Take the Control Girl Quiz 

Quiz Question 2:

Do you struggle with worry or anxiety? Are you gripped with fear over the future? Do you fret about your own safety or the safety of those you love? Do you obsess over small concerns because you’re worried about where they will lead? Do you tend to project into the future, consider all of the “what if’s”, and overreact?


Like anger, anxiety is another “dashboard indicator” that we’re trying to control something which isn’t ours to control. We might obsess over past mistakes or overthink our shortcomings. We might worry about little things that aren’t right and fret about where it’s all leading. We might dread the future and be terrified over the things that might—or probably will—happen. If we allow it, anxiety will paint a cloud of doom over the past, the present, and the future.

Past, Present, Future

Here’s an example. Once, my second grader had some of his friends over after school. As they were eating a snack, they got out their library books to compare. The other boys had big, thick Harry Potter sized books, but my son’s was a thin, Curious George sized book. The boys didn’t seem to think anything of the contrast, but I was instantly alarmed, and over the coming hours and days, I let that library book send me into a tailspin.

Where had we gone wrong? Did we not read to our son enough as a preschooler? Had was failed to give him extra support? (Past)

I hadn’t realized he was so far behind the other kids. Was he in the slowest group at school? Did the teacher think of him as “behind”? Did the other kids notice that he wasn’t progressing like everyone else? (Present)

And where would this all lead? Was his reading group setting a permanent trajectory? What would this do to his self esteem? What sort of GPA would he be able to achieve in high school? And what about college? (Future)

If you’ll notice, all three of these things–present, past, and future, were not in my control. I had influence, sure. But ultimately I couldn’t control what had already happened, what was happening, or what would happen in the future.

I know this, and I know you do, too. And yet why do we continue to fret, worry, and fear? Is it because we’re less than convinced that God is in control?

God is in Control

If you start singing, “He’s got the whole world in His hands…” I’m willing to sing along. I’ll concede that God keeps the world tilted at just the right angle, and keeps the earth spinning, just the right distance from the sun. I agree; God is in control of the great, big world.

But what about my little world?

Acts 7:49 says, “Heaven is  my throne and the earth is my footstool, says the Lord.” If this whole big world is only the size of a footstool; if that’s how big God is, then I must be really, really small to Him. So what I really want to know is: Does He see me all the way down here, waving my hands and trying to get His attention? Does He notice me, and the things that concern me? Does He even care?

If I am not fully convinced that He does see, notice and care, I will not be comfortable putting control in God’s hands; I’ll try to take matters into my own. And I’ll be filled with compounding anxiety, worry and fear each time it slips from my grasp.

If I am not fully convinced that He does see, notice and care, I will not be comfortable putting control in God's hands; I'll try to take matters into my own. And I'll be filled with compounding anxiety, worry and fear each time it slips from my… Click To Tweet

Control From Seven Women in the Bible

In my study, Control Girl, I could have examined seven anxious, control-craving women of today, but if I told their stories, we couldn’t gain insights—as we can by studying Control Girls in the Bible—on the far-reaching consequences of constantly lunging for control. Nor could we gain new insights on God, and his response to our control-craving hearts. However, as you study through Control Girl and examine these Bible women, here’s what their stories reveal:

  • God did see these seven women, even when they felt invisible.
  • God did care, even when I’m sure it felt like He didn’t.
  • God was in control, even when it seemed like the whole world was unraveling.

The same is true of us and our stories, today. God sees us. He cares. And He is in control. He has the whole world in His hands—including our little worlds.

God sees us. He cares. And He is in control. He has the whole world in His hands—including our little worlds. Click To Tweet

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Control Girl: Lessons on Surrendering Your Burden of Control

from Seven Women in the Bible.

Join me for a study of seven Control Girls of the Bible, who struggled with control in the same way we do: they pushed for their own agendas, tried to make everything turn out according to their plans, and made everybody miserable in the process. By comparing their stories with ours, we learn—in hundreds of ways and examples—that God is in control and we aren’t. And He invites us to live like it’s true.

 



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