“Trusting God does not mean believing he will do what you want, but rather believing he will do everything he knows is good.”
Ken Sande
God wants us to want His way, not our way. He wants us to desire His will to be done, not our will to be done. There is conflict and resistance when my will and way clash with Him. When you resist something, pause and seek to understand what is going on within your heart. Often, it's because we want to do things our way instead of submitting to God’s ways. But if we give in to our resistance, we will miss God’s best for our lives.
Resistance is an opportunity to trust God and to see Him as He really is - true, good, loving, and kind. When you sense your resistance to something, God is asking and inviting you to have a more intimate relationship with Him through trusting His wisdom and direction. It’s His invitation to lay down our desires in exchange for His desires, knowing His ways are always better and lead to an abundant life, full of peace.
I resisted both our moves to Omaha and Wichita because I did not want to leave my beloved family and friends. But both moves were opportunities to trust God’s desires over mine, which deepened my intimacy with Him. I would have missed numerous blessings if I had not chosen to submit and trust God’s path in both moves. They were instrumental in knowing and experiencing God and in discovering who God created me to be. Surrendering to what we’re resisting is the pathway to spiritual formation and becoming more like Christ.
Resistance is the opposite of surrender. It’s the fighting against God’s will that causes angst. It’s when I trust myself more than God, that I experience anxiety. But when I let go and trust God, even when I can’t see what is up ahead, and surrender my will and ways to His, that’s when I’ll experience God in greater measure. Proverbs 3:5 instructs us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
I have found the sooner I surrender to and trust God’s ways, the greater the oneness and congruency I experience with Him. And when I walk in unison with God, then my attachment and communion with Him is sweet and full of joy.
“...it is presumptuous in me to wish to choose my path, because I cannot tell which path is best for me.”
Teresa of Avila
Relevant Reflection:
Where are you resisting God’s ways? Ask God to help you surrender and to trust Him.
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