We sometimes use practical strategies to work ourselves out of the challenges that God led us into to refine our faith, expose our shortcomings and the limits of our character. God put us in that situation to grow us. And by ignoring him and focusing only on our own practical solutions, we save ourselves from difficulty, but also from growth.
We must first give up our most conspicuous coping mechanisms and addictions, then work from them to our more subtle strategies of human wisdom which save us from our trials.
Our booze, anger, passivity, violence, porn and drugs will all give us growing experiences if we will only begin to repent of them. But then our caffeine, overeating, overwork and control will do so further as we repent of them. Then our luxuries, wealth, selfishness, prayer-less-ness and excessive pleasures will show us more of Gods will for us as we repent of them.
After these, our noise, busyness, fastinglessness, lack of solitude will expose us further to God as we repent of them.
The pure in heart will see God. Yet our hearts cannot be distracted by a thousand cares, possessions and lusts, and also be pure. If we will see the face of God we must first set aside our thousand cares.
Matthew 5:8
