Paul Tripp: Sin has entered our world and brought with it a terribly destructive war. It's a war for control; it's a war for power; it's a war for rule. You and I are either resting in God's rule, or we're battling Him for rule. There simply isn't any middle ground.

Kate Crowley: From Paul Tripp Ministries, this is Right Here, Right Now, connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Here, now, is Paul Tripp.

Paul Tripp: Well, we've been talking about the surprising life of following God. We've been talking about those moments where you just want to stop and say, "May I speak with the manager, please?" And so, I want to ask you; think with me here for a moment, "Why do we get surprised? Why do we all face those moments when we are utterly unprepared for what we're now facing? Why are we, all so, able to be shocked, discouraged, or angered, by the details of our own story? What could we do differently that would leave us more ready, more prepared? Or, why is God the God of surprises, anyway? Why do we all hit those moments in life where we would say, 'May I speak to the manager, please?'"

I have sat with many, many people who have said to me, "I just can't believe that I'm dealing with what I'm dealing with." Or, "I just can't believe that I have to face what I'm now facing." Or, "I can't believe that this is happening to me."

Just like Todd, whom we have been talking about, who came into that dark house on that sad Saturday night, we all get surprised by things that go on in our life. What are we doing wrong? Why are we often amazed by our own stories? What is God calling us to anyway? What lessons is He wanting us to learn? Why are we so often surprised right here, right now? What could we do differently that would leave us more ready, more prepared? Why is God the God of surprises anyway, and why do we face so many things in our lives unprepared?

Music: "Crying Time" by Ray Charles

Oh, it's crying time again, you're going to leave me
I can see that far away look in your eyes
I can tell by the way you hold me darlin'
That it won't be long before it's crying time

Kate Crowley: You're listening to Right Here, Right Now. Don't go away. In just a moment, Paul Tripp takes a further look at "May I Speak to the Manager, Please?" from his new series here on Right Here, Right Now.

Don't forget to tell your friends that Paul Tripp is here each weekday at 11 A.M. and 11 P.M. on WFIL with a goal to remind you every day that there really is help in Jesus Christ right here, right now. For a look at more resources including a challenging book by Paul called War of Words, visit paultrippministries.org. That's all one word, paultripp, spelled T-R-I-P-P, paultrippministries.org.

More on today's study, "Out of Control" from his series, "May I Speak to the Manager, Please?" on Right Here, Right Now with Paul Tripp.

Todd Was a Hard Man to Help

Paul Tripp: Good old Todd, he was a hard man to help. He was not only a compulsive strategist and planner, but he was also very, very controlling. He had been working on a plan for so many years; it was like instinct to him. It was nearly impossible for him to step back and evaluate it, and when you tried, he would get offended very easily.

But I'll never forget this one moment. I'll never forget, in this moment, when Todd said these powerful words to me; hear these powerful words. He said, "Paul, I know what you're trying to say to me. You're telling me that I've been so busy trying to be God that I have had little time to actually serve God." Todd was shocked and surprised by his life because he had been in a war for a long time. No, it wasn't a battle for his career. It wasn't a battle for his wife or kids. It wasn't a battle with the circumstances. It was a war that Todd had no idea he was fighting. And it was a war that Todd could never win.

Yet, with the impossibility of this war, Todd fought this war every day. Todd fought this war when he was at home, and he fought it at work. He fought it when he was with people, and he fought it when he was alone. He fought it when he was in one of his good moments, and he fought it in what he considered to be the bad times. He fought it from the time he got up each morning until he caved into bed at the end of another productive day. He fought it in the way he responded to his wife, and he fought it in the way he related to his children. He fought this battle every day. He fought it as he was pursuing his career, and he fought it in the way he involved himself with his church.

Todd was in a huge, life-dominating battle, a hopeless, defeatist war, but Todd didn't know it. He put everything into this battle, but he didn't know it, and he refused to give up this battle, even though he didn't know he was in it. Todd was in a war. He was deeply committed to the war; he fought this war every day in a thousand different ways. Yet, he did not know that he was in a war.

And you see it wasn't until his marriage fell apart that Todd's eyes began to be opened to see the carnage that this battle had left in his life and in his relationships. Yet think about this. This is stunning to think about even in the face of all the carnage, even in the face of all the damage, even in the face of all the loss, Todd fought some more. He was in the battle of his life, and he didn't even know it.

It was a battle that all of us tend to get into one time or another. You're like Todd in ways that you don't realize it. You fight this very same battle. There's probably some way that you fight this battle every day; we all do. And like Todd, you and I can be waging this war, waging it every day and not even know that the war is going on.

Music: "Theologians" by Wilco

Theologians, oh, they don't know nothing
About my soul, oh, they don't know
They thin my heart with little things and my life with change
Oh, in so many ways I find more missing every day

What Is the War We All Fight?

Paul Tripp: "Wow!" You say, "Paul, what are you talking about? What is this, what is this war? What's this lifelong battle that Todd's been fighting?" And in asking that, you are really asking, "What is the war that I fight, as well?"

Here it is: Todd was in a war with God for control, for sovereignty. This is one of those places in life where the Bible is so wondrously helpful in the way that it explains life to us. You see, the Biblical story is dyed throughout with the theme of sovereignty. By that, we mean God's Lordship and control, and its central character is the Lord Almighty. He is the good, powerful, wise, loving, sovereign, designer, Creator, and controller of all that is. He created a world of awesome and multifaceted beauty and placed man and woman in it. They enjoyed intimate fellowship with God and had their every need supplied.

But sadly, Adam and Eve fell for an offer to be free of submission to God. They sadly believed that they could be like their Creator. It was a horrible, horrible moment. And when Adam and Eve decided to take life in their own hands, they left the best place in the universe where they could rest in God's sure rule in order to vie for the most dangerous thing a human being could ever do. "What is that dangerous thing?" you may ask. They trusted their lives into their own hands. That horrible moment of poor choice began the struggle that is chronicled in every period of Biblical history.

You see, your lifestyle is always one of two lifestyles. Everyone who has ever lived falls into one of these categories. You are either resting in the glory of God's control and rule over you; or you're trying, in some way, to establish your own rule. That's all of us. We're either resting in the glory of God's rule; or we're trying to establish our own rule. There's a way in which this is the battle of battles. It is a war that Todd was fighting, and it is a war that no human being can ever win. It is a battle that can show itself in an obvious and arrogant lifestyle of power and control like Todd. Or, it's a battle that can live as a subterranean independence that colors every action, reaction, hope, and dream like many of us.

Adam and Eve were called to trust and obey. But they wanted their own way. The Israelites in Palestine were called to trust and fight, but they wanted their own way. The people in the New Testament were called to see, listen, and believe, but they sent the Messiah away. This struggle to trust the Lord, to rest in His rule, and to faithfully do His will is what sin is all about. You see it in every act of disobedience. You see it in every willful moment. You see it in the tightfisted way we tend to hold on to our lives. You see it, and how addicted we get to our own plans. You see, all of this is a direct challenge to the rule of God. Every time I try to take charge of my life, every time I step out of the boundaries of trust and obey, I call God's power, God's wisdom, and God's control into question. And when I do this, my only choice, then, it is to set up myself as the lord of my own life.

Now think with me for a moment about Todd and about yourself. Now, this battle for rule really is at the center of our struggle with sin. If it is true that the most attractive and persuasive of all idols is the idol of self, then it should not surprise us that, in some way, this battle rages in all of our lives. It rages in every situation. It rages in every location. It rages in every circumstance, and it shouldn't shock us that, in some way, it will continue to rage until we have been finally and completely delivered from sin. You cannot be satisfied with God when you have been trying to be God. And you cannot question God's rule without setting yourself up to rule.

You see, it's hard to look at the broken down building of your dreams and be thankful. It's hard to look at the harvest of your life, a harvest you never wanted to have, and be satisfied. It's hard to be staring at personal surprises and look to the heavens and say, "Yes, my Lord, you're loving, kind, and good. You are grand in Your wisdom and glorious in Your grace. You have authority that cannot be challenged and power beyond my imagination. What comes into my life is there because of Your wise counsel and Your perfect will. All of Your ways are right and true, so I rest in your rule. I take Your power as my protection. I hide in Your wisdom and make Your grace my place of retreat." Is that your spirit? Is that your prayer?

You see, it's hard to surrender personal control, but it is the death of our claim on our lives that will begin a wonderful life, a wonderful reordering of our lives, a deepening of our trust, a deepening of our worship, and a deepening of our love for the Lord.

This is the war that Todd was fighting every day. This is the war that all of us fight every day in some way. It's the great war. It's the battle of battles. It's the war for rule and the war for control, and it is a war that, no matter how hard you fight it, you can never win this war. Why? Because God loves you too much, and He's too committed to His own glory to let go of the one thing that is the hope of the universe--His rule. His rule is the hope of the universe, and my attempts to rule are my doom. So, God will fight you; He will fight with grace to establish His rule in your life, because His rule is your only hope right here, right now.

Music: "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas O. Chisholm and William M. Runyan

"Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
"Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--
"Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

Living With Ourselves as Our Deepest Concern

Paul Tripp: You know, it is true that we tend to live with what we think is good for us as our deepest concern. Let me repeat that, "We tend to live with what we think is good for us as our deepest concern." We want our friendships to be happy. We want our investments to have a good return. We want our health to be constantly good. We want our families to be united. We want our houses to be comfortable. We want our cars to run well. We want to have plenty of flavorful food. We want vacations that are nice. We want bosses that are affirming. We want marriages that are satisfying. We want futures that are secure. We want; we want; we want; we want; we want; we want.

Now, you have to here this. There's nothing wrong with wanting these things in and of themselves. But if this is all you want, if these things are all you really desire and crave, well, your world is narrower and more self-focused than it was ever meant to be. If this is all you live for, then you have set yourself up as a sovereign over your own little kingdom. If this is all you want, then you're asking God to forsake the purposes of His history-spanning, life-transforming kingdom and exercise His power to make your little kingdom of one work.

Think about what this does to the people in your life. If you have a dream, then they become objects that help you to get your dream or in the way of your dream. You see, if you want your friendships to be happy, then you don't want friends who are flawed. If you want your health to be constantly good, you don't want to live in a world where there is disease. If you want your families to be united, you don't want to be living with flawed people who get in the way of that purpose.

You see, when you are driven just by what you want or you think you need, there are two things that will always be true of you. One, your world will be much smaller than it was ever meant to be; and two, you will want to have control in order to guarantee that you get those things that you set your heart on.

And so, what you'll be doing is you'll be asking God to forsake the purposes of His kingdom in order to exercise His power to make your little kingdom of one work.

Todd didn't know it, but he had spent his life building a kingdom of one. His wife and children began to realize that there was no room for them in Todd's little kingdom, but not only that, there was no room for God in Todd's kingdom.

You see, you and I were never created to have our goals and dreams as our deepest concerns. We were created to have God, His glory, and the success of His kingdom on earth as our greatest, deepest, most satisfied life concern. This is what it practically means to be motivated by the glory of God--more motivated by the glory of God than you are motivated by what you think would be comfortable and happy.

Sin has entered our world and brought with it a terribly destructive war. It's a war for control. It's a war for power. It's a war for rule. You and I are either resting in God's rule, or we are battling Him for rule. There simply isn't any middle ground.

(Music Interlude)

Paul Tripp: Are you glad that your life is being ruled? In Ephesians 1, Paul says that God rules over all things for the sake of His body, the church. Are you glad that your life is being ruled, or are you trying to take rule for yourself?

You know, much of the disappointment we face in life is not just a disappointment with the way circumstances and relationships have worked out. No! I think there's a deeper disappointment that many of us face, and we don't even know we are facing it. This deeper disappointment is a disappointment that has to do with God and His rule. This disappointment is propelled by haunting questions about God's ruling wisdom, goodness, and love.

In those moments when your mind wanders into fantasy and you create worlds of your own making that do your bidding, what you're actually doing is expressing a deep dissatisfaction with God's rule and wishing that you could have your hand on the cosmic joystick. In those moments, I want to rule my world so that I do not have to face waiting; I do not have to face disappointment; I do not have to face obstacles; I do not have to face failure. In those moments, I am questioning God in the deepest and most personal of levels.

Whenever you allow yourself to think that God has not ruled your world well, whenever you say, "May I speak to the manager, please?" you will then turn and set yourself up as the ruler of your own life. All of us have done it; all of us are doing it in some way, right now. And, all of us will continue to do it until sin has been forever defeated. Where are you in that battle for rule in your daily situations and relationships, right here, right now?

Kate Crowley: "Learning to Surrender," Paul Tripp with today's topic, "Out of Control" from the series, "May I Speak to the Manager, Please?" on today's edition of Right Here, Right Now. For more encouragement and help in battling sin, take a moment and look at War of Words, a book by Paul Tripp which examines the power of God-honoring speech and the power of words. That's War of Words, available at our website, paultrippministries.org. It's all one word, paultripp, spelled T-R-I-P-P, paultrippministries.org.

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Be here next time for more truth in the name of Jesus Christ, Friday. This is Kate Crowley, and for all of us at Paul Tripp Ministries, we want to remind you that, in Jesus Christ, there really is help right here, right now.