The very foundation or Christianity is faith—giving God complete control of your life. We sing about it when we sing:

• Trust and Obey
• Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
• ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
• Leave It There
• Take My Life And Let It Be
• In Christ Alone
• Your Will Be Done

We profess to believe it when we give our lives to Christ, call ourselves Christians, and quote scriptures like:

• Romans 12:2—And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
• Psalm 51:10—Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
• Matthew 5:8—Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
• John 14:15—If you love Me, keep my commandments.
• Matthew 7:21—Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

But do we really—I mean, really live the words we sing and the principles we profess?

Seeing is believing

John grew up in a Christian home, was baptized into Jesus Christ at the age of ten, married a Christian girl and raised four children with her in a home where faith and commitment to their church family were evident in their lives.

But when John and his young family experienced a financial setback resulting from circumstances beyond their control, both John and his wife experienced ‘faith on shaky ground’. They lived simply and modestly to begin with, so having their meagre possessions and income significantly diminished was a very scary experience.

At first they refused to share their struggles with anyone. They could handle it on their own. Somehow, some way, they would survive. They sold some livestock they hadn’t planned on selling. John’s wife sold the jewelry her grandmother had left her and some antique toys she dearly loved.

They also decided to quit tithing until the situation was resolved. They had to if they wanted to be able to feed their children and shield them from what might happen if they didn’t.

In spite of pinching every possible penny and cutting every conceivable corner, things weren’t turning around. And then one Sunday the preacher got up to speak and said, “I’m going to take a break from our series on the book of Colossians today because all week long I’ve had the following verse running through my head….”

The verse the preacher read was Malachi 3:10, which says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’” (NIV)

John and his wife went home that day, wrote a check for their tithe PLUS the amount they’d not given over the previous three months. After writing the check, which would overdraw their bank account by a couple of hundred dollars, they prayed God would prove the truth of the words he’d spoken in Malachi and then John drove to the preacher’s house and handed him the check.

The next day… the very next day… the person responsible for causing John’s financial setback came to their house, handed John the money he owed him, plus a little extra, and asked for John’s forgiveness.

When you ride shotgun with God instead of insisting on being in the driver’s seat, you’ll see God at work in your life in both ordinary and amazing ways.

How to ride shotgun with God

It shouldn’t take a financial setback or any other kind of calamity to shove you out of the driver’s seat of your life in order to make room for God. Giving God control of your whole life is what you say you want to do when you accept Jesus as Savior, so to put it bluntly… just do it. Jesus keeps his promises so we need to keep ours.

You can keep the promise you’ve made of letting God have complete control of your life when you…

• Spend time with your brothers and sisters in Christ. The old saying that says, “You’re known by the company you keep” is true. You feed off of each other’s energy, so to speak.
• Spend time reading and studying the Bible on a daily basis. You can’t know what God wants of you and what he wants to do for you if you don’t spend time in the Word.
• Pray. Prayer is conversation with God and conversation is essential in order for any relationship to be solid.
• Part of prayer is listening. Listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit inside you. Listen to what you read in the Bible. Listen to the words the preacher speaks. Listen to your Christian friends when they encourage you, challenge you, and hold you accountable.
• Look for God. When you recognize the truth that God is all-knowing and ever-present, it is easier to trust him to take care of even the smallest details of your life.
• Worship God with your church family and on your own as you go about your day. Worship, which is recognizing God as the only and almighty God of the universe, makes you more cognizant of the power he possesses, the depth and intensity of his love for you, and the truth of his promises.

When you put God in the driver’s seat

Almost all the choices you can make in this life that come with the possibility of a negative outcome. Putting God in control of your life, however, is NOT one of those things. Putting God in control always has been and always will be the wisest decision you will ever make and the only decision with an eternal guarantee of joy unending.

~ By Darla Noble

Living By Faith – free eBook Faithworks Centre, Prince Edward Island is a church where people from all walks of life join to grow in faith. It’s not easy to live a life of faith in today’s fast-paced world. That’s why we’ve created a 17-page, 3-part guide to Living By Faith. Learn about how to strengthen your faith, follow Jesus’ command to love and serve others, and understand how love casts out fear. Get your free guide by just entering your email address below!