Renewing your determination

In these economic times and with all the doom and gloom the media is spitting out, it's hard to keep a positive attitude. We don't always have the courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other when the chips are down. I guess the hardest thing I've had to learn over the past 18 months is the fact that I really have no control over anything that's happening. I know we all think "I can" do anything I want to do, but then we have to come face to face with the fact that sometimes (make that most times) we are NOT the one who is in control, we just think we are. Faith is not just a word, it is a fact of this life. I have faith that God is in control and when the world is spinning around me and I feel I'm upside down and totally out of control, I have to get a grip and realize that even though I don't know where I'm headed, God is in control and I just need to do my part and he will do the rest. We aren't supposed to stop striving or trying just because everything around us is falling apart. We have to gather up our strength and remember to trust in the Lord with all our heart, acknowledge him in all ways, and he will direct our path! Wow, that really is wonderful. Doors open. Doors close. I think we sometimes knock down the closed doors and that's where we tend to go wrong. Letting go and Letting God do it takes more strength than I realized. When things are going great, a good job, bills paid, it's easy to "believe" that God is in control, but really, we at that point are the one in control and it takes losing that job, no money coming in, before it hits us in the face and we realize, boy, was I mistaken. I never really had any control. I thought I could do it and I could take care of anything that came my way. Once the job was gone and I had to face the fact I wasn't in control, it was scarry! Now, I'm learning that letting God have control is easier said than done. But I have to say that SLOWLY I'm learning to do just that, let God do it. The devil fights me tooth and toenail, but my faith is growing stronger and I'm taking baby steps toward letting God lead me instead of trying to do the leading. Am I totally there? Not by a long shot. Am I headed in the right direction? You bet! Am I confident? Off and on. I will take one step at a time and I will hang in there and I will let God lead me and I will get stronger and I will move in the right direction because God is in control!