March 6: The Director Is Not You

If everyone would just do what you think is best, things would be fine. Right?

Paul writes that he has been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives in him. The life he now lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him.

That’s a radical statement. Paul is saying the old self, the one in charge of everything, has died. Someone else is running things now.

Think about how much of your drinking life involved trying to run the show. You had a script in your head for how every situation should go. How your spouse should respond. What your boss should say. How the holiday dinner should unfold. When people didn’t follow the script, you got frustrated, resentful, hurt. And for many drinkers, that frustration was one of the main reasons to pick up.

It’s like being an actor who also wants to be the director, the writer and the stage crew. Exhausting. And it never works, because the other actors have their own scripts.

Step Three asks you to step down from the director’s chair. To let God direct. That doesn’t mean you stop caring or stop acting. It means you stop trying to control what was never yours to control. You play your part honestly, and leave the rest of the production to Him.

Paul says this new life is lived by faith. Trusting the Director, even when you can’t see how the scene will end.

This is freeing. You can stop managing everyone. You can stop rehearsing arguments in the shower. You can let people make their own choices. Your job becomes simpler: do the next right thing, and trust God with the outcome.

Self-will doesn’t go quietly. It’ll try to take the chair back many times. Each time you notice, you can step down again.

One thing today

Notice one moment today when you’re frustrated that someone isn’t following your script. Stop, breathe, and pray: “You’re the Director. Not me.”

A prayer

Lord, I’ve been trying to direct everything, and it’s worn me out. I’m stepping down. You run the show. Help me play my part and trust You with the rest.

Handing over control is Step Three.

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