Waiting, especially when you want something really bad, can feel like it takes forever to get. For instance, when I graduated, it took my school over 3 months to send me my diploma. Then there's the things that God only knows when will take place, i.e. jobs, marriage, where I'll end up in five years, etc. Something that I've always had a hard time with is waiting on God.
In my life, there's nothing more I'm afraid of than being out of control. By having control I feel safe, secure. In relationships, if I didn't like the "pace" I took charge. Same thing with extracurricular activities. Now while some of those leadership qualities are admirable, other times I (whether intentional or not) demoted God in my life. It's like having someone ride "shot gun" or "co-pilot", yet she is constantly trying to get control of how the driver operates.
Then God reminds me of how much I'm not in control. On Monday, someone or persons decided to place multiple bombs around Boston and detonate them during the Boston Marathon. Fortunately there were people who were trained to handle emergency situations (and I'm grateful for them as I'm sure the people there were); however, I also came to realize through watching the news on it that I'm not in control as much as I presumed I was. Today I could have died in my sleep as a result of a brain aneurism or getting hit by a car while out for a run, I could have been a runner or spectator at the marathon yesterday and died from injuries. There are so many things that we're not in control of, and as much as we like to think we are, it doesn't make much of a difference.
God created the heavens and the earth. All things, from the chlorophyll to Mount Kilimanjaro. And it is through His will whether or not things exist on earth or altogether stop existing. The choice we need to make is are we able to submit to His will or forsake him for the short-lived opportunity to follow what we want to do. Jesus said that anyone who acknowledges him here on earth, he will acknowledge at the end times. So what will we decide? And on a personal challenge, what will you decide?
I've read a book called the Invitation. It's about what does discipleship mean in terms of following Christ. What's great about the book is the author humanizes the people in the Bible. Now this may sound weird to some people, but the people in the Bible (sans Jesus Christ and God) weren't perfect. Peter denied Christ 3x after pledging not to leave Jesus; King David was "a man after God' own heart" and yet he had an affair with a married woman and plotted to have her husband killed in the front line of battle. These people had issues like every other person on earth does. The beauty is God still wants you, though His saving grace, we are allowed to be a part of God's family. He'll comfort us from Satan's flaming arrows. He'll provide a shelter when we feel there is no place to rest our head. And he'll also love us unconditionally.
Now that's freedom from control. The question is, am I ready to let go and surrender to Christ? Are you?
