It would be great if I was a person who could set aside a special time each day to connect to, walk with or otherwise commune with God. But, that is not my way.
I have always been a person who tries to control things in my life. I wouldn’t call myself a control freak, I don’t usually take it that far. But having self-control is important to me.
When I was in early elementary school, besides the “G” for Good and the “S” for Satisfactory (this was before the upper grades when A’s, B’s and C’s were issued) you could receive an “N” which stood for “Needs Improvement”. Some of the criteria, on which we were graded were categories like “Makes Good Use of Time”, “Uses Self-Control” and “Is Attentive in Class”. Now, “Uses Self-Control” was one category I used to occasionally receive an “N”. (I secretly believe my three sisters would have totally agreed with my teacher’s assessment and may have even contacted the teacher and encouraged the assigned grade!)
As an adult and involved with the “Experience in Practical Christianity (EPC) courses offered at the church, we were encouraged to “let go and let God”. This is difficult to do. But, the more I practiced this act of deliberately letting go and letting God, I found things in my life working out…and in most cases more smoothly than if I had tried to control things.
My practice of connecting to God is this…I stop from time to time and ask myself: Am I in control of this? Could I be? Should I be? Is there any way to make the world a better place through my actions? Or, Is this a situation where “Using Self-Control” and “letting God” is the best thing to do. In this process I am connecting to God and in a way, praying for guidance and grace to discern the best course of action.
Prayer: Lord, help me each day to assess whether You or I are in control and help me when appropriate to let go and let God! Amen
Dave Whitmer