“To all who mourn in Israel, God will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair.” - Isa 61:3 (NLT)

The sad truth is that many of us have suffered painful ordeals of abuse in our lives, whether it has been sexual, physical, or verbal.  Oftentimes we had no say in the matter, and were unable to defend ourselves.  As those who were once victims, we recognise we had no control over those situations.

True healing can only be found through the blood of Jesus that actively saves, heals and restores us.  But we have a role to play; we must surrender and yield our broken hearts to the Lord.  This very act requires that we relinquish control - and give it to God.

The struggle for many of us (and has certainly been the case with me) is that, when we have had to endure through abusive circumstances where we once had no control, the flesh thereafter tries to over-compensate, by attempting to control absolutely everything possible, in order for us to feel safe and secure again.

I remember a time that, whenever my husband and I would have a disagreement, I’d dash around our home afterward, having a tidying frenzy.  Looking back now, it’s rather apparent that I drew comfort from being able to control my environment in some way, since I clearly couldn’t control him!  (I am grateful for his patience!)

What a glorious sense of release and true freedom we experience on this journey of “letting go”, in handing the reigns over to Christ, in every facet of life.

Let us strive to be Jesus freaks, rather than control freaks.