We were all given free will and the ability to make our own choices in life. What’s held true in my life is that when you navigate off your path or if you are in a situation that’s not for you, the God that I serve will give you subtle hints. These hints, or gut feelings, or revealing certain things in a situation are to keep you moving on a positive path to fulfill your purpose. This is like anything a parent would do. Try to guide you in the right direction, while still allowing you to be who you are. But what ends up happening is that we just flat out don’t listen sometimes. We feel we know more than our parents and we feel we know more than our God. For example, if you see your child looking like they are interested in heading onto a busy street you’re going to try to explain to them why they shouldn’t do that. But, if you see them full on sprinting out to the busy street in front of a car, you’re going to run after them and knock them to the ground. It’s going to hurt of course, but as a parent, you see something that your child doesn’t see. God is no different. He tries to offer us subtle hints and when we don’t listen, he is forced to knock us down, and sometimes it hurts. But He sees what we don’t. And I’m thankful that someone loves me that much.
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine recently. He’s just out of a long term relationship and left with nothing and feels destitute at times. We know that as long as we still wake up each morning, God still has a purpose for us. But I find it difficult in situations like these to have the right words of encouragement. So, I don’t attempt it. I just listen. He went on to tell me how much he had grown as a person and as a man and tried to do everything right. I’ve known him for a while so I can see that his actions back up his words. Without going into all the details, the other persons actions were so incredibly disrespectful and just grimy and selfish. He had an opportunity to react with violence, and didn’t. He just walked away, which that gesture right there shows the growth of this man. I couldn’t have walked away. I can talk a lot of things out, but when I’m just blatantly disrespected and made to look stupid, that’s when my self control flies out the window. But he did it. And I’m proud of him for it. Off the record though, I could have justified the violence. So, what do you say to a person who has done everything right and is forced to make a life altering move because the other person knowingly made a bad decision? I pray over everything and have really thought long and hard about this one and here are my thoughts. Like I mentioned earlier, God will give you subtle hints that you’re in the wrong place. Not just for what he’s going through, but for all of us. I bet if we think about every situation that has taken us down to our knees and shaken us to our core, after the smoke clears and we have a clear head, there were subtle hints all along the way. We ignored them because we know more than God. We didn’t allow Him to lead, because we felt like we knew more. For the situation my friend is going through, I feel like God recognized his growth as a man. He witnessed every day that this man woke up and tried to be a better person. He witnessed every opportunity this man had to go back to the old him, and didn’t. He witnessed his sacrifice for others. He witnessed his beautiful heart, in a world that isn’t deserving of it. God saw every single thing he did. During his growth, he also saw the person he was with wasn’t deserving of this and wasn’t worthy of the man he was becoming. God knew there was someone else out there who would value him the way he deserved. There were subtle hints dropped along the way that were ignored. And finally one day God was like since he’s not going to do this on his own, I’ve got to take him down. It’s going to hurt him, but I have created him to be strong and endure this. Because on the other side of this heartache, is the life that I created him to live. Just trust Me.
When I was younger and living a selfish life, some of my mistakes I made in relationships were terrible. It’s hard for me to know that I was capable of doing those things. When I changed my life and was making good choices and putting the other person’s needs above my own, and my relationship STILL failed, I was so angry. I was angry at God for a while too. I took care of this man through sickness, through unemployment, through anger and through violence. Because I had made a commitment. Love and butterflies were long gone, but I had given my word to put his needs above mine. And it would have worked if he would have committed to that life too, but he didn’t. So here we are, I’m thinking about him and he’s also thinking about him. Because of his poor choice, I was forced to move out of my house that I had lived in for 12 years, I had to sell half of my things, I had to leave my security, my stability and be forced into an apartment half the size and double the price. I was terrified and I was angry and I was so sad. At the time I hated him. I wanted to physically harm him. But I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed. And somehow I got to the place of forgiveness and was able to be his friend and continue to help him. I said all that to say that God knew that he wasn’t the one worthy of all my growth and love and compassion. He knew I deserved to be with someone who would love and value me back the same way I was giving it. Looking back, I was getting hints for 2 years and ignored it. Finally God was like, today’s the day. He took me down. But He created me to thrive and not stay down. And I am living a life full of blessings and friendships that I don’t deserve. Not because of who I am, but because of who He is. And that is humbling.
I’m thankful that God loves us enough to take us down. It may hurt today, but God promises us that it won’t hurt forever. And He is always faithful. ❤️
Single Sarcastic Superhero 
Great perspective!
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