St. Patrick’s day brings to mind leprechauns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. Do you ever think, “if I could just have ____, I would be happy.”? What if you felt like you got everything your heart desired? You would feel lucky, like the luckiest person on Earth. Let’s dive in and learn how.
Feel Lucky by Discovering Joy
Lucky feels good. When we win something, we get a surge of dopamine in our brain, creating happiness. Dopamine keeps us going when we are working hard. Imagine a significant goal that you are trying to accomplish. Your brain will give you dopamine when you achieve a small piece of it. You will get a surge of happiness that will help you continue.
Happiness quickly fades. You feel happy for a minute when you get what you want, but you must continue getting what you want to feel satisfied. Joy, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast. Joy fills your heart and doesn’t go away when the circumstances change. Read more about discovering joy.
Living a God-Driven Life
I don’t know about you, but I have BIG plans for my life. My ideas are so big that whenever I tell my mom I have an idea, she groans before hearing what I have to say. It is no secret that I have big ideas and am a planner. Unfortunately, God’s plans for me often differ from my own. I am a let’s get it done right now kind of person, and God usually says, “not so fast!”
Looking back, God’s plans are ALWAYS better than my own. I spend so much time-fighting God’s perfect plan for my life that I miss out on the beautiful things he has in store.
When I finally reach my breaking point of frustration, he says, “I have a perfect plan for you. Are you ready?” I sit back and think about how lucky I would feel if I had just allowed God to lead me in the first place. Nothing gets in the way of his perfect plans.
How to Give God Control
I cannot believe I just wrote this subtitle. I can see God smiling in heaven, knowing he will remind me of this advice very soon!
Trust
To give control of your life over to God, you need to trust him. You would never allow a stranger to control your life! Is God a stranger to you? How much do you trust him?
Think about your other relationships. Who do you trust? Why do you trust them? You trust people that you know and people that have shown you that they are trustworthy. God is no different.
Know your God
Who is the God that you trust? What is he like? Spend time reading your Bible to get to know the one you trust. You can read countless stories of how He protects the ones he loves. Know his character. He is trustworthy, He is merciful, and He cannot lie. God is the God who saves and calls you chosen and has adopted you into his family.
Talk to God
Spend time talking to God. Share your heart with him. Listen to what He wants to tell you. Ask him to give you a heart for what He wants you to do. He has uniquely gifted you for this moment. He knows His plans for you and how he can use you. Talk to him to discover what He has in store for you.
Make a Choice
Life is about choices. You won’t lose 20 pounds just because you want to. Losing weight requires work. You must change your eating habits and your lifestyle. Living a life with God in control is no different. You have to choose to give over control.
You have a choice to run your life just like you have an option to allow God to run your life. The secret to feeling lucky is to say yes. Yes, I will do what you ask me to do. I will do it before I know what you want me to do.
God is ready to take you on an epic adventure if you are willing to go. You can be stubborn and fixate on your plans and timing, or give God control and watch the amazing things He will do with your life.
Discover a Heavenly Perspective
Life feels a lot more lucky when you discover a heavenly perspective. You begin to witness all of the miracles that are happening around you. You see the prays that are getting answered. Life is so much sweeter when you are looking heavenward.
Trials and bumps in the road become just that, a bump in the road. They no longer take over your life or existence. Fears and worries are eased when you look to the one who made you. He has your back and will carry you through.
It is time to stop struggling on your own path and wishing for the pot of God at the end of the rainbow. God has a much greater plan than you can imagine if you will only allow Him to show you the way.
