He knows that we struggle......

Life doesn't run smoothly. There are always a number of little bumps and an occasional big bump in the road. If you live in Pennsylvania then you are also dealing with a life full of potholes. It's symptomatic of our region. Maybe some of the anxiety comes from the feeling that we always have to be right and that we can never make a mistake and that if somehow we can come close to always being right and very close to being mistake free then our life will run smooth. The problem with that kind of thinking is that it all revolves around our own behavior with no regard for the unforeseen or other people. This self-imposed pressure that so many of us put on ourselves is often cruel and self demeaning. We just don't understand our condition. We don't understand that we are flawed. We are flawed because the human race has a broken relationship with God. We have interrupted His perfect plan for us by inventing plans of our own and the lunacy of devising our own way is costing us plenty.

We can't control our desires because we are flawed and so often times our desires become obsessions that ultimately begin to own us. Do you know who and what owns you? What is your bottom line. Where do you hang your hat? What's your base when all is said and done? In other words, what is motivating you as you journey through life. This can fluctuate for sure but sooner or later you will set your course or like many wander aimlessly with no base at all.

We really take ourselves way too seriously. While we are on this journey, did you ever wonder where God is in all this chaos. The only way I can begin to understand God is by understanding how he made us and in particular the characteristics of fatherhood and motherhood. When I watched my children growing up it was difficult at times to see them struggle. I also knew that it was not my place to always barge in and try to fix every problem or my kids would have felt suffocated and oppressed by their own Dad. The best moments were when my kids would come to me for help. They would give me permission to speak into their life and so I knew that what I offered at least had a chance to be received. If we are overbearing with our children they won't come to us with an open heart.

Having said that, why would we view God's position with us any other way. We are created in His image and with His attributes and so God too is waiting for us to come to Him. He knows that we struggle and is waiting for us to cry out to Him. Many folks interpret the silence of God as indifference but I would suggest that He is not intrusive but rather a Father in wait. He is active in the affairs of the world. He has everything under control and everything that is going to happen to the future to the world is in the Lord's hands but our individual relationship with the Lord is a separate matter. The next step is always ours. He is a Father in wait. Can you imagine how much we could get resolved if we would turn to Him. We may not get all the answers that we want but we will always receive His grace that enables us to go through anything, even death.