LIFE IS STRESSFUL!!
I think we can all agree that there is nothing easy about life. We are in a constant struggle to work, pay bills, find a partner, get married, raise a family, and the list goes on and on till we leave this world. This life would keep you in the so-called "rat race", fending for yourself at every hurdle you will come across.
But if we believe in Jesus' prayer when he declared in Mathew 6 verse 10. Then
We have to believe that while we are here on earth even though we go through the same stress as those around us our lives have a different outcome than others. Our lives give different fruit than those who are going through the same issues. Our kingdom reality sets us apart and we see that through these stressful situations, God is doing something for our good.
I created this guideline to do one thing and that is to point you to Jesus our Hope and our Salvation. My prayer is that through this you can reprocess your situations and see how God was working this out for your good.
DESPERATION....A GAME CHANGER
One of the most stressful times in my life was my sophomore year of college. My freshman year was chaos and because of my choices, my grades suffered greatly. in the summer of my freshman year, I was notified that I had lost all financial aid for the next school year and I had to pay all my tuition and fees on my own. So quickly I started applying for private student loans and spent two months getting denied day after day. I easily found myself spending nights screaming into my pillow angry, frustrated, and fiercely desperate.
I remember so clearly, at the peak of my desperation, I was alone in my dorm room and I did something that I hadn't done in almost a year. I dropped down on my knees and prayed to God the only prayer I felt worthy enough to pray, "Jesus, Help Me!!". In my desperation, I tapped into muscle memory because my body remembered all those years growing up in a Christian home and how we would pray for everything.
It was because I was so desperate that I remembered that there was someone who could help me when no one around me could. That there is one such person who knows what I'm going through and understands how I feel completely. My mind might have forgotten but my heart knew who to turn to.
HOW DO WE LOOK FOR HOPE
Now the following steps are number one nothing new and number two not at all exhaustive. I've learned that if you can incorporate these steps in your life you can shift from reacting to what life throws your way to having a response for what life throws your way.
1. PAUSE....TAKE A MOMENT....TO REMEMBER
I know in this fast-paced world we live in this has become a foreign concept. We do get so caught up in what we are doing and going through we
forget to stop and at the minimum...take a breath. If all you do is buck up and go until you crash you'll never make it. It's in the middle of the storm where we have to stop and ask an important question. Where is Jesus?
2. REALITY CHECK TIME
One thing we need most of the time is a dose of reality and to understand one thing, we are not all-knowing, all-powerful, and in all places. In most situations, we think we have the power to change things around. After taking a pause you can take a moment and let this reality set in.
1. You don't know everything and can't account for every possible outcome.
2. You don't have the physical or spiritual ability to turn every situation
around in your favor.
3. It's when we understand we are powerless and understand our weaknesses
that God can now step in and show his power and strength.
Paul touched on this in Romans when he stated that there was a thorn in his side and no matter how much he prayed God wouldn't remove it. It's good to remember that it's only in those places where we realize that we cannot do this on our own and we have to depend on someone greater than ourselves. God waits for us to realize this so then he can step in and then the glory goes to Him and his strong arm and not anything we could have done.
3. DON'T GET STUCK ON THE WHY.....LOOK FOR THE WHAT!
One of the biggest traps we can fall into during these trying situations is when we start looking for WHOM TO BLAME. This is one of the best tactics the enemy uses to keep us bound. We will either blame ourselves, and those around us, or more commonly we blame God.
If we can first Pause, then with sober eyes look at our situation I do think in that moment we can be in a position to skip the why and look for the what.
If we can shift from Why questions to What questions then we will see that this situation has purpose and meaning. We then can see that these situations are not meant to break me but to refine me. Paul says in Romans 5:3-5, "We also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope." Our current suffering is a process that is producing perseverance, and character and culminating in HOPE.
MY PRAYER FOR YOU
In the end, all of our best resources, our source of power, and our ability to overcome are found in one person...Jesus. I hope that whatever you are going through you can take a moment and look to heaven and let the Holy Spirit minister to you, lead you, and guide you through and to your breakthrough.
Remember who we serve
.
In the book of Isaiah Chapter 40 verses 28 - 31, it says, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. "
Remember our God will not leave or forsake you.
I pray Romans 5 verse 13 over you, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Jesus said it best
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