Every picture I take has a story but sometimes I don’t know what it is right away. I see an object or a scene and think to myself, that has a story and I want to think about what it might be and what I can learn from it. One day while I was serving at a camp, I was leisurely browsing in the gift shop and reading some of the signs and posters there. This one caught my eye and made me laugh so I purchased it. When I shared it with a few friends, they also laughed and asked me to buy them one when I was in the gift shop again. So I hung it in my office to remind me what I do NOT want to be like.
Yesterday I looked up and read the quote again and got to thinking. Am I a control freak? I never thought of myself as one, but sometimes I do catch myself wanting to show someone “the right way to do that”. After all, there is a right and a wrong way to do some things, right?! That got me to thinking… What if you or I heard GOD saying that to you and me? “My child, there is a right way to…” Would we listen? Or would we be stubborn and keep on trying to do things in our own way, in our own strength, in our own time?
God is not a control freak as we would think of one, but He does have rules and guidelines in His Word that show us the right way to do things. Yes, there is a RIGHT way to do things—GOD’S way! Too many times I catch myself trying to do things my way and not even giving a thought to how God wants me to do it…especially when it comes to relationships and emotions.
In a television sermon, Charles Stanley said:
“To accomplish what God requires,we must rely upon the Holy Spiritand acknowledge our identity in Christ. If we do the Lord’s work the Lord’s way,it will always end well.”
Charles Stanley
That is a good basis for doing things the right way. God’s Word is the key to success and pleasing Him. God tells us:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD.”
Isaiah 55:8, KJV
Why not? Why aren’t God’s thoughts ours and ours His? If we are truly His child, we should be thinking like He does which in turn guides our words and actions.
Think about some of the people in the Bible and how they responded to God’s direction. There are many, but here are a few:
- Philip had a choice of speaking to the Ethiopian in the chariot and baptizing him or walking away. (Acts 8:26-40)
- Paul could have taken the easy way and fled from persecution, but chose to keep plugging away on his missionary journeys. (Book of Acts)
- Jonah initially chose to run away from God’s direction, but God got his attention in the belly of the whale and he eventually did things God’s way. (Book of Jonah)
- Daniel chose to keep praying even in the face of persecution and possible death. (Daniel 6:10-28)
- Moses was quite the man of the hour for God’s people and while he made some bad decisions, he continued on serving God. (Numbers 20:8-11)
Someone who shows you the right way to do things is not necessarily a control freak (but there are a few who are). The teacher in the classroom instructs their pupils how to work a math problem, how to put your fingers on the keyboard correctly to be a more efficient typist, teaches a cosmetology student how to do perms, haircuts, and other services, teaches an auto mechanics student how to take cars apart and do repairs, and on the list goes. Without someone showing us how to do things, we might get it wrong. It’s kind of like the old saying, When all else fails, read instructions! If you want to put together a piece of furniture or other item correctly, be sure to follow instructions. Are the instructions or the person who wrote them a control freak? No. They are meant to be helpful and to keep us from putting things together incorrectly. Accidentally putting together two pieces that aren’t supposed to go together (at least yet) can be a big problem. So follow the instructions to get it right the first time.
It is true that with some things in life there is no right or wrong way or answer. But the resultant outcome is the key. Did you end up how or where you wanted to be with the way you chose? It’s like choosing to trust your GPS to get you to your destination or saying it’s wrong and choosing your own way (and getting lost).
Who’s in control of your life? Who controls the way you take? Who controls the outcome? Don’t be a control freak. Let God have control. The results will work out much better, and you’ll have that perfect peace that won’t be present without Him.
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