Much had been said already urging us to discover our desires, pursue our interests, nourish our gifts, follow the passions God has given us. Find your flow – that is the way to succeed and live a fulfilling life. We then have a pretty picture in our minds of that day when we need not do our boring jobs anymore, and when we shall find abundance pouring in in ways we could never have imagined. We feel the excitement pulsing in our veins, finally doing what we’re all supposed to do, living the glorious destiny to which we have been born into.
Then all of a sudden, we find ourselves living just the opposite life we dreamed. We find ourselves in a rut, a deadend, or a yellow light that has kept us waiting longer than we have expected for us to realize the vision that has been given us. What went wrong? What sin have we committed for us to deserve this kind of punishment that has fallen upon us like a thief in the night stealing our dreams and the life that has been promised of us?
We then re-think our choices, wondering if we guessed our purpose right. ‘This cannot be my flow’, we say to ourselves, and we move on to the next option, hoping it’ll finally be the right path.
And yet, if we come to think of it, was David not in the right path when he was still a shepherd and learned to kill bears and lions in order to protect his sheep? Was Joseph not in the right path when he was sold as a slave, worked as administrator of an Egyptian household, and later as head of the prisoners when he was accused without any fault of his own? Were the disciples not in the right path when they worked as fishermen instead of being trained as pharisees and scribes learned of preaching the law?
Each of these men were destined for something, each with a seed of desire for that destiny planted within their hearts. Yet each also was not able to perform it immediately – each had to wait, each had to undergo a seemingly irrelevant pruning so that the desired flow may be unblocked!
David was not born as prince and immediate heir to the throne. He was not given lessons in swordsmanship nor given training in walking, talking and dressing like a king. He was a shepherd and a musician! But his years of taking care of his flock and of defending them against wolves, bears and lions have provided him not only with the outward skills he needed to reign as king, but with the inner strength and compassion for all of those under his protection and care.
Joseph had a vision of his great future, but instead of being enrolled in an Egyptian school of languages, economics and administration, he endured a lowly life as a slave. He managed an Egyptian household under stress of persecution and imprisonment. Now is it a likely position to be in to consider it as being in the ‘flow’? Was everything happy and abundant at the moment?
But uncomfortable though as it may be, Joseph’s strength and mindpower had been trained in the process. Amidst his suffering, his heart was opened up for those who also suffer and made him accountable and responsible for the critical position that would be given him in the future. His harsh training was the key that unblocked his inability to enter into his ‘flow’.
There are many times indeed where the problem is not in finding where our ‘flow’ is, but in ‘unblocking’ our way towards that flow. It is not in choosing which path to go, but in being fit enough to tread the path we desire to walk upon.
What is blocking you? Your fears? Your lack of strength? The need to open up your heart to suffering so you can better serve many?
Be patient and do not lose heart. In times when you feel stranded, hindered, or powerless, God may just be preparing you, working carefully and lovingly upon you, unblocking the way so you can finally enter your ‘flow’ and fulfill the deepest and greatest desires of your heart!
This article was written by Jocelyn Soriano at ITAKEOFFTHEMASK.COM
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The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
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