Read This If It Seems Like Nothing In Life Is Going Your Way

There’s a few things I don’t like. I don’t enjoy mean girls or when I get a parking ticket at school. I don’t enjoy watching my friends cry and I don’t enjoy the feeling of pulling up to Chick-fil-A and realizing that it’s a Sunday.

However, what I hate most is when life doesn’t go my way.

When I didn’t get a Barbie Jeep for Christmas at 10 years old, I was mad. When my brother got the razor flip phone and I didn’t, I was pretty upset. When I found myself crying over heartbreak, I was devastated. When I failed my first test in college I spent 72 hours studying for, I was not happy to say the least. When I felt God wasn’t answering my prayers, I was frustrated.

There are many times in my life when my life didn’t go my way.

No one plans for failures, mistakes, regrets or heartbreak. No one plans on spending their night crying in the bathroom over a boy. No one plans on having to drop a class or having to say goodbye to a friend. No one plans for life to not go their way.

But everyone gets to a point in their life where they realize they are not in control.

But if there is one thing I’ve learned in my life, it is that failure reminds us we are not God. When life doesn’t go our way, we are reminded that we are not God. We do not hold the power. And no matter how organized our Kate Spade planner may be, we do not know what will happen tomorrow or next week or five years from now.

You are not God, so stop trying to be.

Stop trying to hold the power and understanding of why things happen. Focus on dancing with the Lord and following the lead of Him instead of following your 10-year career plan.

Focus on beholding the eyes of your maker, instead or trying to be Him.

Yeah, life hasn’t always gone my way and I’m not your picture perfect image of someone who, as many Christian Tumblr accounts say, continually “lets go and lets God!!!” But maybe, (as cheesy as it sounds) I need to try to work on what my good friend Carrie Underwood once said, letting Jesus take the wheel.

Trial produces strength and some of the best blessings come from hard lessons.

I never sat at the cool table in middle school, but I graduated high school befriending all the different groups and knowing everyone in my class. God not answering my silly prayer in middle school allowed me to grow in kindness.

I never did get that boy in high school to stay, but being 650 miles away from him I could care less. God saying no to the boy I cried over, allowed me to fall back in love with my first love (Jesus Christ).

When I thought I was going to be a doctor and then lawyer, but neither worked out, God allowed me to pursue my love for writing. Now I write my own blog that is at 3.9 million views and counting, with a book coming out in 2018.

When I sat on the scale and cried, and went through every possible way to lose weight even if it meant destroying my body, I thought I would never be able to look in the mirror and smile.

Now, I have shared my story with others, and can look in the mirror and know my worth does not come from if I’m a 0 or if I have a six-pack. I learned my worth comes from my Creator.

When my friend died from a long-term battle with cancer, I never saw the good in that goodbye. Now, although I still struggle with the pain and loss, I know I have a guardian angel looking over me daily.

When I made that mistake in college, God allowed me to learn more about how beautiful His grace is.

When I was bullied and heartbroken and wanted to end all the pain of middle school and high school, I never thought there was a purpose for my pain. I was mad at God, but now I see the Lord was preparing me for something greater than dating the boy on the football team or having the popular boys think I was pretty.

The Lord created someone strong and someone dependent on Him. The Lord created someone who, although imperfect, knows her worth comes from her Creator.

The point of this article isn’t meant for me to spill all the worst moments of my life. The point of this article is that hopefully you can see that there is something so comforting about an all-knowing King being in charge of your life. He is in control, whether you like it or not.

The question is are you going to pout because life didn’t go your way, or are you going to dance with God and follow His lead? Will you let your feet glide to where His are step-by-step? Will you take His hand and adventure into creating a beautiful, yet sometimes hard sequence that makes others around you stop and stare, noticing how beautiful you are when you follow His lead?

Life stinks. You are going to fail a test and your heart will get broken. You are going to make mistakes and you are going to drive to Chick-fil-A on a Sunday from time to time. However, if you dance with Christ, you won’t suddenly cry when life doesn’t go your way and you don’t get the Barbie Jeep. When you dance with Christ you will be able to look at your life and think, “no matter what my circumstances are, He is still good.”

When you dance with Christ there will be joy in your trials. Although the pain may not disappear and the flames may smother you, you know this world is not the end. You know His goodness comes from who He is and not the circumstances of your present.

Read this story from a great book:

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

— Daniel 3:16-18

But even if God does not remove your flame, I pray you have the same thoughts Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had when the King was getting ready to throw them in the furnace for not worshiping the gold statue or false Gods. I pray you worship Christ even when the flame does consume you. I pray you realize that although you do serve a God who saves you everyday, if he allows you to experience pain it is for a reason and He is still good. (However, spoiler alert – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego actually do not get consumed by the flames because God saves them).

So here’s to a God who is way wiser than we will ever be. He turns our trials into our testimony and our valleys lead to mountaintops.

So when life doesn’t go your way, remember that He is still good and your temporary pain serves an eternal purpose. Take God’s hand and dance with Him during your trials. Follow His lead and not your plan. In doing so, I promise He will create something even more beautiful than you could ever have planned. Your temporary pain is just a pit stop leading you to eternal joy. Trust Him. Dance with Him and follow His step.