Control issues affect every human being at their core. Struggling with control issues means exerting influence over one’s environment or the actions or behaviors of another person. This sense of control is sometimes used excessively by those who fear the unpredictable and ambiguous, feel they need to prove themselves or fear losing control.
That's why I think it's crucial not only for our emotional health but also for our spiritual health to remember what's within our realm of control and what isn't:
Things You Can Control:
- Your screen time.
- Your exercise routine.
- Your sleep schedule.
- Your response.
Things You Can't Control
- What others post on social media.
- How much weight your friend lost.
- What others are doing tonight.
- What others think of you.
This list by no means is exhaustive as there are so many things we can put in these categories but as we look at our life, it's important to put all these things in their proper place to know what's in our control and what isn't.
I have also found the famous serenity prayer to be incredibly helpful during these times:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next."
Ultimately our sovereign God calls us to trust him. Trusting him means we walk by faith, not by sight. It means we seek him for wisdom to steward the resources and responsibilities he has given us. It means we believe his sovereign wisdom is right and best, even when we can’t make sense of it. It means that when we feel out of control, we choose to rest in his perfect control.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" - Matthew 6:25-26