Romans 7:24 (CSB)
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Have you ever come across a mom in a grocery store pulling her screaming, flailing child away from the candy aisle? Children sometimes get very angry with their parents when they are not allowed to eat all the junk food they want. The kid is too immature to understand the long-term repercussions of eating too much candy. In their lack of life experience, they see their parents as being mean, cruel, and unreasonable by not giving them all the candy they want when they want it. But one of the most loving things a parent can do is rescue their children from themselves.
Sometimes God must rescue you from yourself.
When your heart is set on something and the door closes in your face, it may be that God is rescuing you from yourself. Because your heart will mislead you. Look at what the Bible says about your heart in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” Sometimes your heart gets set on things, people, and places that can pull you away from living your Kingdom purpose.
And so God has to shut the door, pull you away, and break off the heartstrings that you have allowed to get wrapped around the wrong thing. At this point, you may feel like God is not good, that He's being mean, or that He doesn't understand, but it's quite the opposite. Your Father knows what you need.
God knows that some of the things that look sweet in your eyes, will lead to long term bitterness in your heart.
One of the signs of spiritual maturity is the ability to be content in any and every circumstance. When you live under the Kingdom authority rule of Jesus, you can trust that the sovereignty of God is working in all circumstances to give you what you need to live your Kingdom purpose. It may not be what you want, and in the moment, it may be painful. It may seem like God is being unfair. But your loving Father sees the whole picture; He sees your life from the beginning to the end, and He's always at work. God is working in your life even when you don't see it, even when you don't feel it, and especially when you're not getting what you want.
So the next time you come across a parent pulling a screaming, flailing child away from the candy aisle, remember that your Heavenly Father may have done the same thing with you in the past. Remember, when your heart gets set on the wrong things, your Father in heaven will do the most loving thing by breaking your heartstrings free from the things that are pulling you away from your Kingdom purpose.
As a child of God, your loving Father won't always give you what you want. But rest assured, He is always providing you with what you need. Don't allow your trust in God to be shaken. In your current season, you may not understand His ways, but have faith that in time you will. Your path may be full of zigs and zags, ups and downs, but always keep in mind that it is your heavenly Father who is holding the map. Know this: He is always leading you into your Kingdom purpose, and eternal joy. When it is all said and done, you'll realize that all along, your loving Father was saving you from yourself.