1 John 5:1-5
Verse 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome,
Knowing all these ways of loving each other because of the commands laid out by the Lord, it may seem like there is no way we could love as He is calling us to love or live as He is calling us to live. But His burden is light and He is there to help us. The thing we need to learn is what it means to lean on His strength instead of our own.
As we have been learning all the ways we need to grow deeper in our walk with the Lord, this is one of the harder things to learn. We live in a society where we are taught from an early age how to be independent, and while it is good to be able to do things ourselves, we can’t let it become something we use to control our lives. That’s the real problem, isn’t it? The more independent we become, the more we try to control what is happening in our lives.
This desire for control is something everyone fights with on one level or another. It has played a part of the sinful nature since the Garden of Eden. The serpent wanted control and knew that if he could convince the humans to doubt God and eat the fruit it would lead them to seek to be in control of their lives, meaning he could influence them, thereby giving him control. By getting them to doubt God, he was helping them rethink if God’s way was always best and if He had their best interest at heart.
When we try to be in complete control of our lives we may not even realize we more easily doubt God and His goodness. When we try to make the things happen in life that we think will make life better, we turn our eyes from God and His will, to us and our will. For Adam and Eve, it showed up in desiring the fruit and not thinking it could do any harm. God wouldn’t really have made such a beautiful tree with alluring fruit if it wasn’t meant to be enjoyed, would He?
Trusting God in every detail of our lives means we need to understand what is under our control and what is under His. As we grow in this understanding we will find a peace in our lives because we will see things from a more mature understanding of ourselves and what it means to have Him as Lord in our lives. His burdens are light when we are yoked with Him.
Making It Personal
What portions of your life do you try to control? Why is it hard for you to trust God with those areas of your life? What do you need to hand over to God today?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you try to do everything yourself? What kinds of things could you accept help with? Do you let Jesus help you with things?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for being in control. Give us wisdom to grow in letting You control the things we can’t and the understanding of what we shouldn’t be trying to control. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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