Who’s In Charge?

A couple of days ago, I was preparing to leave for work and my 7-year old son was the only person awake in the house besides me. After I got ready to go, I went and talked with him for a few minutes, got his breakfast, and settled him in with a cartoon. I explained to him that daddy was awake in bed and that he could go and get him if he needed to. As I kissed him goodbye, grabbed my computer bag, and turned to head towards the door, I heard him ask, “But Mommy, who’s in charge”? I explained to him that since he was the only person that was up in the house at the moment, that he was in charge. You should have seen the smile on his face.

As I was driving into work that morning, the Holy Spirit began to gently nudge me with the same question.

“Who’s in charge?”

My response was, “You are, Lord.”

“Am I?”, the Holy Spirit asked. 

It was then that I was faced with the realization that there were areas and situations in my life that I had not fully surrendered to the Lord. In these areas, I am still fighting for my rights, whatever I think those may be, and am wanting to have some sort of control over the outcome. I have taken it upon myself to take charge of these situations because, well, it’s my life and don’t I know best?

God cannot work through a heart that is unwilling, or even unable, to fully surrender to Him. Because He is God, He can certainly force His way in by bringing circumstances into my life that force my surrender. However, that is not how He prefers to work. If God is truly Lord of my life, I must trust Him to relinquish full control over every area of my life, and every situation that I am being faced with. The Word of God says that if I delight in Him and trust Him, He will give me the desires of my heart.

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass … Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:4,7)

I am not a patient waiter and entering into times of rest, knowing that God will take care of everything, is hard for me. Sometimes I think I’ve relinquished control, only to be plagued by worry, doubt, anxiousness or the constant “what ifs”. I want to be able to “Let go, and let God” as the saying goes. For me, it’s a daily surrender. I must continuously purpose in my heart to give it all back to Him, yielding every thought, action, situation and heart attitude, trusting that God’s way is the best way, and trusting that He will care for my heart in the process.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9-NLT)

Do you trust Him enough today to take charge of the situations you are facing? Even in our weak “yes”, He will come. His heart is for you!