Control

‭Romans 12:2 (NIV‬) -

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

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‭Matthew 7:24-25 (NIV‬) -

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."

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Hi everyone!

I can't recall if I've mentioned this before, but I study music - specifically, singing - in university. Once a week, my classmates and I have a workshop in which a few people will perform a song they've been working on with their teacher, after which another teacher will help them develop and grow their singing technique over 20-30 minutes. It's a chance for us to practice performing in a safe space, do some learning, and hear what how our classmates are doing. We also take notes on what the teacher works on with the student up front at the time, so we can show that we're engaging and learning.

It has been interesting to me to discover how much overlap there is between how a singer improves in their technique, and how a Christian grows in maturity. One such correlation revealed itself in my notes earlier this week, as I found myself writing in my notes the following phrase:

Control comes from letting go of the obstacles, grounding ourselves, and allowing the breath to flow in, through, and out of us.

As a singer, breath is the key to everything I do and the foundation of good technique. If my breath isn't flowing freely, my sound won't come out right, especially in the harder sections when things are moving quickly or I'm at the top of my range. As a result, I need to make sure my breath is flowing as freely as possible. However, this isn't done by forcing myself or by straining. If I do, I just end up overworking myself, possibly even to the point of damaging my voice, all without ever experiencing the freedom, control, and beauty that my voice is capable of.

Instead, I've been learning that to have true control over my voice, I need to let go of all the ways I'm trying to "control" it. You see, my body is already capable of creating sound just fine. I do it all the time when I'm speaking, and I don't even think about it. But when I start to sing, my mind tricks my body into putting in a lot of extra effort to try and make "good singing" happen, when the reality is that I just need to let go of all those obstacles.

This is something that is done in the mind. My job as a singer is not to control everything, but to simply be aware of the ways my mind is trying to get me to put in extra effort. This isn't always easy, because my brain doesn't like paying attention to itself. It's uncomfortable, takes a lot of focus and energy, and makes me all to keenly aware of all the times that I fail. However, having this awareness gives me the power and freedom to choose - in particular, to choose to get out of my own way and let my breath flow freely.

Sometimes, this awareness is helped through physical actions. The most significant way I can help my brain to pay attention is by making sure that I'm physically "grounded" - in other words, that I'm not holding myself up or tensing in any parts of my body like my arms, legs, chest, or jaw, but am instead in a relaxed but upright stance which allows the ground to take most of my weight without me having to put in much effort. Being in this position helps me feel more comfortable and relaxed, which means that I'm not restricting my flow of breath and can more easily get out of the way of my body's natural use of air.

When I'm doing these things - when I let go of the obstacles I put up in myself that prevent my air from flowing freely and "ground" myself, my voice opens up and I'm able to sing with much more control, precision, freedom, and beauty. Even better, I'm able to do it with little to no effort, because my body is using air in the most natural, efficient way possible, meaning I can sustain it for much longer.

As Christians, it is so easy to fall into a mentality of works-based salvation. We might say with our mouths that it is by grace through faith alone, but our lives tell a different story - one marked by stress, exhaustion, and a constant fear of failure. We put in so much extra effort, desperately hoping to earn God's approval and live the life of holiness and righteousness that He has called us to. What we don't realise is that all that extra effort is only making it more difficult for us to experience the freedom, beauty, and self-control that is a natural overflow of God's love - it is creating barriers and obstacles within us.

I have lived with that mindset for a long time. It's only been within the last couple of months that God has been speaking to me very deeply about His love and how it determines my identity. I'm sure there are many of you out there who struggle with the same battle. If so, here is what I want you to understand: as a Christian, control doesn't come from straining and forcing yourself to be righteous. It comes from surrendering to the Holy Spirit, who gives us the fruit of self-control by centering us in the freedom we have from fear and sin through Christ's death and resurrection.

Let's bring back our singing analogy.

Our job as Christians is not to force ourselves into obedience or righteousness, the same way I as a singer don't force myself to sing well. Instead, we need to become aware of the obstacles we are putting in God's way, preventing us from knowing and experiencing His love. When we see the obstacles, which we do by the Spirit's illumination, we can choose to let go of our old mindsets, get out of our own way, and allow the breath of the Spirit to flow freely.

This will take effort, but a different kind. It's uncomfortable to be aware of our sin and our limited understanding. It's challenging to realise how little we know. It can take a lot of energy to begin with as we get into a practice of noticing our failures, then bringing them to God instead of clamping down on them in fear and shame to try and "get ourselves right" before coming to Him.

In time, though, as we engage in this process regularly, we will discover that we have so much more energy, joy, and ease than ever before, because we are living in a natural flow of life as the Spirit moves in, through, and out of us without any obstacles slowing Him down. We will be living as we were meant to be.

However, this awareness is going to be much more difficult, if not impossible, unless we are "grounded". At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7, Jesus tells the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. He indicates that anyone who stands on the firm, secure foundation of the Rock - that is, the Gospel - will withstand any trial or storm, because they were securely held. In the language of our singing analogy, they were "grounded".

We will find it easiest to develop an awareness of our internal state when we have a strong, secure foundation. This foundation is built by spending time in Scripture and in prayer. We read the Bible to get to know the God who loved us enough to die for us, so when difficult times come we can rest and stand firm on the truths it shares. We pray so that same God can shape our inner world, pointing us to the ways we set up barriers and helping us to let go of them through His grace so that the Spirit can move more freely in our lives.

When we are living in this flow, letting go of all the obstacles we put up and grounding ourselves in God's Word and in prayer, self-control, freedom, and beauty flow out supernaturally. Our lives become a melody which sings the praises of God, who sent His Son to die for us. We discover the love of God like we never have before and discover a grace to express that love to other people so they can know God's love as well. The life of holiness and righteousness that we wrestled to try and force into existence for so long becomes an easy, natural overflow of the Holy Spirit's movement in, through, and out of us.

I'm not there yet, not fully, but I'm getting a little closer to living in this reality with each day that passes. I pray that the same will be true for you.

With love,

Jordan.