I’ve come to realize that trying to figure everything out for yourself just isn’t worth it. It’ll wear you out. My name is Michael, and sometimes I’m the epitome of what it means to have a Type A personality. I’m a thinker and I’m a planner. I’m the kind of person that likes to know what’s up ahead so that I can prepare myself accordingly to do the right thing. And that’s where I go wrong. Throughout my college years, something my stubborn self has had to learn over and over again is this:
I don’t have to have it all together.
Seriously — think about it. If we had everything figured out for ourselves, would there be room for faith? If God expected us to do the right things all the time, would there be room for grace?
That’s why God sent Jesus to this world. God looked at a broken world full of sin-sick people who weren’t capable of having it all together, and in His infinite love and mercy, He sent a Savior to serve as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. God desires to reconcile His people who back to Himself, to sew together the tattered rags of our lives and make us more and more like Jesus, but we have to let go of our petty plans and surrender everything to Him.
I think this is part of what Jesus meant in Luke 18 when He talked about receiving the Kingdom of God like a little child. A child recognizes that he is unable to provide for himself and blindly trusts that his father will provide and meet all of his needs.
I’m going to be honest, it is so difficult for me to trust in God with that childlike faith that Jesus talked about. I spend way too much time trying to figure my life out for myself: my relationships, my career, etc. Like I said earlier, speculation will wear you out.
Matters are made worse when I try to take these things into my own hands. That’s not faith — and anything not done in faith is sin. It’s funny how God frustrates the plans of men when they don’t line up with His will. When my plans fail, I’ve often heard the soft, tender voice of God saying to me:
Stop trying to make things happen for yourself, and just trust Me.
And this is where it all comes together — we don’t have to have it all together. There are some things in life that just aren’t a part of our understanding. Surrender is better than speculation. God has you on a perfect and unique path, meticulously designed and tailored to lead you to holiness. A lot of things along the way aren’t going to make sense, but that’s what faith is for. We’ve got to trust that He is orchestrating something way bigger than we can fathom.
“See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”