We Have Control!

How many times do we all look at our lives and feel helpless.  There is so much that affects the way we view our successes and failures, our triumphs and loses.  If all of you are like me, we blame a lot of our problems and attitudes on other people and situations.  This is actually quite common.  In my psychology class we learned about self-presentation and the self-serving bias.  With positive things we attribute to our personality and own merits, but when something bad happens we attribute it to the hard situation and the other people.  This is common, but we shouldn't fall into this trap.  In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 it gives a list of things.   "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;"

I love this list! It gives us such a clear guideline on how we can be going through crazy hard things, but that there is always still hope and that we have control over some of it.  The first one is "Troubled on every side, yet not distressed" We all have troubles.  I know some of mine are family problems and having time for all of my school work.  Even though these things are troubling, I don't have to be distressed.  The second one is "perplexed, but not in despair." I can relate so well to this one.  I am perplexed at why my relationships don't work out or why I didn't get a job I want, but I don't despair.

This is how our peace can feel!

Now, I could go on through the rest of the list, but I'm going to stop there.  You could say "oh Annie, that's great and all, but I can't do that.  It's too hard for me."  You would be right. Alone, being troubled and not distressed is too hard.  It is only through Christ that this is possible.  He makes it so that we can be in hard times but not despairing.  He will keep us calm though the storm is raging around us.  Through Christ, we have control.