When Life Feels Out Of Control

Happy Easter! I’m so grateful for a Risen Savior I can trust in this fallen and disastrous world.

Matthew 26:38–40 NKJV

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?

Jesus has just had His last supper with His disciples and heads to the garden for prayer. Tells His disciples to pray. Jesus asked His disciples to stay awake and couldn’t even get them to do it. He couldn’t control this situation.

We see the humanity of our savior in this scene. The incredible amount of stress, wishing for a different way, the disappointment He must have felt. His disciples slept! I’m usually pretty hard on them right here, but what if we’re actually supposed to see that they couldn’t control this either. What if you’re needing to see the humanity here. The inability to control a situation! The frustration they must have all felt. How many of us like to control everything????

The Illusion of Control...

The Illusion of Control: The cognitive bias that leads us believe we have control over outcome when in reality we don’t. We overestimate the degree of control we have over uncontrollable events.

More we try to control—More we’re afraid of losing control.

More we’re afraid—More we try to control.

The Surrender...

Matthew 26:42 NKJV

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

You don’t always have the power to control, but you always have the power to surrender.

Where is God when life doesn’t go like we want?

Where is He when life hard?

Studies show that people mostly under the age of 30 believe in a “Mostly uninvolved God that exist to make our lives better.

Our faith in God should help us be happy, healthy, comfortable, and trouble free. Here’s the problem…if God wants me to be happy all the time, has He failed because I’m not? Or is there something wrong with me when I’ve tried everything and still come up short?

Tried Religion—Tried Prayer—Tried Church—Didn’t Work! Trying to follow Jesus—Life is still hard!

What if I surrender to God’s will????

Matthew 26:39 NKJV

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

God’s will is rarely easy! But it’s always good.

Rarely easy—Wasn’t for Jesus—Wasn’t for his mom Mary! Mary—(May it be)—Watched son die—Jesus—(Your Will)—Cross!

Arrested—Beaten—Whipped him almost unconscious! Drove spikes through wrists, feet—Hung naked! Could have taken control—Called legions of angels!

(Father, Forgive)—(Finished)—(Into your hands!) You don’t always have power to control—(Surrender!)

On 3rd day—Women visited tomb—Stone rolled away—Risen! Jesus died for our sins!—God raised him from dead!

God’s will not always EASY—Always GOOD! You don’t always have power to control—Power surrender! What are you trying to control that you need to surrender? Relationship?—Health?—Finances—Future?—Job?—Kids? No such thing as Partial Surrender—I’m 87.5% surrendered to Jesus. Trust you with some things—But not all things. Trust you to save me—Not trust you w/my kids! Trust you get me heaven—My job!—Health—Loved ones.

REAL FAITH starts between the IF and the YET!

Everything in culture invites us to live contrary to the Gospel. You take charge. You control your destiny. You make it happen.

Matthew 10:39 NKJV

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

To follow Jesus is to surrender control.

Do what you can do—Surrender what you can’t do! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Surrender isn’t a one-time event. Surrender is a daily choice. God can do way more with you surrender than you can do with your control. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don’t trust him—Don’t know him! (20 inches) God’s will is rarely easy but it’s always good! You don’t have power to control—Always have power to surrender.

What are you trying to control that you need to surrender?