A Position of Surrender

Have you ever gotten to a point where you just can’t go on? You feel broken, confused, alone, and maybe even lost. Have you ever felt like you couldn’t take anymore, asking God why me? “Lord you said you would never put more on me then I could bear, I can’t take any more of this.” Have you ever just fallen to your knees and cried?

It is at this point, in this position, where you surrender all to God. It is at this point where the load is lightened. Most people view this position as a sign of weakness, but it is actually the strongest position you can be in. A position of surrender. Not surrendering to your circumstances, to the problems, to the addiction, to the loss but you are surrendering to God. In this position you lay everything at His feet.

God did say He would never put more on us than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) but at some point, we have to surrender it all to Him. We have to go to Him on our knees, hands raised to the heavens, and head bowed believing that his grace is sufficient. The moment we stop going to God with our tests, trails, and tribulations is the moment we decide we can solve our problems on our own. It is no longer He, putting things on us, but we are putting things on ourselves.

There is this gospel song that I love titled Be Blessed (Paul S. Morton). In this song he sings about praying and how God change things when we pray for one another. The surrendering is not the acceptance of defeat but the acceptance of victory through God. In our own strength we are not capable of changing things around but when we surrender and pray God steps in and lighten our load.

I want you to know that it is okay to give it to God, whatever “it” is. I promise you that once you surrender to God, He will change things.

No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. -1 Corinthians 10:13- (NET Bible)

How do you wake up?

How do you wake up?

Are you happy that it is a new day or are you mad because it is a new day?
How you wake up will determine how your day goes. It also has the protentional to determine how your week goes or how your month goes. If you are not careful, how you wake up one day may have the power to determine how the rest of your life goes.

Waking up is a gift, tomorrow is not promised, each day we wake up it is God’s will for us to do so (James 4:13-15). Waking up is a gift, a precious gift that should be cherished. Waking up with the right attitude and the right mindset has the power to change your whole life.

Each morning your feet hit the floor you should be thanking God for a new day, a new chance, a new opportunity to do and accomplish the things you did not get to do yesterday. Happiness is a choice; you can choose to be happy every morning. Your attitude towards life is a choice, you can either choose to look at things as a positive or you can look at them a negative.

Changing the way you wake up can be hard; I don’t like my job, I don’t want to deal with these people today, it’s too cold, it’s too hot, my back hurt, I just need two more hours of sleep, traffic is terrible, and the list goes on and on and on. If you begin to look at these things from a different perspective waking up will become easier. I don’t like my job, but I am good at it so let me get going, God please help me be a better person in the work place so that I can better deal with those around me, traffic is bad but it gives me a few minutes to myself.

You have the choice to be bitter about life or be better in life.

In the morning when you wake up chose to be a better person than you were yesterday, choose happiness, choose to react differently when obstacles get in your way, choose to smile more, choose to enjoy the day on purpose and I promise you not only will your days, weeks, and months get better, but you will sleep better. Not only that but life will get better, your health will get better, and blessings will flow.

God did not put us here to live a miserable life, He put us here to carry out his will and to be a reflection of Him; we cannot do this if we are always grumpy, hating life, and ungrateful. I want to leave you with a scripture: Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

Fear or Faith?

Standing in the doorway she looked out at what was in front of her and then she looked back at what was behind her. In front of her she saw new beginnings, healing, growth, beauty, new relationships, and happiness; most of all she saw the unknown. Behind her she saw the hurt, the failure, the broken relationships, the lack, and the abuse; most of all she saw familiarity. What should she do, she wondered as she stood glancing back and forward between the unknown and the familiarity. One step forward and she walks into her destiny. One step backwards and she walks into her death. Fear crippled her while faith tugged at her. Fear was telling her she couldn’t and her faith was telling her to trust God. She knew she had to let one go but which one would it be?

This is what it feels like when you let fear and faith live in the same realm, this is impossible. Fear and faith cannot exist together one must overcome the other or you always be stuck standing in the doorway wondering what if, not being able to move one way or another.  Faith is belief in the things unseen. You must believe that what lies ahead is better that what lies behind. Once you really start believing this, once you get this deep into your spirit, it is then you will be able to take that first step into the unknown. That first step of faith.

 

Faith is not easy but being fearful is. Having faith takes work, faith makes you work. You must work to get to those things that are in front of you. You have to get up in the morning and be present, you have to speak victory into your life, you have to read, you have to study, you have to apply yourself, you have to heal! Fear is easy, you don’t have to do anything but stay right where you are. Just sit there and dwell on all that you’ve been through and all the things that are never going to happen.

I can write about this because I have been here. In the doorway scared to step forward into faith because my fear of the unknown crippled me. Stepping forward was the best decision I ever made, it hasn’t been easy but it has been worth it.

What direction do you chose? Are you going forward in faith or are you going to step back into fear?

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. -Romans 8:18-

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. -Joshua 1:9-

Peace is Possible

The best thing you can do for yourself is find peace in your life and never let it go. (Psalm 34:14)

You may think this is difficult because of all that you are going through or all that you are facing but I am telling you it is possible. This is possible by letting go of what was, believing in what is, and understanding that what is to be is already taken care of.  

Letting go of what was.

You cannot change anything about your past; the hurt, the loss, the betrayal, the brokenness, you can’t change it so why hold on to it? Why keep hashing it up only to feel the feelings you felt when it first happened. Often times you are waiting on an apology or some type of understanding as to why these things happened and they never come. Now you are just stuck in the moment; a month passes, then six months, now a whole year has gone by and you’re just stuck in these feelings. Make peace with it and let it go. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Believe in what is.

Once you let go of those things that happened to you in the past you should start believing in what is. They hurt me but this hurt is not going to define my outlook on life. They left me but I didn’t lose anything. I am going to forever miss them but I know they are in a better place. Strife can either break you or it can make you a better person; you can either let the bricks bury you or you can use them to build a solid foundation. (Isaiah 43:10)

It’s already taken care of.

God goes before us and make crooked paths straight (Isaiah 45:2); your future is already taken care of you just have to keep living and progressing. God cannot bless what you will not let him have. Give Him those things that hurt you and watch how He fix those broken pieces and make them whole again. I am 34 years old and I have experienced a lot in my short time here on this earth, things that most people never overcome. I had to learn at an early age that although it hurts it will bring me to my purpose in life. What I was going through was temporary, it was preparing me for my future. I don’t know what all God has in store for me but I do know my future is bright and yours is also. I know this without a shadow of doubt because it is written in His word. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Today forgive the unforgiven, understand that there is no understanding, trust that God doesn’t make any mistakes, and pray for the peace that you so desperately need and deserve.

I Am……

Day 12: I am going through.

Today’s “I am” is, “I am going through”; what does this mean exactly? We often get stuck in our situations and by stuck, I mean we sit down and just watch the chaos unfold around us.

There is this country song that I absolutely love, it says, “If you’re going through Hell keep on going, don’t slow down if you’re scared, don’t show it you might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.” When I am going through something I often listen to this song or I ‘ll sing to myself. It reminds me to keep going.

Sometimes it gets hard to keep going but it is an absolute must. I know what it feels like to take two steps and get knocked back three but eventually the steps will get easier and the knock backs will become infrequent. There is a situation that I am currently facing right now. I am currently trying to improve my credit so that I can buy a house, we are finally settled in an area that we love and plan on living here for quite some time so we are ready to buy. I started researching ways to fix my credit and found some useful tips. I started diligently applying these tips to my situation but it seemed every time I would send out a letter another collector was contacting me about another debt.

At first, I got very discouraged and just about gave up. Yeah,  I almost just took a seat right there in the midst of this terrible situation. I didn’t see how it was ever going to get better if this kept happening. I prayed about the situation and had to remind myself of God’s promises and plans for my life, plans to prosper me and not harm me plans to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I got back in it and sent my letters. For the last three months I have seen a positive increase in my credit score and I am just about where I need to be to purchase my first house. Seeing these increases has made the battle much easier, I know it is possible.

Changed Mindset…

It is hard to see the outcome of a situation when you are right in the middle of it, so just keep telling yourself I am going through this, this is not where I reside. It is said that you shouldn’t live in the past but it is important to take a look back and see just how far you’ve come. Sometimes the discouragement comes from not knowing just how much you have actually conquered.

So, look back and tell yourself I am going through. Now turn around and keep going cause you’re almost there. Your reward is waiting on you, go get it!

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. -James 1:12-