Watching our daughter suffering and in the full throws of giving birth was life changing for me this past week. Terrifying and unbelievably joyous at the same time, it will be a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. There was little I could do to help her except try to say some encouraging words, throw in bits of past experience, and pray – a lot.
I think God feels the same way about us as He watches us attempting our many endeavors. After all, what we do is based on our choice and free will. We can birth things our way or His way. Psalms 37:4 tells us He wants to “give us the desires of our heart” but we forget the beginning of that scripture is first to “Delight yourself in God.” How do we take delight in the Lord when we hit a wall with a project, or the financial strains are overwhelming, or we’ve given a pink slip and dismissed from a job? Those things are terrifying, not delightful.
In your career and other endeavors the initial “birthing” can be overwhelming it’s easy to succumb to the fear. We can’t take the long hours of painful labor and we give up, take an easier way out, or don’t even attempt it. God continues to watch as you suffer, and whispers to trust Him and let Him lead you.
The joy of success is never easy, simple, or without painful labor (especially in the media and entertainment business.) Remember too, that the goal may not be seen quickly. It may take months or years to accomplish. How you achieve it may not be how God sees it, and He is waiting for you to stop straining and pushing so He can show you how to get it done. Therein lies the trust in allowing God to take the lead. He is the doctor who knows how to guide that baby out. “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:6 (NLT).
With my daughter this week, at the worst point of labor, when the doctor walked into the room everyone knew that things would be alright. It’s no different when God walks into your situation. When you are willing to set your own agenda aside, relinquish control, and follow His lead, then and only then can you say, this was God’s baby not yours. As he said in the Lord’s Prayer: “His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
