Why God’s Best is Our Best

This post is part of a series on popular colors for painting kitchen cabinets.

Lately, my friend challenged me to ask myself two questions at the end of every day:

1. What filled me up?
2. What drained me?

So, I got a journal and put it by my bed so I could record how each day went.  It was interesting to see some trends on both lists:

Examples of What Fills Me Up:

• Writing down worries to pray about
• Smelling my new roses that are blooming
• Going slow enough in my day so I don’t feel rushed and stressed
• Taking time to spend time with God even if I’m just venting to Him

Examples of What Drains Me:

• Worrying about keeping up with the pace of other bloggers
• Feeling shame about not cooking enough
• Complaining about my work
• Getting a speeding ticket

I realized that most of these items have to do with an emotion and while emotions shouldn’t always have the final say, it’s important to listen to them.  (Someone told me once that emotions should have a seat at the table but not sit at the head of the table.)

For the most part, this is what these emotions told me: I noticed that the things on the “filled up” list were things that God already wants me to do, and the things on the “drained” list are things that God tells me not to do.

God wants me to hand over my worries to Him and He wants me to spend time with Him and to not be so rushed that I don’t notice He is with me. 

On the flip side, God doesn’t want me comparing myself to other bloggers or complaining excessively.  He also doesn’t want me to shame myself.

It made me realize that the things God wants for me are really the best things for me – the things that help me to thrive and truly live instead of missing out on God’s goodness.

NOW, I have to be careful here.  I am not saying that God only wants us to do fun things we like and never wants us to do anything uncomfortable or hard.  That’s contrary to what Scripture says as we know the Christian life WILL have struggles and hardship.

But what this list told me is that I can trust God and the things He tells me to do.  God is not sitting on His throne with a plastic ruler ready to slap my hand when I screw up.  He wants me to obey Him and follow His commandments because what is best for Him is also best for Me.

Sure, there will be things that God allows in my life that are temporarily draining but are for Him (and my) ultimate fulfillment.  For example, I didn’t love getting a speeding ticket but ultimately He wants me to obey so that I am safe and don’t cause harm to others.

As my Creator, He has wired me to be best fulfilled by the things of Him.  And we can know what God’s Will is by reading the instruction manual from our manufacturer – His Word.

He knows me better than I know myself.  He knows what fills me up and what drains me.  And when He does allow something in my life that is draining, I can rest in knowing it is ultimately for my good.

Even when life seems difficult or daunting, I can trust Him to know that He knows me better than I know myself.  He knows the number of hairs on your head and before you were even in the comb, He knew you! (Jeremiah 1:5)

Because God is your loving Father, you can trust that He works all things for His good.  He wants the best for you and He can be trusted even in the midst of life’s difficulties.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Romans 8:31