Control Freak

Strengthen

How stupid can you be?
He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you.
You are only the jars he makes!
Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it,
“He didn’t make us”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?
Isaiah 29:16 NLT
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I’ve started to notice that the way a person watches a movie is very telling of how they process events in daily life. There are at least a couple different styles of movie-watchers out there. (Sidenote: who you watch a movie with can totally make or break the movie.)

  1. The “This-SO-could-not-happen-in-real-life” Movie Watcher: Explains [in detail] how unrealistic the plot of the movie is while the movie is happening. Says things like “OH COME ON!!! No one would EVER put the T-Rex that close to the gift shop!!
  2. The “I-ask-a-lot-of-questions” Movie Watcher: Can’t silently wait to find out what’s going to happen next. Says things like “What’s going to happen next?!” and “What does that mean?! Is he going to find Nemo or not?!
  3. The “Why-are-you-talking-can’t-you-see-there-is-a-movie-playing” Movie Watcher: Basically, types #1 and #2 should not ever sit by this person. Do not try to talk to this Movie Watcher… especially during an intense fight scene or you might find yourself victim to his/her passive-aggressive angry peripheral glare.

And, oddly enough, these same styles seem to be employed by the same people when they deal with daily life events. We call them “realists” or “extroverts” or “Emily Krill.” When the movie of real life plays out, some of us shout with incredulity, some of us seek feverishly for answers and some of us hold still and wait for things to start making sense again. We do things that let us feel somewhat prepared for whatever is coming next.

We try to gain control over the present circumstances, foolishly thinking that having control will make a situation easier.

It didn’t occur to me how huge a misconception this was until just this past week when I was thinking about all I had read in Isaiah. All of a sudden, the struggles of Isaiah seemed oddly similar to that of Job. Both men had significant challenges in their lives. It seemed like Job spent most of his book trying to hear the thoughts of God, yet God was very intentional about keeping Job from knowing/understanding his plans – even at the end when God finally spoke directly to him. This was a very painful experience for Job. Isaiah’s experience is equally (if not moreso) painful even though he can hear God’s thoughts the entire way through it.

Sometimes I get caught up in thinking IF ONLY I could hear God talk me through this then “situation x, y, z” wouldn’t be such a tough pill to swallow. Not so. This world is hard. Each of us are placed in a situation that will allow us to serve God best and know him most intimately. Every detail is considered by God and is planned in deep love.

How stupid can I be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than me. I am only the jar he made! Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?

The Potter made me. The Potter carefully considered every element in my being before he formed me, glazed me, fired me and placed me in my serving environment. I need to meditate on that every. single. day. I don’t need to question or critique or shush people through God’s plans. I can simply trust that he made me the right kind of pot to be at his table.

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Dear Lord, thank you for making me with the big picture in mind. Help me to remember that you are in control. I don’t need to know your reasons, I don’t need to have all the answers, and I don’t need to fear what might happen next. Help me instead focus on what I CAN do and what I CAN understand: you love me and made me exactly right for my place in this world. Thank you. Amen.

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/10934572@N00/3518668561″>Turn Turn Turn</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a>

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