Uncontrolled Directions

While being in ministry, I have decided that each summer I would do something special with my High School and up group. By doing this, it allows me to really hone in on who they are and what’s going on in their lives. This one particular year, we decided to go camping and tubing. We got on the water in our little tubes, and off we went! Here we were, the five of us, moving down this massive river, some of it was leisure, and the others were not.

As the waves became more exciting, I ended up toppling over! I had gone all the way into the water, completely drenched and ended up losing my flip flops. (Well, I guess that's what I get for wearing them into the river.) And just as the tube flips me, I end up knocking my elbow into a rock and it begins to swell. Pain and throbbing began to ensue as the tubing trip went on. Who would have known you could be injured on a tubing expedition?! I began trying to catch up with everyone, but it hurt so bad to try and move the elbow; so I drifted along the river.

The opportunity came during our tubing experience that I got to know a little bit more about the God of Abraham. I managed to get myself hurt while on a leisurely drift down the Nolichucky River, so with an arm out of commission, I managed to find myself with some one-on-one time with God. During this time, He revealed something to me that I never have contemplated. As I had pretty much laid a drift to the will of the river, unable to control my direction and could only flow with the rivers destination; and as much as I would have enjoyed to have caught up with the rest of the crew on the water, I enjoyed not being in control. Granted I did fight the current, trying not to hit the rocks, but the true revelation out of all of this was, I had to give up. There was no way with my elbow throbbing as bad as it was, that I was going to be able to do what I wanted to do.

Often times, this is the reaction we choose to give God, not willing to let go even when we are hurting, even when we obviously have no control of the direction we want to go. But I find hope in what is written in Psalms 37.

^4(H) Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will^(I) give you the desires of your heart.

^5(J) Commit your way to the LORD;
^(K) trust in him, and he will act.

As hard as it may be to relinquish control over our circumstances, it is the way we are to be. To be a follower of the risen savior, to proclaim that you truly are his servant, you must give up control.

Jesus proclaims this to his disciples in Luke, (Luke 14:33) "In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple." In other words, to let go of your life, your control, your everything. We are required to not hold on or feel in control of anything.

Take heed of these words, and live them out, don't feel the need to control every inch of your life, or the direction it is going in. Take whole of what the psalmist said.

-Jacoby