Are You A Control Freak?

“What I want to deal with here is the daily difficulty that we have in adjusting our job descriptions to the vocational surprises of Grace.”

Let’s face it we all want things to turn out just right. That’s why women spend countless hours at the hairdresser. That’s why men make sure they mark their calendars weekly for a haircut at the barbershop or Prince William and Kate has been spending countless hours on preparing themselves for the Royal Wedding. Moreover we want to be in the right place, doing the right thing and rubbing shoulders with the right people in hopes that everything will turn out exactly as intended.

As I pondered this thought my mind immediately drifted away to the story of Jonah and his quarreling with God, because he wanted it ‘his way’ or ‘the high way'. In fact, Jonah quarrelled with God because he was surprised by the grace God extended to the people of Nineveh. He was so taken back by the mercy of God. His idea of what God was supposed to do and what God in fact does differs radically. Insomuch that Jonah sulks, Jonah is angry. The word anger actually appears six times in the final chapter, angry because the God of the universe didn't do things his way.

One writer stated “Jonah is standing in a place large and seething with creativity...gospel creativity.  Nineveh against all probabilities has been saved.  Jonah saw none of it because of his stunted imagination. He was caught off guard that God would extend grace to Nineveh.” Furthermore he predicted the destruction of Nineveh, and it didn’t happen. His competence as a prophet was now in question and he blamed God. He had no awareness that his spiritual vocation had just expanded exponentially. 

With that said, what can we learn from Jonah? One thing for sure is that we truly can 'let go and let God’.  We cannot control the outcome of what we expect to happen no matter how well we plan. God loves to give his children surprises. Although those surprises may not come the way we intend for them to come. We still must be open to those surprises and remember to stand in faith believing that God knows the plans for your life, and exactly what has been planned will come to pass.

Tunya Griffin