Last night, my little Z was acting stubborn. We asked him to eat one bite of soup for dinner before leaving the table. He didn’t want to take that bite. He didn’t think he’d like it. He was determined to go his own way, and fought that bite with all that was in him. It took him a couple hours of crying and asking for “all done” before he finally chose to listen and take the bite. And then he had a second bite before going straight to bed, as it was past bed time and his brothers were already sleeping.
This reminds me of ourselves with our heavenly Father sometimes. He’ll lead us to do something, but we find excuses as to why our way is better. We just don’t want to do what he’s asking, and we’ll put up a fuss and fight it as much as we can, like my Z. We may think it doesn’t make sense, and tell God I’m not doing that because… You fill in the blank.
Our resisting and fighting makes it more difficult on ourselves. We stress about a situation way longer than we need to, because we’re fighting against our Father, instead of following his direction. Where if we had just chosen to submit to and obey him in the first place, the situation may have passed long ago. Like my Z, we can cry out to God, “I’m all done, please make this pass!” but it doesn’t and we anguish about it all the more, not realizing it’s our own stubbornness that’s keeping us there.
Our heavenly Father has good plans for us, his children. He wants what’s best for us, and he uses each situation to draw us closer to him. He’s not going to let us have a free pass from the table when there’s something he wants us to learn. He’s going to make sure we sit there until we eat the bite, even as our cries for relief break his heart, because our rebellion breaks his heart even more.
Joe and I had a similar situation happen when we were contemplating starting this blog. We wanted to start it, but had our own reasons for deciding that now wasn’t the right time. He did the one thing that would change our minds. And though it hasn’t been without some bumps, he has not forgotten us, and has provided us with everything we need as we need it, so that we can continue on the path he has shown us.
Are you resisting and putting up a fuss against our heavenly Father? Has he shown you what to do, but you’ve got other plans? If so, repent! Turn from your rebellion and submit to our loving Father. He hasn’t forgotten you where you are now, and will not forget you as you go on this journey of obedience. He will give you the strength to get through whatever bumps are in the way and mountains you may need to climb as you choose to follow him.