One of the hardest things to do when you love somebody is to step back and allow God to work on that person. When someone is struggling, often we want to do everything that we can to step in and stop the pain that they are experiencing. We want to help in any way that we can, say the right words of comfort, go above and beyond the norm to show them how much we earnestly care about them. We want to guide them into seeing things outside of the emotional roller coaster that they are going through. Sometimes we need to step back and allow them the have those struggles and trust God to do things His way.
When we get in the way of what God is doing in the heart of that person, we can end up making things worse. We have to allow God to play out His plan by transforming that person’s heart to be more like Him. Although we love that person, and it hurts to see what they are going through, it is necessary so that their character can be built up through their circumstances.
We can’t push people into a certain way of thinking, or into loving somebody, it has to come from God’s revelation to that person. When that happens, that situation will make the understanding of God’s will stronger. They will take upon themselves what they learnt, and the experience will push them into taking ownership of what needs to happen. Then will you see a person be able to stand behind and not waiver because the foundation is in Christ.
Everything happens for a reason, and we can’t play God. We have to encourage people to seek out the will of God on their own so that they can live according to it. If we try to manipulate the destination to our liking, we will destroy the natural unavailing of God’s will and cause more problems. The hardest thing to do is to step back, pray, and trust that God is in control. Allow them to wrestle with God and struggle through that trial; bringing them closer to God, and away from putting their full trust in man.
None of this means that you aren’t there for them, but instead be in a place of continuously pushing them to the arms of Jesus. In that place, only then will they fully find the answers they are seeking.
