The Illusion of Control

Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to go wrong at once? The phone would not stop ringing, messages kept piling up, and demands came from every direction. There was no space to breathe and no moment of quiet. Pressure mounted as responsibilities stacked higher, until life itself felt overwhelming.

Scripture describes a moment when God sent a swarm upon Egypt. Through Moses, the Lord warned that if Pharaoh refused to release His people, swarms would fill their houses and cover the land. The word used does not point to a single insect, but to a mixture moving together in overwhelming numbers.

To Egypt, this struck at the heart of what they trusted.

They believed the universe was held together by divine order. Every sunrise and every season were thought to move in perfect rhythm because their gods maintained balance. One of their strongest symbols of that order was the scarab beetle, which they connected with renewal and the rising of the sun each morning. It represented stability, predictability, and life continuing as it always had.

Then the Lord sent the swarm.

What they associated with order became an instrument of chaos. Homes were overwhelmed. Daily life was disrupted. The systems they trusted could not restore peace. God was revealing that true control did not rest in rhythms, symbols, or human systems, but in Him alone.

We are not so different.

We build our lives around routines, schedules, and careful planning. When everything runs smoothly, we feel secure. Yet order often gives us the illusion of control. When chaos interrupts our plans through illness, loss, broken relationships, or exhaustion, we are unsettled not merely by inconvenience, but by the reminder that we are not in charge.

Order is not the same as security.

Control is not the same as peace.

Stability is not the same as trust.

Peace with God in seasons of chaos is not found by fixing every problem. It is cultivated through surrender.

Begin by bringing the full weight of your chaos honestly before the Lord in prayer, trusting Him with what feels overwhelming. Then release what you cannot control into His hands, acknowledging that outcomes and timing belong to Him. Finally, anchor your heart in the truth of Scripture, allowing God’s promises to steady your mind when circumstances feel unstable.

The chaos may not immediately disappear, yet peace begins to grow when prayer replaces panic, surrender replaces striving, and trust replaces fear.

True rest is not found in perfect order, but in trusting the Lord who remains present in the midst of every storm.

Have a great week.

Greg