When I said: "God, you have control!"

Paschal, let me tell you where I found the wind.
Many years ago, everything around was collapsing out of control. I had two young children; a wife who was mentally ill but living at home (she had been hospitalized seven times and on one occasion certified as insane). I was out of a job, thousands of dollars in debt, and about to be evicted from my home for non-payment of rent. Because of all this and more, I was hanging on by my fingertips. I don't mean I was suicidal, that's not my style, I was just unable to find a solution to my problems.

One evening I sat contemplating my situation looking for a way to deal with it. It was hopeless. I could not find a solution. For some reason, I remembered a time a few years earlier when I had been flying as a pilot in the Air Force.

I recalled my time in pilot training. Initial flying training was done on Harvard aircraft at the Gimli airforce base in Canada. The Harvard trainer was a piston engined aircraft with dual controls. The student would sit in the front cockpit and the instructor in the rear cockpit.

The first rule of flying training was drummed into every student before the first training flight. If the aircraft got into difficulties while under the control of the student, the instructor would say to the student through the inter-com, "I have control". The student would respond, "You have control." The student would then let go all controls. The student took his hands off the throttle and the control column and took his feet off the rudder. The instructor would then fly the aircraft from the rear cockpit.

This rule was important. Many students and instructors had been killed because students had panicked and frozen on the controls when an aircraft being flown by the student got into difficulties..

Another aspect of the rule was, when the student felt himself getting into difficulties, the student would say to the instructor through the inter-com, "You have control". The instructor would reply, "I have control", and the student would then take hands and feet off all controls.
Now getting back to my problems, remembering my time in the Air Force, I could see no way out other than letting God take control of the situation. So, in absolute faith, I said to God, "You have control". By virtue of my faith, God replied, "I have control."

My next step was to let go all controls. I stopped looking for a job and for a new home. I stopped worrying about my debts. I let go of trying to control my situation.
Very quickly, things started to happen. The day before I and my family were due to be evicted from our home, a neighbor, who was a complete stranger, called by the house. He had heard of my situation and had a very nice, vacant house he would let me have at a nominal rent. I could move in next day.

When I had been working, I had a good reputation for the quality of my work. I had been forced to quit my job only because of my domestic situation. No sooner had I moved my family into the new home, than I was head-hunted by a company who was looking for a good man in my field of work. I was offered a salary MORE THAN TWICE what I had earned ever before in all my life. With the good salary, I was soon able to pay off all my debts. And so it went on.

This is how I found the wind when I needed it. It seems to me life can be very difficult at times but God is always there to help us if we go after him with humility. I believe what God was teaching me above was the importance of humility. It's not a new lesson, just a different way of illustrating it.

Thanks for asking. Best wishes in this project.
Graham.