For a long time I’ve believed that the truly hard things in Life were the “big” things.  You know, taking that missions trip, making that financial pledge, praying like crazy every day.  Something really adventurous might be starting a ministry or learning a new skill.  Lately I’ve come to realize that those things aren’t really that hard at all and that the things I once considered no brainers are actually quite soul-wrenching.  Here are a few examples of what I mean…

Forgiving others.  Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to truly forgive someone?  We say the words but the pain is still there.  Letting go of the bitterness, anger, and feelings of betrayal can feel exhausting at times.  These things are like the neighborhood cat that won’t stay away from your house!  You get rid of them, and you never hear them sneak back up on you.

Letting dreams go.  Eventually, we have to just let some dreams die.  The truth is, there is only so much room in our lives and, if we’re going to be faithful in the position God has placed us in, we have to let some things go.  Let’s face it, can we really be a good father, husband, or whatever and still pursue all our “great ideas”.  That’s not to say some dreams aren’t God given and He will give them back to us, but the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.

Trust.  Do we really trust God with everything?  We’ve sang about trusting, declared our dependence, and spoken confidently about giving everything to Him.  The truth is, we don’t mean it.  When the rubber hits the road and a real life choice is before us, we chicken out, rationalize, or make excuses.  We hold on to relationships we don’t belong in, we stay in jobs that aren’t right for us, and we hold on to our money because we’ve financially overextended ourselves.

Be loved.  Why is allowing ourselves to simply be loved so difficult?  Here we are the very center of Abba’s affection and we won’t just let him lavish His love on us.  How do we do this? I’ll tell you how…

By forgiving others, we allow God to heal the pain they’ve caused us.  We release them from judgment and His love just seems to settle on us like a tailored coat.

Letting go of our dreams allows God to lead us in new directions.  He longs to take us by the hand and walk with us to new places.

Trust is the truest sign of love.  As we trust God with everything, I mean really truly, holding nothing back everything, we experience God’s love in a whole new way.  Trusting God is like saying, “I receive your love.  Let’s do life together!”

The great thing about receiving God’s love is that it makes it so much easier to love other people.  It’s unselfish love because it doesn’t have to be returned or reciprocated.  It doesn’t have to be returned because no love, that any person gives us, can be compared to The Father’s love.

So choose to do the hard stuff.  Forgive, let go, trust, and receive His love.  The rest will seem like cake!