People as a whole ramble off negative groans and complaints every day, sometimes without even thinking about it. We've all heard the "think about the solution, not the problem" slogan over and over. Meditate on the positive, people say. And to both of those things I would agree. More positive, less negative...condition your mind for success.
But sometimes, I think it's important to dwell on the not so happy things that happen in our lives. Not dwell on it, as in sulking and feeling sorry for yourself, being the grand planner of your own pity party. I mean dwell as in sit down for just a second and let it sink in, think about it before throwing your emotional stability out the window.
I believe it's good for our soul to let the hardships simmer for just a bit. Feel them, let the weight of it all sink in as deeply as it wants to sink. There's one rule I keep in mind when letting the weight of it all sink in...and that's to guard a little piece of my heart, fence it off as sacred ground where only good can go. I like to hang a sign on my imaginary heart fence that says "Good will always win. God is in control. It's all gonna be okay. Don't give up. Don't lose hope."
If you don't hang that sign, the hurt might think it's okay to set up permanent residence and take full occupancy, driving your hope into the ground, and maybe burying it for good. Don't bury your hope. It's okay to hurt and to hope at the same time, just make sure you're clinging to the hope instead of the hurt. If you don't keep that one place in your heart that's holdin' on to hope for dear life, it's super easy for others things and other people to come in and rock your world.
Good will always win. Don't ever forget that. If you're playing for team evil, you should just go ahead and forfeit now, cause I have news for you...beyond a shadow of a doubt, no matter what may come...good will always win.
When other people don't understand, let your smile declare "Good will always win." When the voice in your head tells you to give up, shout back at them, "Dude! Good will always win, just hang on a second." When trials and tests and things you don't deserve happen, remember that they too shall pass, but good is here to stay...it will always win.
If there's one minute on the clock and Team Good is down by a million points, you better sit on the edge of your seat and pay attention baby cause Team Good's about to pull off a miracle! It doesn't matter what the score is, it doesn't matter what the circumstances look like...we may not be able to predict the ending score, but if we keep pressing on, we can know for freakin' sure who's gonna win.
People will come along and try to tell you there's no reason to hope, that things are too messed up, that there's no coming back from the place you're in. And I'm here to say that's the biggest load I've ever heard...a complete and utter lie. Don't let that in your head.
Yes, let the disappointments sink in and let it reach your soul. Feel the hurt and pain and then figure out what you're gonna do about it. There's always a way out. You always have another move, even when it seems you don't. If you're playing on Team Good, there's no way you're out of plays. If you've come to the end of your rope, don't "tie a knot and hang on"...drop the stinkin' rope like a hot potato and acrobat yourself onto a different rope to change your circumstances. Circumstances are temporary. God's goodness is for always...it never runs out and it's never not enough.
Don't grow so afraid and avoid yourself immune to feeling setbacks, don't let your heart grow numb. I've noticed that the depth of feeling pain runs parallel to our ability to feel joy. The deeper you've experienced sorrow, the more you can experience joy when it comes back around. The sorrow makes the joy worth it. The sorrow opens your eyes. The bad days, the horrible mistakes, the crappy things that just happen...they're all there to refine us. And that sounds pretty stupid and undesirable when you're right in the middle of it...but when you're on the other side of it all, and you're all refined and strong and standing as a conqueror...I promise you'll be thankful for the refinement. You can appreciate the fact that the purest, most precious gold is created by the hottest fire.
So when the fire keeps getting hotter and hotter, and there's no letting up in sight...look the fire straight in the eye and say "thanks for refining me fire...you don't know it yet, but you're making me better, more equipped, and more thankful for the joys in my life".
So many times we hear people ask or even wonder ourselves, why would God allow this to happen? Why didn't He just step in and prevent this from happening? I mean if He knows everything, and He really loves us as much as He says He does, and He's stronger than anything...what gives? The truth is, I really don't know. I believe He does know everything, that nothing surprises Him. He really does love us as much as He says He does, if He didn't He would never have allowed Jesus to endure the cross. I also believe there's nothing stronger than His power, His love, and His abilities.
Only good things come from God, everything else comes from the opposite of Him: His enemy, as well as our own. He sends us good things and allows undesirable things to come into our lives because unlike our enemy, the Lord knows those undesirable things will ultimately make us more equipped to fight later battles. It's just like working out...if all you ever do is lift 10 pound weights, how could you ever expect to win a battle against someone who's been lifting 100 pound weights? God knows we'll all at some points in our lives, find ourselves in battle against strong forces. He would be an unloving and irresponsible God if He were to remove every single roadblock in our lives, which would never allow us to build up the muscle we need to fight bigger battles. And the Lord, He can do it on His own, but I just believe He needs us to be capable of fighting bigger battles.
His plan is not to grow an army of weak and wimpy Christians who lack strength and experience, but rather an army of people who have the maturity to see the big picture. We shouldn't just tolerate the getting stronger process, we should appreciate and hunger for it. We should be charging toward it with such tenacity that it makes our enemies never want to face us in battle. Truth is, we're in a battle whether we want to be or not. It's up to us to choose which team we fight for...good or evil, strong or wimpy, powerful or pitiful. You can't consistently play both sides and have joy in your life. You have to choose.
Allow the hardships to sink in, and let it fire you up to decide what you're gonna do about it. And when joy comes around, as it always does, experience it more concentrated as a reward for fighting the battle with a shield of faith and a heart that just wouldn't quit. On this earth we have much to fight for and a whole heap of things to overcome, but we also have much joy and a whole other pile of things to be thankful for. We live in an unfair, imperfect world where bad things happen to good people and unimaginable, heartbreaking things take place. The good news is, this world is temporary.
As much as 100 years on earth can seem like forever, (I mean I don't know about you, but if Jesus came to take me home today I would greet him happily!) this world is "but a vapor"...here today, gone tomorrow (hallelujah!). That's why it's even more exciting to know that we have a Savior who has already fought the ultimate battle of good vs. evil, and not only has he won that battle by a landslide, he's given us an invitation to the victory party! I'm so thankful! (And I really like parties...) The world is fleeting and earth time is short, so be courageous for just a little while longer. No matter what, good will always win.
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -Jesus via John 16:33
I'm Lindsey Rae, and I'm gonna keep taking heart, cause good will always win.
No comments:
Post a Comment