Sometimes we want things that are just not for us. We desire them, long for them, and hope to get them, but they are not in the will of God for us. Some of us may be petitioning God for these things, in hopes of him releasing them to us, but that does not change the fact that they are not in his will for us to have. We know that God is all-knowing and sees the end from the beginning. We also know that he has a plan and purpose for our lives. His word tells us in Psalm 84:11 “…no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is upright.” But what do we do when our heart’s desire does not align with his desires for us? How do we make peace with accepting the will of God over something that we long to have?
Aligning our will and desires with God’s is a continuous act. It is not something that we “arrive” at. It is laying our vision, hopes, dreams, and desires on his altar and sacrificing it to him repeatedly. It is allowing his vision, his plan, and his decisions about what we should have reign over our will and emotions repeatedly. It is allowing God’s wisdom and omnipotence to be the deciding factor over what we should or should not have. In times where we are battling between what we want and his will, surrendering our desires to him and letting them rest there will allow us to be at peace as we trust him. It is opening our hands from what we are holding so tightly and giving it to him because he knows what is best for our lives. This takes walking in trust. This takes walking in faith. Do I trust his decisions for my life, in all areas of my life? Is he Lord over every area of my life, including my desires?
There is a popular picture of a little girl holding tightly to a small teddy bear and Jesus is reaching out his hand for her to give it to him, while he is holding a much larger teddy bear behind his back. He always has something better than the thing that we want so badly. What he wants to give us is so much bigger, more beautiful, and beyond what we have. Sometimes, we need to let go of the desire for the thing that we want so badly when it is not what he wants for us. It is okay to let go of something that we desire, and allow our loving, kind, wonderful God to give us what he wants to bless us with. It is okay to trust, wait in faith, knowing that he has a “better deal” in store for us, and it worth exchanging our desires for what he wants to bless us with.
God bless you!
Nadirah Fareed
