Many people grapple with the relentless pressure of time; I’m one of those folks. But I’m searching for a breakthrough to be free from the overwhelming demands of our world.
Time is one of those things that has been a taskmaster most of my life. When life feels overwhelming, I hear the ticking clock reminding me I’m marching toward a deadline. It’s not the tasks that cause distress but the perceived insufficient time allotted to complete them.
What I have been pondering is that this struggle with releasing time goes back to trust. If I trust that the Lord has asked me to do these things, which I do, why would He not give me ample time to do it? After all, we have a God who is always on time. His timing is perfect.
Trust and surrender are key elements to a breakthrough. If we want to be free and not bound by the things in life that burden us, we have to release control, let go of the expectations, and especially take our grip off the unattainable belief that we are perfect and will do perfect things.
More often than not, the spiritual journey involves the practice of surrendering. It means trusting God, believing in Him to come through, deliver, and provide what is needed at just the right time. With these two practices come breakthroughs, and breakthrough brings peace and freedom.
If God has called you to do something, especially outside your comfort zone, He is inviting you to grow in surrender and trust. Is it hard? Absolutely! But it is an opportunity for introspection, prayer, growth, and pruning, which, in time, leads to breakthroughs.
Here are two quotes that I am contemplating today:
“Growth can be painful, change can be painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong. Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow-it only empties today of its strengths.”—Charles Spurgeon
“Have you not heard the Master himself tell the parable of the vine and the branches? Here, you can find consolation. He demands much of you, for you are the branch that bears fruit. And he must prune you ‘to make you bear more fruit. Of course, that cutting, that pruning hurts. But, afterward, what richness in your fruits, what maturity in your actions.” —Josemaría Escrivá
Gardners know that pruning is essential for good fruit. I want the good fruit that God promises when we are pruned. While I continue in the process of surrender, painful as it is, I will pray, ask for prayer, give thanks for the opportunity to be out of my comfort zone and wait for the breakthrough. It will come, that I am sure of, because “God wants to make us what we aren’t” (The Chosen TV Series). And the only way to do that is to go through the process of surrender.
Is there an area in your life where God is inviting you to grow? Is there a place He wants to prune? Saying yes will lead us to a breakthrough.
