, or your children’s choices? In a broken world, our fleeting ability to control things is frustrating.

This, by contrast, is why I adore GOD. The apostle Paul once said of our Savior, “By the power that enables him to bring everything under his control . . .” (Philippians 3:21). Note the word “everything.” There’s nothing you’re dealing with that’s out of Jesus’ grasp. Instead of turning to self-harm, we can turn ourselves to the Holy One who has everything under his control. Whether it’s wonderful or painful, Jesus has your whole world in his hands and uses it to draw you closer to GOD.

Friend, there’s no reason to fear, no matter how helpless you feel. The eternal GOD has things completely under control.

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