Let God Push You Around

 

“Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don’t live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God’s mouth. Your clothes didn’t wear out and your feet didn’t blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.” Deuteronomy 8:2-5 (MSG)

I don’t like being pushed around.

I like to stay where it’s comfortable. I prefer the place where I know the rules and expectations. If left to me, I choose the place where I know I can perform the tasks and fulfill the requirements of the situation, whether it’s a physical, intellectual or spiritual task.

Being pushed to your limit brings you to the point of making a choice. You either hold your ground and snap under the pressure or succumb and realize your dependence. Superficially this sounds like a lose-lose situation. I don’t know about you, but I want to live neither broken nor dependent. I don’t care for the “test” of my verve or allegiance. I like things on my terms; easy, doable and comfortable.

What happens when your limit is pushed? Typically, one of 2 things; either you snap and become unpleasantly willful or retreat and remain the same. It’s in both of those places; at the point of breaking or in the solitude of comfort, that you realize your need of a Savior.

God doesn’t push you to your limit in some sadistic, ethereal game. If that were God’s plan, He’d be an poor god, not one worth serving. His push is to grow you into a grown-up believer who recognizes and values the love and provision that a Heavenly Father offers.

That push makes you value your Savior.

Daily I am reminded how much I need a Savior—how valuable my savior is! I need a Savior who loves and provides for the needs of my travels in this life. I need a Savior who is right there to catch me, when, if at my limit, I snap. I need a Savior to push me through the limitations of today, so tomorrow I can be one-step closer to the maturity He has planned for me.

If God is pushing you today, take God’s push as a “shove of love”. God loves you too much to push you for no reason. God’s push is to grow you, to remind you that you need Him fulfilling the most basic needs of your day and that the hand that pushes you is also there to catch you.

Let a loving God push you around today.

Father, remind me of your love and grace at those moments when I feel I’m about to break. Remind me to trust in Your strength and not my own. Thank you for pushing me to become more like you and less like me.   Thank you for providing a Savior!