This past year has been filled with incredible struggles. I thought getting through my divorce grew enough patience, love, forgiveness and self-control to get me through the rest of my life. Haha - how silly it seems now when I think about it. The reality of life is that we never stop growing, changing, evolving… and we should never stop striving to be better today than we were yesterday. And just when we think we’ve arrived - God shows up and says - just a little bit further.
The truth is - I was exhausted. I was done. I felt like I couldn’t handle one more emotional roller coaster and then here comes life - grabbing me by my shoulders, throwing me in the front seat of yet another wild ride - no helmet - no instructions - just a simple, buckle up buttercup, it’s coming whether you are ready or not.
I’m sure you’ve been there. An unexpected life event that left you feeling completely depleted and thinking your only option is to just shut down. I know… I know - Most of the time it is something that happens that is totally out of our control and that’s where the enemy sneaks in. He spends his days throwing fiery thought darts like “it’s not your fault”, “they did this”, “why did this happen”, “you don’t deserve this” - Thus an emotional descent of depression, anxiety, anger, guilt (you name it) ensues.
This is one of his age old tactics that unfortunately wins him many souls. Don’t let that be you. We have a choice. We can choose our thoughts and we can choose our actions. We may not choose the things that happen to us but we can choose how we react to them. Don’t give the devil any authority over you or your life.
I found myself in a state of misery. Multiple things were happening in my life simultaneously. Before one issue could get resolved another would happen. I was taking one blow to the heart after another. This is when I started my self-care journey. I will admit, this helped tremendously. I felt better than I had in a very long time. If you haven’t read my Self-Care series, I highly recommend you do. I still go back and revisit those blogs for inspiration and reminders that it is biblical to take care of myself.
Fast forward - I have my self-care routine down. I’m spending time with God everyday, I’m exercising, taking vitamins, drinking lots of water, doing things just for me and it feels great. However, there was still some discontentment in my life. I can’t even put my finger on exactly what or where this feeling was coming from but it was there. I was unsettled.
One morning God and I had an extra long sit down. I prayed about this unsettling anxiety, blaming it on perimenopause and people that were irritating the daylights out of me - and God simply spoke to my heart. “Praise Me”. I was like, Lord - I praise you everyday - I know that I am only here because of you, I have what I have because of you, You are the air I breathe.
I had to get ready for work so I went on about my day. The next morning when I woke up, I heard God say, “Thank Me”. So before I got up, I said, Thank you God for waking me up today. I got up to pee… and then I said, Thank you God for a body that works. I went to lay down for a few more minutes and I said, Thank you God for this big comfy bed. And that is when it began. I don’t remember the day… I just remember that small act of obedience has been absolutely life changing. From that morning until the present, as soon as I open my eyes, I take time to thank and praise God for everything in my life. I thank Him for the simple things and for the great things. I thank Him for everything. It is the very first thing I do, before I do anything else.
And since I have been doing this I have had this unexplainable contentment in my life. When things don’t go my way, I say, Thank you God. When things like the sink pipe bursts and floods my kitchen cabinet, I say, Thank you God, it could have been worse. I know it sounds crazy - Why be thankful for the “bad” stuff… Here’s why:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
It is God’s will. There are a lot of scriptures that repeat this. Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6-7; Colossians 3:17; Psalm 107:1; James 1:2-3
Give thanks in all circumstances. This is God’s Will. He promises it will be okay.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.
If we want to be in God’s Will, if we want the promises He has for us to be fulfilled, if we want to live the life of abundance and peace that He promises to give to us, then we have to obey His Word.
As I strive to live better, grow my faith deeper, and be obedient - I am learning - that I don’t know as much as I thought I did… haha - There is a lot more growing to do. There is a lot more patience to be had (ugh)... and there is a lot more Word that needs to be lived out.
Day by day… I refuse to get overwhelmed and I also refuse to be stagnant - So - if like me you seem to be hitting a wall and you don’t know why - Try thanking God as soon as you wake up in the morning and then watch these supernatural blessings start to infiltrate your life. It is pretty amazing.
I love being able to say - I can’t explain it - It’s all God!
Tell me in the comments, what are you thankful for today?
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