Forget the picture in your head...

“What messes us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it is supposed to be.” - unknown

Isn’t that the truth?

Lately I have had a friend who constantly reminds me of how blessed I am. And that should be a blessing in itself, but it actually can be frustrating. Why? Because I don’t see the blessings in my life. All I can feel is the desires I have inside of me to create a life that is like how I think it is supposed to be. I should be married, starting a family, etc. etc. I never expected to be where I am right now. 

And then I get more frustrated because I am frustrated. I should be content with what God has given me. I should feel so blessed that I have a loving family, amazing friends, a job that I love, the chance to work with great teens, and the ability to travel around the world. Yet, I feel like something is missing. The picture in my head isn’t fulfilled.

Add a third layer of frustration. I wish my friend could see how truly blessed he is. He is so hard on himself because, like me, he is trying to fulfill the picture he has in his head of what he thinks his life should be like. I just want to yell- don’t you see how God is working in your life?

Oh right, can’t I see how God is working in MY life?

That’s our problem. We don’t see how God is working in our lives and we become so consumed with how we want things to be. We have an expectation of how God should answer our prayers rather than just trusting that He knows best. Is it possible that what you have right now in your life is what your answer to your prayers? Is it possible that the picture you have in your head isn’t the best, and that Creator of the entire universe has something better for you than you could ever imagine? Check this out- Isaiah 55:9- As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. The key word here is HIGHER. His picture for us is HIGHER than whatever we could imagine.

And this picture we have is often based on the wrong motivations. Maybe we are not only caught up in how things are supposed to be, but how they used to be? I have a hard time moving on sometimes. We all do. But we cannot let this past picture blur the present picture. How many times do we miss out on a blessing because we can’t let go of the past?

And what about our future? We should have hopes and goals. But our main motivation should be to be rooted in Christ and to fully trust that His future for you is best. See Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Plans to PROSPER you and NOT TO HARM you." Who wouldn’t want that in their picture for life?

I encourage you to take a look at your life through God’s viewpoint, not your own. He has promised to complete a good work in you and will complete it. How is He working in your now? What blessing or answer to prayer are you missing out on because you are too focused on the picture in your head of how your life is supposed to be?

Pray for God to show you the answers to these questions and to learn to completely trust Him with your life. That is my prayer for myself.