3 Reasons God Wants Us to Give Up

I have found myself wondering if I truly believe God wants the best for me.  It’s a place I don’t find myself in often, but when I am there I. AM. THERE.  This time, while parking in this mental space, I received an immediate answer that would forever change the way I pray for and receive the will of the Father:  “Am I praying for this thing because I want it or am I praying because God wants it?”  I was directed to Matthew 26:39 where Jesus is asking for his Father to remove the burden in front of him (what he wanted), but ends the prayer in “...Yet not as I will, but as You will…” (the will of the Father).  This created a vortex of thought for me because I believed I was always praying God’s will, but I was given the opportunity to see what the Father really wanted for me.  It was clear that God wanted me to GIVE UP.  I am now going to share with you three explanations given to me on why giving up is necessary: 

1. The only way to move forward is to give up.

There is a level of commitment that comes with wanting something.  Desire isn’t birthed overnight-we get a taste- we enjoy the experience- we decide how much of it we want and how often we want it. All of this thinking creates connection--we become attached.  If this attachment doesn’t align with the will of God it can cause frustration and rebellion. Giving up on OUR idea of the thing desired is moving forward in the direction of God’s desire for us.  God’s desire may not be different from what we desire, but it is ALWAYS better than what we could ever imagine.   

2. Giving Up Let’s God Do His “Thing” and Lets Us Relax

There is so much stress involved with micromanaging every detail of life.  When we repeatedly make our request known to God we are also communicating our lack of faith.  Letting go of our desire is also letting go of doubt, fear, and control.  I went on a trip to Atlanta recently and as I drove, all 14hrs, I thought about how awesome it would be to get out of the driver’s seat.  Giving up allows us to let God do the driving while we relax knowing that his best is directly ahead of us. 

3. God Wants You to Believe He Wants What You Want and MORE!

Romans 12:2 tells us that God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect.  Knowing that His every desire is to give us good-acceptable-perfection is reason enough to throw our hands up in joyful submission! We have absolutely no idea what God’s idea of good-acceptable-perfection looks like, but praying that His will be done guarantees that we get to see and experience it as long as we submit to receiving it.