Are there a lot of changes going on in your life? Do you feel like you can’t get a break from the struggle? If trouble keeps finding you, keep reading…
Back in July of 2015, I was single and still hurt from a bad relationship that ended 7 months prior. The closest person to me had shown themselves to be untrustworthy and disloyal. My family, like most others, was having a sort of rough patch. I was pressuring myself to meet weight-loss goals and struggling to resume my purpose in ministry. One of my closest friendships was slowly turning sour. At the time, I felt enveloped in trouble. Then out of nowhere, this thought came loud and clear:
“You’re not in Trouble, you’re in Transition.”
It hit me like a bag of mud bricks. The weight of it sunk me down and He began to pour more out to me:
- You’re not in wilderness, you are just on your way.
- You’re not struggling, you are strength building.
- You’re not on trial, you are in your testimony.
Think of it this way. What you feel is a shifting and a change in your atmosphere. Listen, everyone uses the “gold-in-the-fire” scenario, so I’m going to use something different. To bake a cookie, the oven needs to get fiery. The dough can want to stay a dough, but really it needs to transition to a deliciously firm cookie. It is only useful to the cookie-lover (God) if it goes through this change because staying dough is a waste. Basically, don’t fight it so hard. Trouble is probationary; meaning it is subject to a period of good attitude. It is easier to adjust your attitude to your circumstance when you remember it is JUST a transition. Your struggle has an expiration date!
The biggest key to this whole God thing (besides what we already know) is Perspective. “Perspective” is defined as a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view. This means that how you view your current situation will also produce a certain mentality leading to a reaction.
As an exercise of faith, take whatever it is or whoever it is and change your Perspective. Try it for a day, try it for a week. Just try. Because what you’re in right now doesn’t determine where you will be, so lets speak things that are not as though they are.
Don’t say today at work was horrible, say I learned a lot today – you did (whether good or bad). Don’t say I’m broke, look up coupons or shop Dollar tree and you will save a few dollars. Honestly, you and I don’t know what God’s doing for us during these times. Don’t declare something over your life that’s not even taking place. You know you can take everything and count it all joy because God works things out for our good. He always has and He always will. So remember that, apply that and change your perspective during your transition.
[Editor note: I also realize that some people are just trifling. And due to drama caused by their own doing, they are consistently surrounded by trouble. THIS post was NOT for those people. Those people need to reevaluate themselves and do better.]