Categories
Weekly Blog

You Have No Control

It’s a simple fact: we cannot control life, no matter how much we try. None of us can.  

Many of you might be thinking it isn’t true that you have no control. With a good plan and solid people around you, it’s possible to control things. Sure, much of life allows for you to have a certain amount of control, as long as you allow for contingencies, but even then, things don’t always go perfectly. The fact is that most of life is beyond your absolute control.

  • Other people, their choices and behavior are beyond your control.
  • Tragic events, disease, accidents — these things are all way outside the scope of your control.

If you’ve been following my blogs or have read my book, you know that everything changed for me when I had my conversion, when I first experienced the unconditional love of God. Concurrently, I found that I had very little control over things in my life. I was so tightly wound, trying to control my company and everyone in it, my customers and my vendors, trying to keep track of my family and their needs, and in the end I just couldn’t maintain control.

God Knows Best for Us

What I’ve learned on my 13-year faith journey is that we have a God who loves us more than we can imagine, Who wants to see us happy, Who designed us for a specific purpose, uniquely and individually, Who knows best for us — the God who made us for greatness. I know this to be true for me and to be true for you.

So let’s consider these points objectively:

  • God loves us unconditionally
  • He wants the very best for us
  • We really have very little control
  • We’re overwhelmed by what the world offers us as solutions to life

What Surrender Means to Most

If you’re like most, surrender probably isn’t a word that you’ve considered much, and for good reason. It’s generally thought of as in giving up or acquiescing, not having control. It certainly doesn’t imply strength or independence, the things we are taught that are so important.

Growing up playing sports, followed by starting my career in sales, I never thought of giving up, of surrendering. It was always about winning, either the game or the deal. And winning was about more than just winning. It was about what it said about me…my talents and strengths. Losing pointed to just the opposite…my faults, failings, and frustrations.

The Real Impact of Surrender

It’s a simple fact: surrendering to God’s Will relieves the pressure you feel and plays a critical role in you living a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment.

Instead of conceiving of something on your own, relying on yourself to get it done, and then facing the consequences alone, you can surrender to God’s Will, discerning what He wants for your life and particular situations, and relying on Him for whatever happens. You can use your unique and God-given gifts to do your very best, leaving everything up to Him and understanding that everything in life is part of His grand plan. As long as you know His love, it just doesn’t matter what others think.

God our Father loves us absolutely and handing it all over to Him brings incredible relief. In my case, surrender removed the pressure. It wasn’t just me alone that was responsible. I no longer had to own the outcome. Instead surrender leads to peace, joy, and fulfillment. All we can do is give every action our best, using our God-given talents, remaining open to His will, and leaving the outcome to Him. Try it…you won’t be disappointed.

Please comment to me at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph
Categories
Weekly Blog

Sometimes You Just Need to Surrender It

Have you ever experienced something at just the right time? You’ve seen or heard it when you need to, whether it’s a: 

  • Billboard
  • Song
  • Scripture Verse
  • Saying
  • Conversation
  • Line in a Book
  • Title of an Article

Or anything else you can imagine. That just happened to me and believe it or not, it was with one of our posts. We post a blog every Wednesday and while previously sending videos on Fridays, we now post the “Inspiration of the Week”. Mary Kate (our creative genius) and I are typically working 3-4 weeks in advance, so often the specific post is as much a surprise to me as you. 

On Friday, August 6th, the post read, “He is in control…God will work it out”. Wow!!! I needed to hear that. Working at Franciscan University of Steubenville, part of my responsibilities, with an incredibly talented and mission driven team, are the Steubenville Conferences….which are absolutely life changing. You can check them out at https://steubenvilleconferences.com. With COVID wiping out our conferences in 2020, we operated at approximately 50% in 2021. 

While our “business” (ministry) is 100% about sharing the love of Christ and saving souls, there is a financial reality to it. To continue doing the ministry we’re accustomed to, we need to get back to our 2019 revenue numbers. Add to the above the additional initiatives that have been discerned and developed (some that are being piloted), that require funding and resources. Lastly there’s the enormity of the tasks and the team being exhausted.  

A reformed workaholic, the above is impacting me too. The load is great and the pace greater. Revenue is a big deal and now requires my attention tactically, not just strategically. I’m not able to do other things that I arguably need to be doing, things that are life giving for me professionally, that which would serve the University (and the Church) in a better way, assuming recovering lost revenue weren’t such a priority. The pressure is on. Can you relate? 

He is in Control 

“We need to eat our own dogfood”. This popular expression certainly applies here…to me. Surrender is something I talk about on a regular basis. It’s the first step in my Path to Peace, followed by Gratitude, Humility, and Love. “Surrender” is what is meant when we say, “He is in control…God will work it out”. 

In thinking and praying about it since seeing our post on that Friday, I’m reminded (once again) I can only do what I can do, using the gifts that God has given me. There are only so many hours in a day. To work to exhaustion isn’t healthy for me, nor does it do the organization any good. The same is obviously true for our team. 

Truth be told, I was allowing my pride to impact things, being concerned about what was outside my control…and really my concern. Being a real “pro” at pride from my past, it’s still something I struggle with. Exercising humility, opposite of pride, is an important aspect of surrender. You may have heard, “Pray as though all relies on God. Work as though all relies on you”. Related to the latter, we have limits….what we can do emotionally, intellectually, and physically. 

I’m not suggesting it’s easy, but it is worth it. God makes all of us with special gifts. He loves us unconditionally and knows what will make us happy. Given this combination, surrendering to His will makes great sense. In humility, understand that it’s not you, but Him working through you. As such, leave the results to God. That’s where you’ll find peace, born of surrender. Committed to prayer, blessed by God’s Grace, I endeavor to stay in that place. I invite you to join me. 

As always, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests.  

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Mark Joseph