The Myth of Control
My favorite scene from the movie "Jumanji" is a perfect illustration of the myth of control. A woman sits in a compact car at a stoplight listening to a self-help tape. Over and over she repeats with the tape self-hypnotic phrases about being in control while a herd of African animals comes out of nowhere. The animals of all varieties run around her car, over her car, and surround her car while she continues to chant about control.
I can be like that. While I am trying to grasp control of life, it is often flying completely off-kilter. I think it took cancer for me to fully understand that control was a myth.
Sometimes life has to be completely off- kilter before we recognize that we have believed the myth that we have control of our lives. Although we are dwarfed by the universe, we tell ourselves that we can control our world, but in reality chaos is all around us and threatens to consume us. We are not the ones in control of our world; God is. And for that we should be very grateful. When life is chaotic and we have no control, God still reigns. Peace often comes when we relinquish control to the One who knows better than we what is best for the good of our soul.
When we release control to God, we are demonstrating that we will follow God’s guidance and trust Him with the results; He is worthy of our trust. God’s compassion and love for us are greater than any other love we will experience. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 ESV). When we trust the One who reigns over all, we will abide in peace. Even when life seems out of control, peace can reign when we rest in the truth of His sovereignty, trusng that everything He allows has a purpose for His glory and our good.
