The Illusion of Control

As humans we try to control everything. We try to control our physical environment with houses that heat and cool us. Door locks, security systems, seat belts, air bags, and locators on our phones are meant to control our safety. We try to control our health with special diets, supplements, medicines, and surgeries. Financially we have savings accounts, 401Ks, and investments. Even all the different insurances we buy are designed to give us more control over our lives.

However, it’s all an illusion. We don’t actually have control over anything. Companies and banks fail, the stock market tanks, possessions and bodies break down and natural disasters strike. Yourself or loved ones get injured, become sick, or die. We don’t even have control over something as routine as our next heartbeat. What we have is the illusion of control.

What happens when life shatters this illusion? Physical or emotional suffering ensues, yet God is in control of this too. God uses suffering to refine us and to glorify His name (Isa 48:10–11). We feel helpless, but it’s in our feeling of helplessness that God wants us to realize that only He has absolute control. This realization humbles us, and in faith we call out to God. This is where your faith comes alive. God wants us to call out to Him in our distress and witness the amazing things that happen when we rely on The Almighty for strength, wisdom, provision, and protection (Isa 41:10).

Kevin Roark