Forcing the Fit

One of the worse feelings is walking into your closet to pull out one of your favorite pair

of denim jeans for the day, putting them on only to realize they no longer fit, let alone

zip. But because you love them and refuse to accept that they may need to be donated,

you hold your breath, suck in your stomach, and fight to force the zipper up. To my

surprise, it worked, and I went on about my day.

Imagine having to go throughout the entire day in complete discomfort because you’re

determined to squeeze into jeans that are simply too small. Feel the constant pressure.

The tightness. The limitation - the restriction. You can’t move freely. You can barely

breathe. You’re constantly aware of the strain. That’s what it looks like when we force

ourselves in in environments, groups, and spaces that we’ve already outgrown.

Years ago, when I had walked away from the Lord, deep in my own rebellion and living

it up in the clubs - I began to feel something shifting. I found myself being drawn back to

Him. My desires were changing. Yet even as that internal transformation was

happening, I still showed up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights faithfully like

nothing had changed. Yet in the middle of the night, I would find myself quietly asking,

What am I doing here? I felt completely out of place - like a sore thumb. I no longer

cared about being around the people or the environment, and I didn’t even have the

desire to drink anymore.

At the same time, I was dating a man I had been involved with for quite some time, yet I

was completely losing interest. We no longer had anything in common. We were in two

entirely different places in life. Still, I held on because it was familiar. Because it was

what I knew. Because I feared starting over with someone new. I kept hoping that

somehow, something would change and that we would magically work out in the end.

Holding on only kept me in a place of complacency and compromise. It was as if I was

trying to move forward, yet something was constantly pulling me back – keeping me

stuck between who I was becoming and what I refused to release.

With the changing of seasons in our lives often comes a shifting of environments and

relationships and with those shifts can come discomfort, uncertainty, and the difficult

realization that not every space is meant for your next season.

Perhaps you’ve experienced similar situations or even stepped into new relationships

and spaces, trying to fit in, but nothing feels right because you haven’t let the Lord lead

the way.

It is in these moments of discomfort that God is inviting us to complete surrender.

Instead of us forcing the fit, we have to step back, seek him, and trust that he is leading

and guiding us into all truth - leading us to the right people, places and opportunities in

his timing, not ours. We must trust and believe that we fit perfectly wherever he leads

us.