Control. It’s one of the hardest things to give up. I have consistently, throughout my entire life, taken the reigns and made the decisions that I felt were best. I tried to ‘help’ and control my family by continuously giving to them. That may sound like a good thing to you. But when you’re constantly giving to someone it enables them to stay where they are. I was cutting God off and not letting him work in my family’s lives.
If my parents needed anything I was quick to be the problem solver and make everything right again. That created a dependency that left God waiting in the shadows. He was waiting patiently for me to realize that I couldn’t do it anymore. He patiently waited for me to realize that I wasn’t allowing my family to seek the Father and rely on Him for provision. I was creating a wall between my family and the Lord.
Sometimes when we think that we are doing good and helping those around us, we’re actually inhibiting them from growing closer to the Lord. We’re creating a dependency on other people rather than a dependency of the Father.
This past month, here in Malaysia, I decided that I was done controlling and “helping”. I was going to let the Lord take control, and I was beyond ready to step aside. I didn’t talk much to my family this past month as I had a very busy ministry schedule teaching from 8-4:30 every day. Add on team times, listening prayer activities, and other things I didn’t have a lot of spare time.
Just a few days ago, after not talking to my family in quite some time, I was finally able to call home. Boy was I blessed with a surprise from the conversations we had. You see, the fact that I stepped aside and allowed the Lord to work in my families lives, they were truly blessed.
My Mom has been blessed with the spiritual gift of healing and was used as a vessel by the Lord to heal a family friend. My youngest sister, who’s fourteen, heard the Lord tell her she needed to be available to a family friend whose boyfriend committed suicide. When that family friend asked her to babysit over-night my parents were skeptical as she had never babysat alone or over night before. My sister went to my parents and told them “I don’t mean to disobey you, but the Lord told me I need to be there for them and so I’m going.” The Lord used my sister that night to witness to this family friend and her sister.
My Dad has had a calling on his life for many years of speaking and working with youth. The Lord has gifted him with confidence in speaking and being able to speak to literally anyone. These past few months he stepped in to help the youth group at church and is allowing the Lord to reveal more and more of His will for my Dad’s life. WOW!
Lets’ just say, that the Lord has put me in my place. He has shown me that when we rely on Him and allow Him to do the work, those things will change for good. He tells us that everything works out for good to those that love the Lord, and that it has! I didn’t realize that by saying yes to this year with the Lord that my family would find freedom as well. But I can tell you one thing….that I am beyond thankful and excited for what the Lord has done and is stilling planning for my family and I.
Let go of the need to control and sit back and be amazed by the Father. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
