Are you trying too hard to be at peace? Fighting hard to practice mindfulness?
Stop struggling.
Calm down.
I feel I am striving too hard to abide in Jesus. Instead of opening the door for Him to enter, I am pounding on the other side of the door … straining to keep pure thoughts and to practice my daily round of spiritual practices. That isn’t necessary, productive or even helpful.
God is already here. Yet I behave as if it all depends on me. Yes, I need to quiet down and let God be present. I am grasping for someone who is all around me, yet my grasp comes up empty. It is only when I relax and submit that I feel God doing the work to allow me to abide in Him.
Is it just me? When I mentioned this in a gathering of Christian friends, I got a lot of blank looks.
Yet, one Christian friend responded with a new phrase I love: Try softer.
That’s the title of a book by therapist Aundi Kolber. She believes we don’t have to white-knuckle our way to God or to life, in general. Her book is a corrective for overfunctioning (one of my greatest issues) and anxiety.
Perhaps I have reached the “let God and let God” phase of my spiritual development. Yet again.
I found some tips on the Woman of Noble Character website that can make this effort to stop the struggle more concrete.
It’s not what I need to stop doing as much as it’s what I need to let God do. Stop struggling to achieve grace and:
- Look for a show of God’s power.
- Accept God’s comfort.
- Let God work things out for the good of those who love Him, including me.
Yes, I need to practice my daily round of spiritual practices. But I need to move forward in a more gentle, open manner, trusting God to do his part. Without God, I can do nothing.