I’m a planner, an over-analyzer, a control-freak, a my-way-or-the-highway-kind-of-gal.

When my husband I went on our honeymoon, I brought along a three-ring binder. This binder was full of pages I had spent hours typing after months of researching. It included multiple itinerary options for each day, several restaurant ideas in every town, Airbnb addresses, emergency contacts, etc. I like being prepared.

In this case, my overzealousness toward planning and wielding a bit of control may be viewed as a strength. The problem, however, is when I let that need for control, planning, and self-sufficiency bleed into most other parts of my life as well.

Whether I’m planning a vacation, over-analyzing made up scenarios in my head, or trying to supervise my future, two things can be certain:

1. The distraction of control will always empty me of peace.
2. My own attempts at self-sufficiency will always leave me burdened.

If you’re a Type A like me, don’t be discouraged! We can have peace and not be burdened. In order to do so, we must have trust and thankfulness.

What I’ve found is trust and thankfulness really go hand-in-hand. It’s been shown time and time again that the Lord does His greatest works through those with grateful and trusting hearts. So, rather than planning and evaluating, I need to practice trusting and thanking Him continually — practice being the key word here. It’s going to be hard, but the enemy wants me to believe that this need for control is ingrained in my personality. The enemy wants me to believe there’s no changing it, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

Sarah Young describes the practice of continually thanking and trusting in the Lord as a paradigm shift that will revolutionize your life. I want that. I want one of His greatest works to be through me. I want my life revolutionized.

So, in doing a bit of the good research (AKA opening my Bible and other religious text) into what this practice entails, here’s what I’ve found:

Thankfulness will lift you above your circumstance.

Choosing, in faith, to thank Him for whatever is preoccupying your mind or whatever unwanted circumstance you find yourself in will clear the blockage to His presence. This act of faith frees Him to work so that good emerges from the situation.

I actually put this one into practice on the day I launched my blog. I had about ¾ of the first post drafted when my dog knocked over my freshly opened can of seltzer onto my laptop. As I scrambled to dry it off, I realized I must have pressed the wrong combination of keys and now my draft (that had taken me a couple of hours and a few emotional breakdowns to write) was gone. I immediately freaked out. I could feel my face getting red as I cried out in disbelief. My emotions were spinning out.

Luckily, I started my day with Jesus. Here’s the thing about committing to spending time with Jesus every day: eventually, after the word has soaked down deep into our hearts and minds, it starts affecting the decisions we make and actions we take. All it took was that one thought to interrupt the others and that one thought was that I should stop, trust, and thank Him.

So, I did. I took a deep breath and I said, “OK, God maybe you wanted that to happen. Maybe what I had typed wasn’t the message you thought others needed to hear and that was your way of stopping me. Maybe you just knew I needed to get it off my chest. If so, then thank you. Thank you for being with me each step of the way in this journey. I’m going to step away and focus on something else and when I come back, if the draft is there, then I’ll know it’s OK to proceed. I leave it in your hands.” As I said the words, I felt my blood pressure lower and my breathing steady. When I came back, the draft was there.

His understanding is far greater than ours ever will be.

Our understanding proves to be an unstable thing to lean on. We have a tendency to lean on our career or savings, thinking we have it all under control. If anything, this pandemic that we’re experiencing right now, shows us that we never really had control in the first place.

Our understanding leads us to human resolutions. When we seek to figure things out on our own, the burden of the results rests on our shoulders. When we rely on God, we receive relief from the burden of figuring out the future.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is clear evidence of this. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.”

A lot of us may feel like we’re currently stuck waiting. You can choose to be stuck in the waiting if you want. I’m choosing to trust in the waiting. I’m choosing to rest in the comfort that I don’t have to figure everything out. He’ll make my paths straight. I just have to trust Him to bring good out of all circumstances.

Difficulties provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance.

Trust and thank Him in all seasons, viewing problems as opportunities to rely more fully on Him. When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for Him. God doesn’t expect you to handle everything. He expects you to hand it over to Him.

No one in their right mind wants difficulty in their life. I sure don’t. But we live in a sinful, flawed and troubled world. There will be difficulties. I’m inviting you to be aware of your perspective through those difficulties because the hard truth is without difficulty, we tend to grow increasingly distant from God and resilient to His ways. Just ask yourself this: Do I tend to rely on God more when life is going swell or when I’m in a season of hardship?

A thankful heart glorifies Him and fills you with peace.

When we’re focused on the things we don’t have, we take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, etc. When the center of our attention revolves around negative situations that displease us, we refuse to enjoy life until that situation is “fixed”. I’m trying to let a grateful attitude become the grid through which I perceive life. In order to do this, I try and count my blessings daily. When I’m outside, I make a point to acknowledge His creation and its beauty. I work at changing my perspective.

Trust that just like God provided what you needed today; He will provide what you need tomorrow.

A month ago, I completed an exercise in which I was told to write out three-to-five ways God has been faithful to me over the course of my life. This could be in the form of blessings or answered prayers. This simple exercise acted as a reminder that He’s provided for me many times before as well as reassurance that He’ll continue to do so in the future. Regardless of our wavering faith, He remains faithful.

When we put trust and thankfulness into practice, we’ll find that the need to control or plan everything will lose its power over us. My God is not calling me to fix or control everything around me. He is not calling me to allow my to-do list to become an idol directing my life either. He is calling me to a life of constant communion with Him. Not only do I trust that, but I’m thankful for it and it’s in that truth that I’m set free.