Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by Stacy Averette
Sometimes I feel frustrated and overwhelmed because I try to control things that aren’t mine to control.
Maybe you do, too?
I think it’s helpful to remember that many things are not within our power to control or within our sphere of influence to be controlled. We want them to be and we’ve even convinced ourselves that our life would be better (and others’, too) if we had control over a few more things.
But God, in His great wisdom, has given us control over a few things only.
10 Things You Can Control
Here’s a list of things you can control: (assuming you are a self-determining adult)
- What you eat and drink
- How you spend money
- What you think about
- How you respond to others
- How you dress
- How you care for your body
- What time you go to bed and get up
- Who you spend time with
- What you do in your spare time
- The words you speak
- What you believe
(Okay. I know I said 10 things, but I had to add one more!)
It’s kind of funny when you stop and think about how we want to control things we can’t, and choose not to control the things we can.
We complain and choose to be a “victim of circumstance” rather than a victor in effective control of the choices we make.
From the moment we take our first breaths, our days are numbered, so how we live matters. The decisions we make—the important ones and, yes, the mundane ones too—they all matter.
Everyday decisions add up to form the life we live and the legacy we leave behind.
― Sally Clarkson, Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous Love
You and I are responsible only for the choices we make. Choosing to hear the voice of God and responding in obedience to His ways is enough to keep me busy. I really don’t have the time or energy to spare trying to control anything else.
Now it’s your turn? Do you agree with my list of “10 Things”? Anything you would add to the list?
Are you inviting needless pain and suffering into your life by trying to control things (or people) you shouldn’t? What would happen if you simply focused on what He wants you to do moment by moment and day by day?
What if we let go and let God be God in our lives and the lives of those we love?
One of my favorite books from 2019 is Sally Clarkson’s, Own Your Life. You can click the link below to get your own copy.
I’m a total Type A, OCD, control freak…even though I know that there is so much I can’t control. I need to pay more attention to what I do have control over and let go of what (and who!!) I cannot. And even more importantly, be at peace with it…Great post!
I always leave your place encouraged. I have always had control issues, realizing that most things I can’t control. Your list however, speaks to what one can control. Thank you for allowing God to use you.
Many blessings,
Pam