Order Isn’t Control
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
Madeleine L’Engle said, “To create a work of art, great or small, is work, hard work, and work requires discipline and order.”
This is true. But to make this happen, we often try to gain more control—over our workspace, others, and outcomes. It doesn’t work.
Order and control aren’t the same thing. There’s an ocean of difference between the two. In fact, let’s use the ocean as a way to illustrate this point.
When God creates a body of water, the ocean is the result.
Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? (Isaiah 40:12 NLT)
The ocean is wild and untamed. It is beyond our control and full of life.
Yet when humans try to create a body of water, we get…a swimming pool. The temperature, depth, chlorine, and filtration are preset. It is totally controlled—yet has no life. Sure, a pool has less risk than the ocean…but it’s also overrated, overcrowded, and overcontrolled. It is the shallow shore of self-creation.
The deep is inviting you to go deeper. To do so, you have to relinquish control. The only other option is to stay in the shallow end of the pool.
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God.Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
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