Spirit Daily

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Forcing Things Causes Blocks While Letting Go Let's Life Unfold Before Us

By Michael H. Brown

Go with the flow. Let life open up to you. Don't force things. Of this, all of us need to be reminded constantly. Don't you often try to force things? And don't you meet frustration as a result?

Just about everyone does. Even saints found great frustration in this test we call life. It's only natural to want certain things and to find ourselves earnestly striving for them. Once we get something in our heads -- a job, a move, a new car, a relationship -- it's hard to get it out.

We can become obsessed. We are at constant war with the flesh. We can lust after something -- even something good -- and this in itself is enough to block us.

Often, the Lord holds something back because we want it too much. Our eyes are supposed to be on Heaven and when we turn that focus to something else, something mundane, we exhaust our grace -- and ourselves. Forcing something can break it. Or burn a hole in it. We find ourselves holding an empty bag.

There are times that God in His mercy let's us have something we are overly yearning for, just as we occasionally give in to a child, but often He puts roadblocks up and his foot down when something is not good for us. If you think back on your life -- the career you may have wanted as a teenager, the girlfriends or boyfriends you would have died to have, the material possessions you craved -- you'll find that having your way would have been to your profound spiritual detriment. Think back. Go through life and project what would have happened if you had gotten some of your wishes!

Many are the relationships that God has frustrated because they are simply not meant to be no matter how good they seem and how badly we want them. While at the time it may appear as if God is not answering our prayers, in retrospect we see that He didn't answer because He loves us.

God is perfect and He knows perfectly well what is best for you -- what will redound to your best eternity. We won't see the whole picture until we are on the "other side." But when we do we'll thank God for not answering a bunch of our requests. We'll see how prayers that God didn't answer were not answered precisely because of His love.

We'll also find that they weren't answered because we were violating certain spiritual rules. Lust? Many desires are built on inordinate desire -- and Scripture tells us that passion rots the bones. Money? Believe it or not, having too much of it is a greater burden than too little of it; its carries tension with it; the percentage of rich people who are truly happy, who find peace, is almost surely lower than the percentage of poor people -- however radical that may sound! Suffering? When we're in Heaven we'll see the many gifts that are hidden in suffering and how God often lets it continue because it is to our eternal benefit.

That's why it doesn't work to force things. It's even counterproductive. Sometimes this is the sole reason for the block: God wants you to stop yearning so earnestly and to let things unfold His way, in His perfect rhythm. What you desire may be in His plan for you -- but He may not like the way you are obsessively going about it.

Oh, we may be able to push through and get that job or relationship or house that really isn't good for us. That happens. But usually the more we push, the more we lust, the more we find resistance.

You know the feeling: you really want something and strive for it and pray for it but it's like ramming your head against a wall.

No matter how hard you pray, there is a block. 

These are tell-tale signs that what we're wanting is not be good for us -- may not be part of our mission -- or that the timing is incorrect. We must always wait on the Lord, and we must always wait for His perfect timing. Frustrated? In want of something that just isn't happening? Can't figure out why a zillion prayers aren't answered?

There's only one solution: Let go of whatever it is you are yearning for. Let go and send it into God's Hands. Put your mind on other matters. Easier said than done, but when we step back and let God direct our lives, it's astonishing how life unfolds and how peaceful life becomes.