The older I get, the more I realize what a control person I am. I like things done in a certain way–the best way–my way. I’ve learned that the more I control things, the better chance I have that things will go as I want them to. Sadly, though, that’s not how it works. Control is an allusion. We think that if we control things, bad things won’t happen. Yet, the irony is we don’t have control of our lives. We never did.

The Catcher

In With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, Skye Jethani gives an illustration about a trapeze artist. He talks about how we are in awe of the performer flying through the air, but the real hero is the catcher. He quotes Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest, author, and professor with these words after watching such a feat and how it relates to our theology.

If we are to takes risks, to be free, in the air, in life, we have to know there’s a catcher. We have to know that when we come down from it all, we’re going to be caught, we’re going to be safe. The great hero is the least visible. Trust the catcher.

Henri Nouwen

The catcher in our lives is God. When we step out in faith, He’s the One Who will catch us. He won’t let us fall.

He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Psalm 121:3 NLT

Letting Go

It’s only when we relinquish our tight grip on our lives that we truly start living by faith. There’s freedom in surrender, surrendering to God. There’s freedom in letting go of our plans and trusting His plans for our life. It’s not until we let go that faith actually begins.

Feeding Your Fear

Either our faith will guide us or our fear will dominate us. We choose which one will take top place. Whichever one we feed will be the one that takes control.

If you feed your fears with constant worry, what-if’s, worst case scenarios…your fear will continue to grow. If at night, you let your mind wander and imagine your worst fears playing out, your fear will grow and eventually dominate your life. When that happens, we try to be in charge. How do we do that? By taking more control. And the circle starts over once again.

Feed Your Faith

The alternative is to feed our faith. If we continue to spend time with God every morning through a morning time routine, our faith will continue to grow. If we’re choosing to fill our mind and thoughts with preaching, good music, and good books, our faith will continue to grow. When fear comes at night, if we push it away and think about God’s Word and His goodness instead, our faith will continue to grow.

We choose what rules our lives–our fear or our faith. Which one are you letting lead in your life? For a lot of years, it was fear for me. Now, I’m working at taking back the ground that’s been given to fear and feed my faith.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Breaking Fear’s Stronghold on My Life.