Studio RC - Known #3: The Father Who Provides - Max Ingram

Studio RC - Known #3: The Father Who Provides - Max Ingram

Curious about how others manage fear and control in recovery? This Studio RC episode centres on “the father who provides”, with Pastor Max Ingram sharing how faith in a caring God can reshape the inner battles that often drive addiction. Speaking as “an alcoholic” and a pastor, Max connects familiar recovery themes like anxiety, shame and the urge to control with Jesus’ words from Matthew 6 about worry and God’s care.

He reads, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life… Look at the birds of the air… yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” From there, he digs into the idea of God’s providence: that God continually “provides, sustains, guides, and cares for his creation.” Max explains how many people in recovery tried to control life in order to feel safe, not to become addicts.

The heart of the message is summed up in one striking line: “Control may quiet your fears for a moment, but the father gives something control can never do, and that is peace.” Max links this peace to the serenity prayer, contentment and gratitude, and reminds listeners that peace isn’t the absence of storms but confidence that “the father is still in the boat.” With simple illustrations like clenching and opening your fists, he invites anyone in recovery to consider what they’re gripping so tightly that they can’t receive peace, and what burdens God never asked them to carry.

Control promises security but “offers certainty and produces exhaustion,” while trust moves responsibility back to God. He draws a clear line between healthy planning and draining control, showing how trust doesn’t erase responsibility, it just changes where responsibility ends. If you’ve ever felt crushed by worry or the pressure to hold everything together, this episode might prompt you to ask: what if you really trusted a father who provides?