Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:13] Welcome back to another edition of the Weekday podcast. We're in this series as we're getting ready for Christmas. And hey, if you live here in the Sugar Hill, Georgia area, I'd love to invite you to join us for Christmas Eve. You can find all the details at Christmas in Sugar Hill. The well today I want us to think about the weight that we've been carrying. The Bible says in Isaiah 9, verse 6 for a child will be born to us, a son will be given, and the government will rest on his shoulders and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Now Israel. What they're waiting for was a king. And honestly, they wanted someone to show up with political power, with military might, with a plan to crush their enemies. They wanted a leader who could fix everything from the outside.
[00:00:56] But instead God sent a baby. He didn't send a general, he didn't send a warrior. He sent a baby who was born in a barn, wrapped in rags and laid in a feeding trough.
[00:01:06] Isaiah says this unbelievable line. He says the government will rest on his shoulders, meaning all authority, all control, all power rests on Jesus. Now that word government literally means dominion, rule, or authority. It's the idea that Jesus isn't just managing your spiritual life on Sundays. He's in charge of Monday's stress and your Tuesday arguments and your Wednesday's worries and your Thursday exhaustion.
[00:01:28] And his name was Prince of peace, not Prince of make everything easy, Not Prince of remove all your problems. Prince of peace. Peace in the middle of the chaos. Peace when nothing makes sense. Peace when the world feels like it's falling apart. Which is good, because most of us are actually terrible at creating our own peace. We try to micromanage our way to calm. We think if we can just control every detail, plan for every contingency, anticipate every problem, that then we'll finally be able to relax. But it never works because life doesn't cooperate with your three ring binder. The car breaks down, the meeting goes sideways, the person you trusted lets you down and suddenly all your plans are useless. It's like trying to plan that perfect family vacation. You've got spreadsheets, you've got backup plans, you've got restaurant reservations three months out and then the flight gets delayed or someone gets car sick and the hotel gives away your room and you're standing at the front desk at 11pm Realizing that control is actually an illusion. So here's the question. What are you trying to control right now that you need to let go of? Maybe it's your career. You're hustling, grinding. You're exhausted. Maybe it's your kids, you're trying to manage every detail of their lives and it's crushing you. Maybe it's your future you're planning and contingency planning, and you still can't shake the anxiety.
[00:02:44] Maybe you're white, knuckling your way through life, trying to hold everything together by the sheer force of will.
[00:02:50] We're like those little toddlers who try to push the grocery cart. We say, I can do it. I got it. And then we're ramming into displays, we're knocking over things, and we're nearly taking people out, but we're convinced, man, we don't need help. But here's the hard truth about that. If you don't let go, the weight you're carrying will actually crush you. And I've seen people insist on controlling everything. Their career, their kids, their future. And it breaks them. The anxiety becomes unbearable. The exhaustion becomes permanent. And the worst part, the they're carrying weight that God never asked them to carry. Here's what Jesus says, I've got this. Let me carry it. The government, the weight, the burden, the control, it all rests on his shoulders, not on yours. Peace doesn't mean everything is calm. Peace means that Jesus is present. And Jesus doesn't just offer advice from the sidelines. He carries the load that you were never meant to carry.
[00:03:41] So here's the action.
[00:03:42] Let go.
[00:03:44] Let go. Let go of the outcome and trust the process. Pray before you react and ask God, what do you want me to see in the middle of all this? Stop trying to force that result.
[00:03:54] Let go of the illusion, the illusion that you can fix everything because you can't ask for help. Admit you don't have it together and let go of your timeline and trust God's timing. Stop forcing doors open that God hasn't unlocked yet. Because peace, it doesn't come from holding tighter. Peace comes from releasing what was never yours to control. And when you let go, you create space to receive what God's offering. Peace is not found in what you control. Peace is found in who controls you. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.
