What’s your daily choice?

This week was supposed to be about childhood trauma and the inner child but I feel like a few people touched on that and I want to separate my thoughts before diving in.

Basically I operate in two modes. So there is the part of me that loves you and cares for you and there is the part that doesn’t acknowledge your existence. It’s not that clear cut though, I live in a world of gray.

I have learned that as much as I care for people, I have to let them make their own mistakes. Shoot! I have made a lot of my own and I have grown because of those mistakes. I also know I can sometimes be blunt so what I intended as advice may come across as admonition.

Also because of that, I hold my friend’s opinions in high regards. I don’t always listen but their feedback is filed in a drawer in my brain. All of that to say that my friendships can be a lot. There are highs and lows and I am forever grateful to the few who survived the lows. A lot of times during the lows I get defensive and decide I can do it all by myself. And I am pretty good at getting stuff done by myself. But it was a lonely journey.

What I have come to realize is that I am never alone. It’s very cliché, but it is also true. God is with us all of the time. The problem is we are so focused on doing it ourselves that we don’t seek Him. Trying to do it all by yourself will wear you out. You are going to feel emotionally, mentally and physically spent.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

This verse, Matthew 11:28, is a reminder to turn to God when things feel too heavy for us. And not just when things are heavy, but we should surrender our lives to Him daily and seek Him in all we do.

We may not understand what He is doing but we must believe that He is working it all out for our good. God is able to see the big picture of our lives, He is capable of tracing the outcomes of our decisions before we make them. We are all imperfect human beings trying to navigate our way around other imperfect human beings. Not aligning with God’s will for our lives will lead us to dry places. In the Bible there are countless stories of people who did not abide and lost everything. (Please note that all losses we may encounter are not due to lack of obedience. Take a moment to read about Joseph and how God used all of his “losses” to strengthen him. Sometimes God allows us to go through hard times to become stronger and exalt us higher) When we are disciplined and truly live a surrendered life, we will notice that there is an ease and a peace that encompasses us.

That is not to say that we will not endure hardships. Weapons will form but they will not prosper. We are humans and yes we may stumble, but we should be aware of the path that we are on. We need to realize when we have made an error and ask for forgiveness. Live life with intention. Not to get too dark and gloomy but there is a war happening daily in the spiritual world. We go about our lives mostly unaware of it and only notice the hiccups and distractions when they affect us directly. And even then, we may be too distracted to notice. We are too busy lamenting about our problems. You can live life your way and hope that it all works out or you can decide that you won’t let the enemy take hold of your life. Wake up and submit daily to God. When the distractions pop up, see them for what they are and move on. Are we going to help God win the tug of war on our lives or are we going to sit idly by and do nothing? If you feel a calling on your life, be obedient and submit to His will.

I don’t want to make this too long but I think the message was clear enough. Know that when you start this journey, you will be tested and it is in these moments especially when you need to turn to God and those He has placed in your life to assist you.

Have a great week and remember that a life of submission is a daily choice. You got this!