Stop Micromanaging God

He’s never lost control, not once.

Beloved Friend,

When my younger brother started driving a few months ago, I could never fully relax whenever he took the wheels. My mum would micromanage him, telling him when to honk, how close to get to a car, and even asking why he did not use his side mirror. One time he sent me a voice note complaining about all her corrections, and while I laughed, he was not finding it funny.

I was not much help either. I do not know how to drive, yet I would sit stiffly beside him, eyes wide open, alert for danger. Then one day something shifted without me realising it. We were on our way to pick my mum up, and I was at the passenger side, eating watermelon and replying to texts. Before then I would never have been on my phone or eating in the car. My full attention would have been on the road. Midway into another bite, my brother glanced at me with a teasing smile and said, “Ahan, when did this one start? You fit dey chop as I dey drive now.” It took me a moment, but his words landed. I had become comfortable without noticing. All those times I thought my worry was hidden, he had sensed it. Now that I trusted him, he was glad and more confident that he was doing the right thing.

This is not really about my brother. It is about our relationship with God.

We often say we trust Him, yet we micromanage Him. We try to make sure the life He gave us goes exactly how we planned, as if He might overlook something if we do not help. We adjust timelines, move things around, and worry over what is not happening quickly enough, forgetting that He already knows the end from the beginning, as Isaiah reminds us.

I don’t like being micromanaged, and neither do you. Imagine being told to do a task you were already going to do; it’s frustrating! Yet, we often do this with God. We give Him our prayers, but then we hover over His shoulder, worried He might not deliver as we expect.

I remember a time when the driver taking us to church made a rough turn. My brother texted me while we were still in the car and said that if he had done the same, our mum would have his neck. I told him the difference was that the driver had more experience. The same applies to us. God has been steering lives long before ours and He has never mismanaged a single one.

He knows what He’s doing. He’s not new to this.

As the year draws to a close, you might be looking at things that are still pending. Answers that have not come yet. Prayers that seem to hang. The anxiety creeps in because getting those things would make you feel like your goals are complete, your plans worked, your life is in order. That feeling is human.

Waiting does not mean doing nothing. Scripture tells the story of the persistent widow who kept asking the judge for justice until she got it. That story teaches that faithful waiting is not passive. It is trust in motion. Faithful waiting is praying, showing up, doing the next right thing, and trusting God with the timing. When the disciples feared for their lives in the storm, Jesus stood and calmed the sea with His voice. When Peter began to sink while walking on water, Jesus reached out His hand. The One who calms storms and pulls us up knows what He is doing. God doesn’t lose control; we only lose sight of His steadiness when we stop trusting His ability.

Trusting God does not remove responsibility. It does not mean being lazy or passive. The widow kept knocking. We are invited to press in while trusting that He is at work. There is a balance between doing our part and allowing God to be God.

If you can trust human skill enough to relax in a car, you can trust the One who made the car and the road. If you can trust a human driver to get you home, surely you can trust the Monarch of the universe to get you where He’s promised. His record is flawless. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

Relax. Stop micromanaging God. He’s never lost control, not once.

With thoughts of kindness,

ABBA’s Shofar