Plans, Purposes, & Pursuits | Week 1
Day 2
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” - Matthew 6:9
We say we trust God, but what story are we actually living out when life doesn’t go our way?
It shows up faster than we think. A conversation goes sideways. A plan falls apart. An unexpected bill hits. A relationship feels strained. And in that moment, our reaction reveals what we really believe about God.
Do we lean in - or pull back?
Do we pray - or panic?
Do we trust - or try to take control?
Because our real theology isn’t what we say on Sunday, it’s what we believe under pressure.
Jesus teaches us to begin with “Our Father,” but most people don’t live there consistently. We drift. We forget. We default back to old ways of thinking, ways shaped by past experiences, disappointments, and even the way we were raised.
And if we’re not careful, we start relating to God based on those distortions instead of His truth.
For example:
If we grew up around criticism, we may assume God is constantly disappointed in us.
If we’ve experienced inconsistency, we may struggle to believe God is steady and faithful.
If we’ve been hurt or let down, we may quietly keep our distance from God, even while believing in Him.
So when life doesn’t make sense, instead of running to God, we begin to withdraw from Him.
Not because we don’t believe in Him, but because we’re not sure we can trust Him.
That’s where this becomes deeply personal.
Many people view their lives through the lens of “How did I end up here?” And that question often carries frustration, regret, or even shame.
Maybe that’s you.
You look at your current situation and think:
“I didn’t plan to be in this job.”
“I didn’t expect my family to look like this.”
“I thought I’d be further along spiritually by now.”
And slowly, that question turns into a quiet conclusion:
“Something must have gone wrong.”
But what if nothing is as off-track as we think?
What if God is not surprised by y\our current season?
What if He hasn’t stepped away?
What if He is actually working in the very place we’ve been questioning?
Because here’s the truth: God’s will is not just about where we’re going, it’s about who we’re becoming right now.
And our current circumstances are not an obstacle to that, they are often the environment where it happens.
But we won’t see that if we don’t trust His heart.
That’s why Jesus starts with Father.
Because when we truly believe God is a good Father, it reshapes how we interpret everything:
Delays don’t automatically mean denial
Closed doors don’t automatically mean failure
Difficult seasons don’t automatically mean punishment
Instead, we begin to ask a different question:
Not “Why is this happening to me?”
But “What is my Father doing in me through this?”
That’s a completely different posture.
It moves us from frustration to curiosity.
From resistance to openness.
From distance to dependence.
And let’s be real, this is where the tension shows up in everyday life.
It shows up in our home when stress is high and patience is low.
It shows up at work when things feel uncertain or unfulfilling.
It shows up in our spiritual life when consistency is hard and growth feels slow.
In those moments, our view of God is not theoretical, it’s active.
If we believe He is a good Father, we’ll keep coming back, even imperfectly.
If we don’t, we’ll slowly drift into self-reliance.
And self-reliance always leads to exhaustion.
Because we were never meant to carry our life alone.
The beauty of what Jesus teaches is this: we don’t have to have everything figured out to walk with God, we just have to stay connected to Him as Father.
That means we can bring our confusion.
We can bring our frustration.
We can bring our questions.
We don’t clean ourselves up before coming, we come because we need Him.
So here’s where this gets practical today:
Pause and take an honest inventory of your life right now.
Where are you feeling tension?
Where are you feeling uncertain?
Where are you tempted to take control instead of trust?
Now ask yourself:
What do I believe about God in this area?
Not what you should believe, what you actually believe.
Because that belief is shaping your response.
And here’s the invitation:
Instead of withdrawing in that area…
instead of trying to fix everything on your own…
Bring that specific part of your life back under this truth: God is my Father, and He is good.
Say it honestly, even if it feels like a stretch.
And then talk to Him from that place.
Not with polished words, but with real ones.
Because finding God’s will doesn’t start with perfect decisions.
It starts with a personal relationship.
And that relationship grows when we stop treating God like a concept, and start trusting Him as our Father, right in the middle of our real life.
