by Tara Sun | Mar 9, 2023 | Life Advice
Some may say that being in control or wanting to be in control is natural. That if it’s our life and future, then we have the right to take control. Others may say that control is just another word for planning—being organized and forward-thinking. I remember thinking that my intense, planner-loving, type A heart was just that—that the reason I was so set on planning my life’s outcome was because I cared about my future. Those who said things like, “Oh well, it’s God’s timing” often rubbed me the wrong way. (Can someone say red flag?) How could people not care about their lives enough to take some action and control to ensure it all panned out?
But in all reality, I had bitten into the same piece of fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the garden. I had traded in God’s beautiful design for my life for the forbidden fruit of control. It looked promising, but ultimately it separated me from God and His perfect plan.
From Genesis to Revelation, we read about humanity’s tendency to turn away from God and take matters into their own hands—and the tragic consequences that inevitably follow. One of Adam’s sons, Cain, was possessed by jealousy and sought to control a situation that had gone awry, culminating in the murder of his own brother (Genesis 4). The people of Babel craved control and power over their own destinies and built a tower to the skies, only to be divided and scattered by God (Genesis 11). In Exodus the Israelites who were so graciously liberated from slavery by God through Moses almost immediately abandoned their divine rescuer in favor of empty idols (Exodus 32). Jonah refused to minister to Nineveh when God called him and tried his very best to edit God’s master plan, only to find himself in the belly of a great fish (Jonah 1).
These were all people who knew God, who had seen His goodness and power to save, who had every reason to trust Him. But they still tried to grab control for themselves.
Have you been there before? Have you told yourself that you trust God with your life but in the same breath turned around and insisted on your own way? Have you struggled to hold on to control, only to be left feeling defeated and frustrated with God when your plans didn’t pan out? I think we all have. I know I have.
But here’s the good news. Here’s the beauty among the ashes, the hope among the chaos. You and I were never meant to have control over our lives—even if your plan and dream seems to have your name all over it. You and I are not powerful enough or good enough to direct our lives. Yes, friend—that is good news, though it might seem like a hard pill to swallow. Why? Because— let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment here—we are utterly hopeless without God. We are sinful human beings. We were designed from the very beginning to need God. We were created from the ground up to depend on Him. Because of the gospel, we are not only saved from the consequences of sin but restored to a chance to live according to that beautiful, original plan— trusting and depending on our loving Father. That’s what makes our neediness such unexpected good news—God Himself is our sufficiency, and He loves us enough to write a better story than we ever could.
I mean, think about it: Isn’t it a blessing that we don’t have to control our lives? That we don’t have to toil, run ourselves ragged, and frustrate ourselves day in and day out? That we actually have God Himself as our designer, and that He gave us the beautiful gifts of surrender and trust?
Every time I start to close my fists and vie for control, I’m reminded of this truth in Proverbs 16:9, where King Solomon wrote, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Even the world’s wisest man attempted to write his own story, under the faulty perception that he was in control. But God showed him the truth—that there was only one Lord. William McKane said this about Solomon’s revelation: “A man may plan his road to the last detail, but he cannot implement his planning, unless it coincides with Yahweh’s plan for him.”
Planning isn’t a sin. A desire to strategize and look forward to our future isn’t a bad thing. The error, however, is when we dig our heels in and fight for personal control over our stories instead of trusting God. What happens then is we, consciously or subconsciously, set ourselves up as lord when there is only one true Lord. Life instantly becomes more about what we want to do as the masters of our own fate rather than following our heavenly Father’s will.
A life is nothing without the purpose and plans of the Lord. The full life that Jesus promises in John 10 does not come from you and me grasping at control. It does not come from us insisting on our own way. The full, abundant life available in Christ comes from surrendering our story at the foot of the cross. It comes by way of realizing our need for someone greater to write our story because we were not created to do it on our own. And if you ask me, that’s pretty beautiful.
When we surrender to God, it might feel like we’re making a sacrifice – after all, it feels like we’re being asked to give up quite a lot! But genuine surrender always involves an awesome trade. You get to trade away the burdens of performance, legalism, and control, and instead, receive what I can only describe as profound peace, real joy, and a deeply satisfying purpose. The best is yet to come when we surrender.
If you’re weary, frustrated, and disappointed by your attempts to control your own story and you’re ready to try the better way – then Surrender Your Story is for you.
Adapted from Surrender Your Story: Ditch the Myth of Control and Discover Freedom in Trusting God by Tara Sun. Copyright © 2022 by Tara Sun. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com.
Through the Truth Talks with Tara podcast, her Instagram community, and other resources, Tara Sun passionately teaches women of all ages how to know, love, and live God’s Word for themselves. She shows how to break down God’s Word into understandable pieces, while also adding an artistic flare through her digital art. Tara is married to her high school sweetheart, Michael, and is a mom to their newest addition, Hunter. You’ll find them living and serving the Lord in Oregon.
by Tara Sun | Jun 14, 2022 | Life Advice
When was the last time that you rested? And when I say rest, I don’t mean laying horizontally to watch a few hours of Netflix (although there’s a time and place for that). Let’s be honest with ourselves: When was the last time that you recharged, reset, and reoriented with Christ? It doesn’t matter if our lives are busy, full, hectic, low-key, or even boring — we all need rest.
When God created the world, He didn’t just create the sky and animals. He also created and established rest. Genesis 2:2a says, “And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work He had done.”
Now, hold up. Why did God, the Almighty, rest? Was He in need of a break because He had just spent all of His energy? Was He in need of a nap because He was tired and lacking strength? Not at all. The truth is that God has endlessly capacity and capability, so we can rule that out as a reason that God created rest.
God rested to establish a holy rhythm for our lives. God rested to set an example.
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2)
In our simple definition, rest implies need. Rest implies that someone is weary and exhausted. But in the second chapter of Genesis, after God had just created the world, rest took on an entirely different meaning.
Genesis 2:3 says, “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all of His work that He had done in creation.”
This was God’s way of establishing a lifestyle for the Israelites, one that commanded them to cease their normal labor after a long week of work and simply rest. It was holy to rest. And this command to rest isn’t one that came and went with the Israelites. It’s one that is here to stay, even now in our modern day.
But somewhere along the way, we’ve started making excuses. Humanity hustles and bustles around. We are one of the busiest and most distracted generations of all time. Our busyness leads to excuses like,
“I don’t need rest. I am strong enough on my own. I have enough energy.”
“I can’t rest. There’s too much to do. If I rest, I won’t complete what I need to.”
Sure, we may have tons of energy. Our schedules may be chock full. But rest is a holy command. It’s not just a command to cease working, but a command to recognize our need for God and dependency on Him.
We need rest because we need God. We need rest because we can’t live our lives for Him without it. We need rest because it helps us get closer to His heart.
My pastor described rest this way: “Rest is reorientation.” Maybe Adam and Eve needed an orientation on the seventh day. They needed uninterrupted time to be with God, get to know Him, get to know themselves, get away from distractions… even the good ones.
After all, you and I were created to be in a relationship with God. What’s a relationship without uninterrupted time to get to know each other… to get closer?
You may be reading this and think that rest will only set you back in life. I get it. It’s easy to believe the lie that our work equals our worth — that our intimacy with God is based on how much we accomplish. But Ephesians 2:8 reminds us that God’s gift of salvation isn’t based on anything we do — but everything that HE did.
Your identity is not in what you accomplish or by how much you hustle. Our identity is rooted in WHO we are loved by — in our sweet Father who created the universe in six days and decided it would be good for us to reconnect with Him on the seventh.
Do you trust God enough to rest?
It’s not just about obeying His commands. It’s about trusting in the sufficiency, grace, and provision of God. It’s about humbling ourselves under the reality that God is enough and we are not. It’s about recharging and reorienting with Christ so that we can serve Him from a place of refreshment, not burnout.
Practical Ways to Sabbath Rest in Christ
Go to church. Spend time with your family. Get in the Word. Read a book that encourages you in your faith walk. Listen to some Christian podcasts. Have encouraging conversations with dear friends. Pray often. Lay down and just be still. Take a nap. Fellowship with others over a great meal.
The point of holy rest is to make sure it’s focused on reconnecting with God, getting to know Him more, and not letting anything of the world stir our affections more than Him.
Tara is a podcaster, upcoming author, and founder of Tara Sun Ministries. She has dedicated her life to helping women all over the world understand and read the Bible, as well as how the gospel impacts our daily lives. Day to day, she shares devotionals on Instagram, and weekly podcast episodes on her show, Truth Talks with Tara. She lives in Oregon with her husband, newborn son, and golden retriever.
by Tara Sun | Oct 7, 2021 | Life Advice, Wisdom |
Endless articles. Countless tweets. Discouraging Instagram posts. Disheartening news reports. Fractured relationships. Conspiracy theories.
The list goes on. It’s no secret that we exist and live in a world that is broken and overwhelming. And yet, it all seems to have heightened over the last few years with a global pandemic, political strife and just plain, ‘ol day-to-day life.
The other day, I was having a conversation with one of my dearest friends. I asked how she was doing and her reply stood out to me.
“Overwhelmed. Just constantly overwhelmed with life.”
She went on to explain that she had a lot on her plate: between regular work, relationships and planning. I could see the weariness and exhaustion all over her face. She went on to add that she was also physically, mentally and emotionally drained from being on her phone. Every time she logged onto Facebook or Instagram, she was immediately accosted by bad or sad news. You know what I’m talking about?
I could tell that it wasn’t just normal life and work that was overwhelming her, but the loud and heavy world that we live. In that moment, I didn’t know what to do but to scoop her up in a big hug and listen.
Chances are, you can relate to that story of my friend. If you’ve ever used the words, “loud”, “overwhelming” or “discouraging” to describe the world and how you’re feeling… you’re not alone.
The reality is, we live in a sinful, fractured world. Now, I don’t want to be a Debbie-Downer. Don’t worry — the hope and antidote to this feeling is coming soon. But none of these feelings should come as a surprise to us.
Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33a, emphasis added.)
Prior to this, Jesus had just encouraged his disciples to remain in Him as the vine (John 15) and also promised them that their sorrow will always turn to joy in Him (John 16:16-24). He “said all of these things” that they would have peace. But, the guarantee was that they, the disciples, and you and I, will have tribulation and trials.
That doesn’t sound like a very pleasant promise, right? You may be thinking, “Thanks but no thanks, Jesus. I’d rather take your promise for peace or hope or salvation. I don’t want this tribulation promise.”
But here’s the key point we’re missing: Jesus made this offer in the most unlikely circumstance. This was right before Judas would march through the Garden of Gethsemane with a band of soldiers to arrest and eventually, crucify Jesus. This was Jesus’ way of saying that he had more than enough peace to give to his disciples.
When Jesus promised tribulation (aka trouble or hardships), he wasn’t kidding around. When we become a Christian, we are given so much but we are also still prone to hardships. Think of it this way: Adam and Eve sent the world into sin and hardship. God could of stopped it, yes. But why didn’t he?
The answer is simple: So that He could set his grand rescue story into motion. So He could send his son Jesus to save the world and bring them into a new covenant. So that they would be lights in a dark world and give the opportunity for mankind to know a better and lasting sacrifice. When we think about it that way, it’s truly a gift.
Now, I didn’t share the whole passage in John 16:33. I left out a crucial part… intentionally. Let’s finish it together.
“… in the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)
Victory. Plain and simple. Jesus proclaimed the truth of his victory over tribulation. After telling his disciples that tribulation was promised, He comforted them and strengthened them with his victory. In doing so, he also promised them and you and I the victory. This wasn’t just Jesus’ victory — He was extending it to us too.
You see, sweet friend… knowing that Jesus has overcome the world, meaning crushed death and tribulation for good, brings us good cheer. It brings us hope. It brings us peace. It brings us confidence that Jesus is in control.
So now what? What does this verse mean for me when I’m overwhelmed by the world? When I’m overwhelmed by my life and the noise around me? From what we’ve just learned about Jesus and his victory, let’s get practical, shall we?
When the world is loud and overwhelming, I will…
- Run to the Rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61)
King David wrote Psalm 61 from a place of reflection. We know that although David was a great man of God, he also made lots of mistakes and found himself in so many trying situations. Psalm 61 was a prayer for help in situations of overwhelm.
In verse two, he says, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” David knew that there would be times that his heart was overwhelmed — by life, work, relationships etc. But in this moments, he held onto these three truths: 1) He needed a rock, a place of stability and security, strong enough to withstand crashing waves or sudden attacks. 2) He needed a rock that was higher than himself, meaning, a place above himself, above his wisdom and above his own abilities. 3) He needed God to lead him to that rock. David was fully aware that he was unable to get there by himself, especially when he was overwhelmed and the world was loud.
News flash! God is that rock. He is that place of stability. He is that place and person that is wiser than all, higher than all, more able than all. He is the only sure guide to lead his people into that safety. Make it your prayer, your aim and your ambition to run to the Rock first. To acknowledge your state of overwhelm and immediately turn and run through practice and consistency.
- Filter everything I see, read and hear through the Word of God. (Romans 12)
The first few verses of Romans 12 warns us that the world will try and conform us to its ungodly pattern. We’re warned that although it may be attractive and loud and seem like the majority, we must resist. Why? Because it goes against God. It does not lead us in the way everlasting.
So what do we do? The answer is for our minds to be transformed. This is the opposite of being conformed, being molded to look like the world. We’re called to think, examine and live differently. To be transformed, we must read God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us. To help us live differently. We must spend regular time in His presence.
This — the Word of God — is our baseline… our foundation… our guidepost for life. And then guess what? If we seek after transformation, we will see proof on the outside. We will be able to see with our eyes and hear with our ears what is good and acceptable and what is not. This will eliminate the overwhelm of the world and the noise around us.
- Rest more than I strive. (Ephesians 2)
Ephesians 2 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, reminding us of how important grace is to our faith and lives. My friend, Ruth Chou Simons says it best: “Grace is recognizing that God has done it all. Grace is realizing that God invited me to sit at his table with the work already done.”
Ephesians 2:8 reminds us that we have been saved through grace, not through our own doing. Not through our striving to do more, be more, achieve more. But through unmerited favor.
So this compels us to rest. To sit and be still in God’s presence. To let His grace wash over us and remind us that He has the victory. That He has completed the work. When we strive and obsess and give into overwhelm, we are not operating out of grace. We are operating out of self-sufficiency. And rest one of the greatest gifts that enables us to relax, remember the gospel, realize that Jesus has already won.
Here’s a fun little graphic to save to your phone 🙂
Tara is a twenty-two year old Christian writer, podcaster and speaker. She humbly runs an online ministry for women to help them know, love and live God’s Word in their own lives. Based in Oregon, Tara has found her purpose in writing, creating, recording podcast episodes and mentoring women. She is a newlywed, married to her high school sweetheart, Michael. You can catch her drinking a good cup of coffee, spending time with her people and serving the Lord on a daily basis.
Follow Tara on Instagram @misstarasun
