“No! I do it by myself!” Awe the famous phrase of a toddler. Unfortunately I still use this phrase at times today as an adult. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to be told what to do! I don’t like not having control, and truthfully I rebel a lot of times and completely do the opposite of what’s being asked of me, even though I know it’s not the right thing to do.

Every one of us struggle with circumstances in life that we know are not good for us, but we still do them anyway. I have struggled with insomnia ever since childhood. There are many ways my doctor tries to help me by giving suggestions to help with falling asleep. However, I don’t always do them. For example, no caffeine after 3pm. (Honestly, I never listen to this one.) When I go out to eat, I order that coke with my meal because I think my meal is much better with one. I will drink 1 or 2 cups of coffee with my husband in the evening because it’s a special moment together we share. Yes, there are non-caffeinated drinks, but who cares! I want the real stuff! As a result of doing wrong, I suffer the consequences of being up late at night, not getting enough sleep, and SO cranky the next morning.

If the cause of most of our problems is our efforts to control everything, then what are the consequences of playing God? Isn’t that exactly what we are doing? There are 4 consequences listed in this book:

1) FEAR: When we try to control everything we become afraid. In my life I felt so out of control and scared inside that I faked being happy. In high school I acted like I was so happy and I smiled all the time. I was a good actress and thought that if I could get others to believe I had it all together, than maybe I too would somehow convince myself it was true. But truth was, I was hurting and so scared of people finding out this was not true. I was scared they would not like me and wouldn’t want to be my friend. I have remained in fear this would happen to me my whole life. Do you ever feel like this?  What is it that you fear today?

2) FRUSTRATION: Although I tried my best to hide my problems, a new one would arise. It never seemed to fail that I never stop with one pop up, I would have numerous ones and they never went away. I felt so frustrated all the time! Are you walking around today pretending your God thinking you can handle all your problems yourself, and you don’t need anyone’s help? Here are two examples of people in the Bible talking about feeling frustrated. Apostle Paul felt frustration: “It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I eventually do what is wrong…There is something else deep within me… that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to sin.” (Romans 7:21-25 commentary)…David also felt frustration: My dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration.” (Psalm 32:3 LB)…Are you Too feeling frustrated today?

3) FATIGUE: I feel so tired all the time when playing God and pretending everything was ok when it definitely was not. Every day I felt weak and tried faking how I was feeling with everyone I came into contact with. I started feeling like I couldn’t keep up my lies much longer. I felt like my strength was almost gone. David experienced fatigue: “My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to find them.” (Psalm 32:3-4)

4) FAILURE: I always fail at playing God. Every one of us will fail at doing this and that’s a guarantee! The wisdom of Proverbs tells us, “You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you. Are you being honest and open about your weaknesses, faults, and failures?

Psalm 32:3-4

LET US PRAY:
Father God, I come to You because I’m weak, so tired of trying to handle everything on my own. I’m afraid to let others know what’s going on inside of me. Lord I give to You my hurts, my failures, my faults. I’m tired of running and I’m going to let YOU be GOD. Thank You Lord for Your amazing love
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

ASSIGNMENT: Review these 4 consequences and list fears you have right now and how they cause you to react and feel. Share with us what you have been trying to control that have you tired today.

If you would like more information about this online Bible study, please email us at: GCH_VH@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

If you would like to send a private message to Leslie in regards to this blog, please email her at: Leslie@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.