Six Ways to Gain Control of Your Life

“What time did they say we’d arrive?” I asked the man beside me in the plane.

The answer made me smile. Two and a half hours of lots of reading. I had brought a couple of books on CD. With earphones in place, I pressed the CD in the player, loaded with fresh batteries. I settled in my seat, and prepared to delight in the reading.

Not. I tried to press buttons. Pull the CD out and put it back in. There was no sound except for a funny noise. I battled, tried and
tried. I nearly took that thing apart. I was afraid we’d land before I got it to play.

Grrr…then when my finger accidently brushed the inside of the CD player, I found I had two CD’s in there. No wonder the funky noise.

Okay, friends out there, admit it. You’ve done the same thing. You got your life so crazy busy, you overloaded. You have too much piled on top. Suddenly your life is making funny noises of stress, of tension and of approaching panic. All around you life is creaming “You’re losing control.”

I found six ways to take control of our life:

Know that nothing but your attitude is in your control. God has ordained what will happen and what you’ll get done.
Put on the top of the “to do” list sweet time in His presence—the only way to charge your emotional battery.
Check out alternatives when the road is blocked, when people disappoint you, when plans fail…and yes, even when you cannot hear your book on CD. There is always an alternative.

Be glad things aren’t worse than they are. At the moment things may seem like it’s the end of the world. But is it really?

Stop and remember how God pulled you out of trouble before. How He sustained you. And how He provided for your every need.

Choose to walk in victory, trusting the Lord has already triumphed over the enemies of fear and stress.
“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land’” (Joshua 8:1).

Father, Thank you for the reminder that Joshua obeyed and you did the rest. I confess often discouragement tries to win. Help me to know and believe that you already triumphed over those attacks and brought victory in your ways. Thank you that fear is not part of your plan for me. I thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

How does your life get out of control?
Where do you turn when feeling overwhelmed?
How can you keep calm and in peace?