It's never easy to be on a losing end. It's not always easy to watch others get everything they want, while you are nowhere close to things you always prayed about. Surely, I can relate when some of my friends shared that sometimes, their dreams would feel like dry and empty grounds. Green grasses are nowhere to be found. Raw and honest, I couldn't agree more when some people claim that there's nothing more tormenting than the feeling of being stuck.
I started 2024 strong and when I say 'strong', I mean putting all my willpower into fighting and exhausting all efforts to walk through January with grace. I was challenged in every way possible. My family and I were confronted by things and situations larger than us too early. January 2024 had thrown us hard punches. In retrospect, I was overwhelmed. Got scared. Got weak. Cried. But one thing I am grateful to say is this: as much as I want to hide the struggles and put on a brave face daily, it's the light of Christ that keeps me going. If not for those empowering much-needed quiet moments with Him, I wouldn't know how to remain on course.
Maybe you can relate with me. Maybe, your January was marked by deep disappointment as well or loss. Maybe you've felt like one of the strongest soldiers too early. Maybe receiving a Disney Princess treatment didn't come close to you. Braveheart, here's my encouragement to you. I hope and pray that as you continue to read this, may these words bring you comfort, the same way I felt when I encountered His words.
TIME AND TIME AGAIN, GOD IS A FAITHFUL KEEPER OF HIS WORDS.
You know, at the beginning of 2024, at exactly January 1 actually, I asked the Lord for a guiding verse this year. Here's what I received through His scripture:
Isaiah 30:23 Then He will send rain for your seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food, the produce of the ground, will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.
This is a great promise, right? I even got excited upon hearing this. That's why it stunned me when I witnessed how 2024 turned out. Definitely, not how I pictured it. But here's what I realized. The Lord often gives us promises but He will not tell us the details. He still wants to see our hearts trusting and walking in truth and faith as we seek those promises. This is a cliche but this one never gets old; if the story isn't beautiful yet, He isn't finished yet. Even in the most unfavorable situations, He is the Good Shepherd who is walking with you.
DO IT SCARED. DO IT OVERWHELMED. BUT NOT ALONE.
God hears you. God sees you. We may not be able to avoid problems and stop hurt in our lives, but the nearness of God can help us overcome and get through hardships. Turn to what is true: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This declaration from the Lord doesn't deny the fact that we can be challenged and weakened by situations. But the Lord is just soooo sweet to assure us that we can always expect that His power can sustain us even at our weakest.
FOCUS ON VISION OVER OF SITUATION.
Beauty in a mess and hope in our disappointments. As we continue to grow in our walk with God, I hope and pray that we'll continue to seek His presence, His beauty, His kindness, and His heart. When things don't align with how we want them, pray to be aligned with how God pictured them exactly.
Remain prayerful, persistent, and hopeful. Be attentive to how He is molding you. Pay attention to His desires. To His instructions. His plans for you are larger than the situations that are trying to put you down.
Life may get discouraging in many ways, but God never intends us to get stuck in discouragement -- to put down tent pegs and camp out there.
The scripture tells us to devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful always (Colossians 4:2). Braveheart, your persistent prayer HAS POWER.
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