If only God would do what I tell God to do, life would be so much easier.
It’s rather embarrassing how often I try to control how and when God shows up in my life.
God doesn’t play by my rules.
And I’m constantly reminded: I’m not God. And really, thank God for that. We’d be terrible at doing God’s job. I think Bruce Almighty showed that in a clever and fun way. (Does anyone remember Evan Almighty? Me neither).

Some time last month, I took a leap of faith. Literally. 

I jumped out of a plane.
And in those five minutes of falling from the sky, I realized I had not a single control over anything.
Everything was out of my control.
My fate laid in the hands of a guy I just met who says he’s a certified sky diver. I’m sure he is. (I knew he was… based on a little paper that hung on the walls…) But anyone could go around and say, “Trust me. I’m a doctor.” Granted, I got to know him fairly well as I had to sit on his lap for a good portion of our ascent.

One of the most exhilarating thing about that experience was that I had no control over my fate. If I panicked and jerked my head back and hit him in the nose, knocking him out, we’re both dead.
That (having no control) was more nerve wracking than the actual jumping out of the plane.
I didn’t even get a chance to be nervous about the jump. Before I could change my mind (not that I wanted to) we were already falling.

And. It. Was. Awesome.
I was flying. Or, well, falling. I didn’t have to think about what to do next but to just be and enjoy the experience. At one point, the guy asked me if I wanted to steer. “No thanks, I’d rather make it down alive.”

I’ve always cringed at the cliché “Let go and let God.”
But I’ve found new meaning in that.
Do we realize just how much we get in the way of God doing something great in and with and through us?
Our best life — true freedom — comes from letting go of the control and trusting in God.
That often comes in a form of taking a leap of faith.
Mark Batterson in Circle Maker wrote, if you don’t put yourself in “this is crazy” situations, you won’t experience “this is awesome” moments.
Or — if you never jump out of a plane, you’ll never know what flying feels like — even if it’s for a minute/

Often times we don’t put ourselves in “this is crazy” situations because we rely too heavily on ourselves; our egos; our strength; our ability to rationalize; our pride… as if we know more than God. It’s simple. You don’t know more than God. And even more simple, you’re not God. Take a moment to realize that you are not the center — let alone the Creator — of the universe. Enjoy that freedom. The fate of the universe doesn’t depend on you.

Take a step — a leap or a jump, even — of faith.
You’ll either fly or crash and burn majestically.
But the thing is, God is always with you. And the great thing about God is that even when we crash and burn into the ground, God can take that brokenness and still create new and great things in you, with you, and through you.

So… and I can’t believe I’m going to say this… let go and let God.