Trying hard to figure things out? Here's how to find rest

Have you ever found it difficult to figure things out? There was a season in my life when I couldn't figure out my purpose and the reasons why things happened to me and around me.

I'm slowly learning it's part of the process of being human.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:24

Growing up, I loved reading or watching movie spoilers. I’ve been told it’s a bad habit but I can’t stand the suspense sometimes. It drives me crazy to keep reading a book or watching a movie and be unsure about the end. Why the torture? Why not just fast forward to the end so I can see how it finally unfolds?

But my brother once scolded me that itwasn’t the best way to go about things.

“How can you enjoy the movie when you always skip to the end? You’re only going to ruin it for yourself so what’s the point?”

And this is true. I applied this theory to other movies and it worked. I watched Avengers Endgame before I got any spoilers and boy! He was right. I savoured the movie and left the cinema fulfilled.

Each scene was delicious and perfect. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it if someone spoiled it for me.

Ever since, I try to be patient and take each scene as it comes.

Trying to figure out everything shows lack of Faith

Fortunately, this is how life happens. Yet we are so eager to see spoilers so we can rest assured in a certain future.

Imagine if God showed us how our lives would play out…We’d be watching a predictable movie and probably quit as soon as we get the chance.

Why would we trust God when we know where and how and why things happen? Life would be boring and where’s the joy in that?

So this is where faith comes in. Faith tells you,

‘we don’t need to have it all figured out. We aren’t supposed to. We are just supposed to trust God and watch as our story unfolds.'

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What do you do when you are battling the fear of what tomorrow holds? How do you cope when the thoughts of an uncertain future nag at you, leaving you restless in its wake?

Trust and obey

I know this sounds cliché. It even has a hymn that we mindlessly sing and take for granted. But this is the secret to living a life without worry. I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but I trust the One who owns tomorrow. Today in itself already has a truckload of evil. Don't hurt yourself by trying to figure out everything.

God provides ‘daily bread’ for each day, not for two days in a row.

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That’s how the manna worked in the wilderness and Jesus lived by this pattern to show us the way (Spiritual provision and Physical sustenance-John 6:25-40).

Jesus didn’t even have a home to call his own. He came, did God’s will and went back to the father Full of Life. We aren't meant to figure out everything. We exhaust ourselves and fall into trouble when we bombard our thoughts with weeks and months and years of a future we don’t know.

Why do we torture ourselves so?

My future is God’s business. Let him take care of it. I’ll live and learn to take life one step at a time and obey hiswill as it comes; through the help of the Holy-Spirit.

Change your What if to Even if

Just like the three Hebrew boys confronted with a life and death situation, we must stand our ground for Jesus, regardless of things not working out.-Daniel 3.

There was a time I was so worried about getting another rejection it affected me mentally. I couldn’t do much because I felt my life hung in the balance.

I recall the Spirit trying to teach me to change my ‘what if to even if.’

My mum encouraged me by reiterating the fact that even if what I was expecting didn’t work out; I shouldn’t fret because it wasn’t a do or die affair. If it didn't come through, then it wasn’t God’s will.

I would live life and move on.

Immediately she emphasized what the Spirit had been trying to teach me, I felt a release in my spirit. It was like I’d been bound by the chains of my thoughts; the fear of tomorrow and my life taunted me.

Satan saw my weakness and used it to tempt me so I could remain unproductive to God.

But I had to come to a place where I resolved within me that okay, if this thing doesn’t work out, I will hope again. I’ll run to God again, ask for his will again and keep trusting him to reveal it to me.

I could live with another rejection, but I couldn’t live without God’s will.

So I put in all I had, played my part and resolved within me to look to God regardless of the pending result. The momentI let go, everything slowly fell into place.

Pray

Prayer helps to resolve conflicts present within our souls.

Are you worried about an uncertain future? Pray.

Are you restless trying to figure out things? Pray to the God who knows the end from the beginning and rest in Him.

When I am confused about some things, I pray, because my mind wasn’t meant to figure out and comprehend everything, but the Holy Spirit can teach my heart to trust God regardless of the situation surrounding me.

Don’t compare (Face Your Lane)

We need to be more conscious about facing the lane God has planted us to run on or we will run aimlessly. Comparison is a thief of joy and makes us restless, too restless to function in God’s will.

The more we learn to be content in our seasons, we will have no reason to worry or stress about tomorrow.

Keep your eyes on the prize

Jesus pleased God the Father because his eyes were on his prize. God. He was focused. He was single-eyed and aimed to please God despite the distractions on his way.

When the world wanted to make him King, he escaped. He had his own will, but his eyes on the prize made him bend his will unto God's.

If we are seeking God, then it’s easy to get back on track when distractions come or even when things don’t work out.

But if we are chasing our own goals and dreams, or doing things we’ve set our hearts to do without being led by God, we would easily feel confused and overwhelmed if the unexpected happens.

It was never God’s intention for you to have things all figured out. So try to take life one step at a time. And in doing so, you’ll live a happy and fulfilled life as it comes.

Bloom with love. Xx!

Image by Lisa Fotios