The Daily CHEW™
CHEW on God’s Love. Live Transformed. Multiply Hope.
It’s early. My inbox’s already on fire, and I haven’t swallowed my second coffee. I catch myself—just for a second—re-reading a direct report’s email draft before a big meeting. Even while I trust my teams, the muscle memory of “fixing” every detail creeps back. A flash of that old urgency: “What if something vital gets missed—and it’s on me?” I ache for excellence, but is this drive really about outcomes… or something running deeper?
Maybe you, too, find yourself redoing a colleague’s slides, hovering over processes you’ve already explained, or feeling that familiar spike in tension before a quarterly review. Maybe, despite proven success and a faith you’ve worked hard to integrate, there are moments when the only way to quiet old anxieties is to tighten your grip. What’s underneath it all? Why do even seasoned, gospel-centered professionals fall into cycles of control?
Why Control Is Never Just About Standards
Harvard Business Review can tell you how micromanagement tanks productivity, but the data only scratches the surface. For high-performing Christians, control rarely comes from ego or a lack of skill—it shows up when what we know about God’s love hasn’t anchored our inner world that day. At its heart, micromanagement is less a strategy and more an anxious response: a symptom of deeper beliefs that still need the Gospel to move from head to heart.
Those beliefs sound like this:
- “If I don’t monitor it, it will fail.” (Vs. God gives wisdom, not omniscience.)
- “My value comes from flawless output.” (Vs. Leading from belovedness not bondage.)
- “Delegation equals losing my impact.” (Vs. Real influence is multiplied, not hoarded.)
- “I’m only as secure as my latest results.” (Vs. Security is rooted in Christ, not market response.)
Scripture reveals that God’s love runs deeper than our performance traps, and calls us to respond to pressure with surrender and trust—not self-rescue (cf. Romans 8:31–39).https://1stprinciplegroup.com/when-sundays-truth-meets-mondays-reality-the-gap-that-changes-everything/
A Gentler Reset: Pause for a Real CHEW
What if these moments of tightening control could become invitations, not indictments? Join me, right now, not as a spiritual hero but as a peer, for a quick CHEW—a return to the only anchor strong enough to hold through high-stakes seasons.
CHEW in 3-5 Minutes:
- Take three slow breaths—Remember: God’s love is here, right now, before any goal is met.
- Adore: “Father, You love me right now—before I accomplish, fix, or protect anything.”
- Confess: “What’s stirring in me? Is it trust, or is it fear that I’ll be found lacking?”
- Hear: “What truth or promise do I most need?”
- “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…” (Lamentations 3:22–23)
- “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You.” (Isaiah 26:3)
- “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
(For more struggles and scriptures, see Scripture for Common Struggles & Growth)
- Exchange: If God’s love is this steady, what gets traded?
- I would exchange frantic self-management for resting in Christ’s proven faithfulness—even in uncertainty.
- Walk: What’s one action, today, that could express trust instead of control?
(Maybe: delegate a task without hovering, offer gratitude before critique, or leave one email unsent.) - Thanksgiving & Worship:
- Thank God for His love that never shrinks back in my anxious moments—however small my surrender seems.
- Refocus your heart on God’s relentless kindness. “Father, You delight in me as I let go. Your strength, not mine, defines this day.”
Growth is Never Linear—And That’s Victory
If you feel the urge to revert to old patterns, you’re not alone. The gap between what we know and how we habitually lead is where God meets us—in truth, not in perfection. Every honest return, each moment of surrender, is how His love closes that gap, a little at a time. God delights in our presence, not our performance curve.
CHEW On This™:
If I really believed God’s love is patient, present, and unfailing, how would that change my urge to control outcomes at work or home?
Keep Returning, Keep Growing—And Don’t CHEW Alone
Try this CHEW reset again tomorrow, or bring it to your team. The deepest change happens in community, not in isolation (Why You Can’t CHEW Alone). Curious how community CHEW changes things? Share your experience or bring these rhythms into your professional circles.
Want More?
- The Daily CHEW™: Get God’s love from your head to your heart—subscribe here.
- Make CHEW a Daily Rhythm—Learn more.
Select Resources:
- What Are Core Beliefs? The Quiet Engine Behind Growth, Healing, and Hope
- SALVES: Discovering and Redeeming the Core Drivers of Every Heart
- When Fine Becomes the Most Expensive Lie in Leadership: The M.O.P. Framework for Heart-Level Honesty
- Scripture for Common Struggles & Growth
- God’s Love: The Surprising Source of Sustainable Discipline and Real Change
With you on the journey,
Ryan
CHEW on God’s Love. Live Transformed. Multiply Hope.
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