Spirit Daily

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When We Go With God's Flow, We Also Find The Lord's Greatest Favor

By Michael H. Brown

Recently I had to relocate our family, and I thought I found the ideal place. I was excited. I figured I had everything, including the house itself, in place. We were all set to sign a purchase agreement.

But when we went there next, we learned that my in-laws, who were moving with us, would not be able to find adequate housing. On the surface, it seemed devastating. We had our hearts set on that place! But we decided that it didn't have to be devastating. We were not going to make it that way.

I knew God had something in mind. I prayed all night, and the next morning we set out for a nearby town in a blinding fog. I do mean blinding. I was saying the Rosary when we stumbled upon a church. Mass was just starting. The fog was so thick we couldn't even see what was around us.

But right after Mass the fog lifted -- literally. And before us was the splendid place where we were to live. It was better in every respect -- less expensive, more aesthetic, better for the kids, more spiritual -- than where we were going to live.

It fit not only the needs of my in-laws, but ours, perfectly. It was what was meant to be. We had gone astray in trying to figure everything out for ourselves, and in thinking that we could come up with a plan that was perfect.

We all encounter this: times when things go wrong until we place it into His Hands. Think back to all the things you wanted to do in your life that in the end would not have been good for you -- especially by way of relationships. God turns what seem like negatives into a good -- if we let Him. When we leave the way open, He makes all the right decisions.

If you have plans and they are suddenly interrupted, look for the Hand of God. It could mean that your designs or desires may not seem as good as for you as you think. It may be that you're trying to control things you should not control. It may not be a heavenly plan. Whatever the case, we are called to deliver ourselves from such unnecessary tension. How many of you suffer this? How many of you have stress? How many are fatigued from the anxiety of trying to shape everything?

The answer is that we are all suffering from our desire to control reality. That control belongs to Jesus. He often has other and better plans -- and when we realize that, when we "let go" and let God, we are delivered from that wrenching anxiety.

If there is a major interruption in our lives, that usually means that God has other plans for us.

And those plans unfold beautifully -- when we surrender to the Lord.

The key word here: let. That means letting go. It means letting God. It means releasing our own control and giving it to God. When we do, we see His good favor.

The Lord asks us to trust. He asks us to go with the flow. If the day starts diverting from what you planned, praise God and ask Him to continue to control it. Let it flow from His will. Do your best, but don't stress over it. It's a simple message -- easier said than done -- but a message that can transform us.

Several years ago, I was offered the largest advance I had ever been offered by a Manhattan publisher. It was certainly far more money than I usually make. It offered security. Yet it was secular. It involved working with scientists. Suddenly, as the research neared completion, the entire project was taken from me. An extraordinary series of events occurred. The project fell through -- to the shock of everyone. And I felt peace. I knew God had in mind something better.

He did. Instead of a secular project, I began a Christian website (the one you're reading now) -- and meanwhile, instead of a cold secular project, the book turned out to be a Catholic one, and at that, a bestseller.

May 2004