For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.
Jerimiah 29:11
Months ago, I was in a scary dark place. Life has a way of just kind of throwing everything imaginable at you until you’re face down in a pillow wishing you could just disappear. I’ve been in that place a few times in my life, which is why I’m really glad I journal. When the darkness starts to creep in, I’m able to go back and remind myself I’ve been through tough stuff before and survived.
Though I am not a new believer, it is a relatively new habit for me to rely on faith when things get tough. I’ve done it before, totally inexplicably because faith was definitely not front and center in my life at the time. And in those experiences, I learned that whether I’m stressing and worrying or not, things find a way of working out.
Life got tough at the end of last year. I’ve made no secrets about that. And while I’ve always been a relatively optimistic person (it’s just my disposition), I experienced an odd sense of peace despite all the turmoil.
I always know God is at work when things get tough. In the moments of our deepest despair, I truly believe God is using us, changing us, moving us. We’re creatures of comfort and habit. We will almost always seek the path of least resistance. And unless something swoops in and forces us along, we’ll never move. We’ll never progress. We’ll never get from where we are to where we’re meant to be.
I relied hard on the above scripture in the final months of 2017. I couldn’t understand why things were going the way they were, but I did have an abundant faith that there was a greater good at play. Now, months later, I can look back and see the things from which God was protecting me.
Change is often painful and uncomfortable. We don’t usually seek it out. As humans, we like stability and predictability. But in order for you to live your best life, God is going to introduce painful things that force you to move along.
I will say this. There has never been a period of darkness in my life that didn’t make a whole lot of sense in the end. I’ve always found myself thanking God for the darkness once the light floods back in.
Celebrate the darkness friends, no matter how painful and uncomfortable it may be. It’s in those moments that God is paying you the most attention. He loves you abundantly, and when you can’t find the courage or strength to move, he will do it for you.
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