God's Path > Our Path

Loss or tough times are rarely seen as a positive. They always has a negative connotation. And when something negative happens, we rarely enjoy hearing words of encouragement immediately, such as “you’ll find the silver lining” or “time heals all wounds.” Because in the moment, all we see is the present moment and how we are currently feeling. All of our feelings are wrapped up in how we currently feel, and there is nothing wrong with that. It may be days, weeks, or even months before we truly understand why God is putting us through a current trial. But once we do it, it is so freeing. 

Eckhart Tolle puts it so perfectly in his book, “The Power of Now”. He says, “Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find you’re here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. Any action is better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time.”

Sometimes God puts us on an unexpected path to offer us something better than we expected. Sometimes, He puts us on a path to grow in ways we would not have thought of ourselves. Ways that could include taking a few steps back to help you reconnect with your roots, so that you can take a giant leap forward into the new season of your life, or help you reset from an unhealthy path you've been going down. Whatever it is, God will provide you with the opportunity to remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. Ultimately, it is on us to decide which step forward we take, but He will provide the paths. So maybe there is a silver lining after all, and we just need to sit in the present moment to understand which new path God is calling us to take.