Some days I might feel like I want nothing to do with God. I feel that because life is going well, I am capable enough to keep it that way. Because my concerns aren't being realised, I am the one that's in control. But every now and then I get a wake-up call: this is not reality.
In fact, by putting my trust in myself, I am in my own way rejecting God's assistance. And this may not be obvious at the time, because it doesn't feel like God is helping me. In reality though, this is when God is really putting in the hard yards to make me feel at ease. Ironically, when God blesses me, I turn my heart away and lose that satisfaction I had gained.
I believe a scenario of this sort is an easy trap to fall into. When we focus too much on living out our lives, we forget or sometimes don't consider it necessary (or sometimes don't even know how) to make the effort towards maintaining our relationship with God.
What's the end result?
The end result could involve a helplessness as you realise that a supernatural force beyond your control has snatched your hope away. And this is where the issue lies: What I mean by hope here isn't our hope of salvation, but rather how we shift our hope to the fulfilling of worldly matters by re-prioritising our desires.
It is at this time you realise that you want to want God. Even though you rejected him, you still know that he is the best and only solution to life's troubles.
At the end of the day I believe the simple way to overcome this issue altogether is to maintain a healthy lifestyle balance. When we throw out the balance we feel like we are achieving at the time, but what is really happening is we are focussing too hard on one aspect and neglecting another critical part of this balance. Here is a sample guide as to what to expect in a healthy balance:
- Relationship with God
- Leisure
- Work
- Relationships with people
A simple guide like this can help you keep the balance right, so that we don't overwork and neglect family and friends, or so we don't take too much personal time out and forget to take a break and focus on Godly things.
This way we can avoid that awful feeling wondering what happened to the good life that we were living, as it is taken away in an attempt to gain our attention.
So if you are facing such a tough patch in your life, consider if God is trying to give you a wake-up call to get you back on track for that healthy balance and a stronger relationship with him.
Tim Robertson is from Sydney, and likes to write about recent learnings in the hope that other people may also benefit from them.
Tim Robertson's previous articles may be found at www.pressserviceinternational.org/tim-robertson.html