Stewing over what we want is such a complete waste of energy.
When we are constantly caught up in thoughts about what we don’t have, that tends to make us sad or angry — without getting us one bit closer to possessing what we want.
It’s a lose/lose waste of time.
Sometimes this kind of thinking is even a triple loss — for example, when it also keeps us from sleeping at night or prohibits us from doing anything productive.
However, when we recognize the self-destructive nature of thinking like this, we can retrain our mind to think in a way that is healthy.
We can talk to God about our needs and desires instead of driving ourselves into this downward spiral.
He knows.
He wants to help.
When we know Him well, we learn to lay out our heart’s desires to Him with full trust that He will answer our prayers.
Because we know He is wise and loving, we also understand that the answer to our prayer will likely be different than our expectations.
His answer is always better than our desire.
Related: ‘We Are So Much Better Off with God Than Without Him’
God knows what we need before we ask.
Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:25-27, 31-33).
When we trust God to act in our best interests, that releases our thoughts from the chain of our desires — and we are free to enjoy the blessings He’s already given us.
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