Inspiration for Those Wrestling With God

God Heals

If you have been waiting for life to turn out the way you expected, then you're not alone. We all have hopes, dreams and plans for what our lives should look like. Grace Thornton was one of those people. She waited for life to go as she planned it. She thought she'd be married and have kids. She also thought God would bring her the life she'd been waiting for because she was good and tried to be obedient. In the midst of waiting, and life not going according to plan, she found herself wrestling with God who she believed was supposed to bring the life, husband and 2.5 kids she thought she was supposed to have. When she finally was honest with herself and asked the hard question: Why do I think the world has more to offer me than God does? she began to see the path God had for her. Here are four points of inspiration for those wrestling with God, based on the book "I Don't Wait Anymore" by Grace Thornton.

The Importance of Truly Trusting God

Is your version of trusting God just words? When we trust God in this way, it's distant and impersonal. That version of trust may make it into your pep talks but not into your depths of pain. For Grace, this was her experience. For years, her worship had been indifferent. She explains "I'd never known God up close enough to be wrecked by His love, close enough to want to put my dreams in His hands with joy and relief, close enough to let Him write new dreams if He wanted." Because of this, her faith had stayed small and stunted. It's extremely hard to trust the intimate details of our lives to a God we don't know intimately. If we live our version of "trusting" God, our relationship with God will continue to be separated. But when we know that our loving Father is pursuing us, we find joy in that surrender and truly begin to live according to God's purposed for us.

God Offers Hope That Transcends Our Broken World

It's so important that we realize hoe big the kingdom on the horizon is, otherwise we run the risk of feeling that God is really small here, Grace explains. When we think of the light on the horizon as dim, it's hardly tangible and what may be small on this earth, can become really big. The Kingdom of God is on earth, but there is also the kingdom that is still to come. If we truly believe this, then there's hope. This hope needs to be strong enough to pull our hearts up from our broken dreams with great draw. This is the kind of hope that transcends our broken world and longs for the life that He is preparing for us in the world to come.

The Importance of Making God-Centered Choices

When you're wrestling with God, it's important that you begin to shift your mindset from you to God. This has less to do with you and everything to do with God. In other words, the choices that we make should be God-centered, not centered on the plans we have designed for ourselves. As we begin to make God-centered choices, we will see His strength meet us where we are. As you work through this, you will confront your shortcomings, pain, frailty and selfishness, you will begin to see God leading you more clearly. Our stories don't have to be grandiose or for the headlines, but they need to take us toward Him fast and fully. There are thousands of choices that we can make. Whatever choices you do make, make them on purpose.

Choosing Life Over Worry

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There are a lot of things in this world that may cause you to worry including your job, your relationship, your finances and more. This worry can cause us to feel separated from God, as if He is not stepping in when we need Him most, though this is far from the case. You can choose to worry or you can choose to live your life by chasing the same God who has never failed you. Grace asks the question "How does it change your perspective to say again to God today 'everything I have is yours. Every piece of my life. I trust you with it." Do you trust God over your anxieties and worries? The Bible tells us "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). As we begin to draw closer to God, we begin to see that good things are here for those who trust and love Him.

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