Freedom from Striving

I have a confession to make. More times than I admit, I don’t finish what I start.

I generally have all these great big plans and ideas as I step out boldly to do all.the.things.  Then I get hijacked somewhere between my glorious beginning and my name in lights ending by all things called life.  I am left idling in the middle of the road called Success, loaded to the brim of all these great things but left overwhelmed to where I can no longer move. 

This middle-of-the-road place is where I quietly sat deep in thought recently.

As I sat and sputtered for a while and let my motor cool down, God began to make me acutely aware that He had been my traveling partner for the entire ride. He wasn’t angry about all my good intentions, but He let me know how much He cared about Me.  It was time to unload even some good things and settle down in a new rhythm found in the freedom of the smaller and achievable things He had for me.  One of the greatest ones had the name Freedom from Striving written all over it. 

We can load ourselves down with the best of intentions. Take on so many good things they become like a boisterous storm with water crashing into the sides of our boats. We can become so stressed out trying to man our sails that we forfeit the one thing that matters most. Peace. We fight with fury to keep up because if we don’t; we will drown. Thank our Jesus He is still our great Rescuer and always knows when to stretch out His hand to catch us mid-wave before we go under to the point of no return.  

It is also like our God to use these would-be catastrophes to teach us some of life’s most valuable lessons. Here is what I have learned from my last crash and burn.  

Not everything that God leads us to is supposed to be a permanent assignment. 

God will bring many wonderful opportunities into our lives for seasons and only meant to be temporary. We have to be leaning in to listen to the voice of God to discern when it is time to let go of even the things that came into our lives first as blessings. Another thing I am learning is that we have to empty our hands before we are ready to receive other wonderful things God has plans for us.  If our hands are full from holding onto past blessings, we will miss out on future ones. 

Not all good things are good for us. 

There is a lot to be said about choosing wisely. The world is full of wonderful opportunities, but they won’t all be wonderful for me.  God is ready to help me make the best decisions for my current season and weigh what is the best Yes for me and what will be the best No. Other times opportunities will fly below the radar as a “not now.”  They will instead be a wonderful opportunity to wait on God’s timing. David set the perfect example for us to follow when he humbly yet eagerly asked God at Ziglag, “Should I pursue or should I stay?” (1 Samuel 30:8). God won’t always give us the green light, but when He doesn’t we can trust that it will be in our personal best interest. And when He does pursue full steam ahead. 

Contentment is the best success of all. 

We can so easily get caught up in other people’s successes we can allow it to make us dissatisfied with our own. We can become so distracted from what God is doing in “her” life that it will cause us to stress about what He is doing or not doing in “ours.” (Ask me how I know.) For example, I am currently in a busy season of caregiving, so I am reluctantly learning to set smaller goals during this season. I have had to clear my table of some wonderful opportunities lately, but they are best for me to have that quietness in my soul called contentment. To constantly strive to keep up with a packed calendar is not the best plan for me in my current season. There will be plenty of time to materialize my goals, but I don’t have to achieve them all at once, and certainly not all right now. 

Living a life pleasing to God is the best kind of success. 

I can often take on too many things trying to impress God when in all reality, He is already pleased with me. Believe it or not, you can also get caught up in overachieving in that area of your life.  I can’t earn God’s love.  I also can’t earn His favor.  God wants my heart, and when I am giving Him that, it means I get to rest, not strive.  There is freedom in letting our hearts rest in the quietness of His love for us.  We can constantly strive to get His attention when we have it all along but are too busy to notice fully. God knows our hearts and when we truly want to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. That is a desire He placed within us, and He will help successfully fulfill the callings and purpose He has planned for us.  After all, He is the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) It was never my words that penned those beautiful words but the greatest Author of all time.  That means I get to relinquish that job to Him and His all-capable hands to fulfill His promises toward me.  He is 100% trustworthy.  

Be open to seasons of rest. 

The best objective for a well-lived life is simply to rest in Jesus.  Learn to live small intentional moments and not be so quick to strive over chasing after the Big, Bold ones life is always dangling in front of us.  I’m learning it is ok from time to time to drop things for a little while. Empty my hands of even good things to rest my soul. Spend longer moments sitting quietly in God’s presence and lingering a little longer over His word.  As someone who feels called to encourage others, it is ok to go to God to let Him just encourage me.  A restful spirit can do more than a striving one. And there is a lot to be said for the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” 

Sometimes a busy life can be a noisy one. So we all have to choose to turn down the volume deliberately. We don’t want to miss that beautiful sound of our Heavenly Father’s small still voice. You just may find that is just what your hurried heart needs. 

So as for that confession I made about not finishing what I started? This time I allowed myself to do just that. Quit some things I had been holding on to for way too long.  I permitted myself to lighten my load, be me a while, and live life in slow motion. It was just what I needed. Freedom from Striving never felt so good.  

Now, I can rev up my motor and get started again. Only this time, I will be driving a little slower. 

See you in the field, 

Susan 

Verses to encourage you to enjoy Freedom from Striving. 

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 

“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” Ecclesiastes 4:6

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3