“…Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.”
I Peter 4:1&2
Recently, I read this verse and it caused me to stop and think. I still expect to get my own way. And, when I don’t…..well, let’s say it this way….I may be ‘sitting on the outside but I’m standing on the inside’. In other words, I may be able to semi-hide my frustration to others but I’m feeling it inside. As I continued to think about this, it is a sign of my immaturity.
When you have a child, you know that it’s not good for them to always get their own way. That’s the best way to create a little human being who thinks the world revolves around them and they should always get their way.
Think a moment about Helen Keller. What a small world she lived in until Annie Sullivan came along. Not looking so much at her disability as at her behaviors – acting wild, taking food off other’s plates, having tantrums, Annie puts a stop to it. Helen went through immense suffering during those first few days as her world was turned upside down. The immediate pain was deep and confusing for both she and her family, but Annie had a plan “to prosper her and not to harm”.
The immediate suffering gave birth to a new world for Helen. She opened up to the world of words, symbols and language. She was finally able to give and receive love from her parents…and also Annie. She went on to graduate from college and become a well-known author. That would never have happened without the suffering of letting go of the old self-centered behaviors.
I don’t want to continue to live with the tyranny of being focused on ‘what I want’. I want to be willing to let go of ‘getting my way’ and allow God to mold me, through the disappointments, into someone who is more attuned to what God wants than what I want.
Is this a struggle for you? Do you ever fall victim to the tyranny of needing to get your own way? If so, I invite you to offer that struggle to God and allow the Holy Spirit to being that work in you.
Grace and peace,
Deb
5 comments:
Recently, a relationship of mine had to end - without question - and I have been left wondering: "It wasn't what I would've chosen, so why God?" Slowly, I am seeing that so many of my hopes and desires were (and still are!) wrapped up in this other person...It was about what I wanted with this person, not primarily what God wanted. Clearly my way was NOT working, and God knew what I needed.
God has put me in a place where I have no choice but to express my desires, my longings to Him...and release them to Him.
My girls are constantly saying, "it's not fair" to one thing or another. As much as I admonish that life is not fair and draw in a dramatic life lesson, at the end of the day I realize how often I say the same thing in a grown-up manner. In fact, I often don't just want fairness. I want favor and total protection from all of life's sting. I want it my way! My girls so often open the spiritual caverns in my own life. There are so many ways I try to avoid and protect myself from suffering, instead of trusting in God's leading even though I can look back and see all the miraculous ways He's used past sufferings for His glory. I keep hoping I'll hit my quota on suffering and can coast through the rest of my days. I'm sure God chuckles... actually with me, I'm sure He often gets a good laugh like when you laugh until you either cry or wet yourself. It does all boil down to that selfish mindset of wanting things my own way...wanting things to have a fairytale ending... Yet, God calls me daily (sometimes moment by moment) to cast all my cares on Him and TRUST! Complete surrender is so difficult for me. I tend to hand things over one bit at a time instead of being able to just lay them at the feet of the cross and walk away. So, He continues to loving lead me to situations where all I can do is give it over to Him and put that trust back where in needs to be... fully in the palm of His mighty hands.
Thank you, Deb, for todays leading!
When I want something so badly that I expect God to do it my way, I find that I am often just setting myself up for disappointment. God does things in His way & His timing...not mine! Instead of expecting God to do things my way, I have found that if I say, "God, this is what I would like, but I trust you to do what is best, etc." Sometimes I have to just lay it down rather than letting it consume me. I have found that I don't have to grab and become frustrated trying to make things happen, I just have to be open and trust Him.
Ladies,
Thank you for your comments. Obviously the theme of yielding hit home.
It is such a process to trust Him with everything. It certainly is not easy. Thank you for sharing how you and God are working this out in your lives....
Deb
Ouch, this one hurts. I so desperately want to submit to God and yet so often I am like the kid in the store screaming for candy. So often my relationship with God can reflect someone at a fast food drive up window. "Daddy, I want x,y and z all my way and I want them right now." Rather than "Daddy, I want to serve you, bow to you, bend to your will. What do you want me to do and I will gladly follow you."
Still after all I have experienced in life, I find myself avoiding what he wants me to do because quite frankly I do not like pain. Who does? I avoid what he asks me to do then I do it with an attitude rather than a grateful, loving heart.
I have stepped away from a very dear friendship for now. Because there are too many outside influences and responsibilities for us to have a healthy relationship currently. It is out of my obedience to God and sacrificial love for this friend that I have become so far removed. Yet I can see all the amazing God given gifts, strengths and talents she possesses and I desperately want her to be a part of my life. I find myself arguing with God that it just is not fair and how much more does He want. Just like a bratty child. I want everything the way I want it, right now rather than allowing Him to guide and heal, love and grow, then guide the friendship to where He wants it to be.
I trust God, love Him with all I am and yet I still desperately want to be the one in control.
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