We’re a few weeks into January, and for some, life has already gotten crazy. It’s amazing how fast things can change. One minute, it’s a new year, new you…the next you’re struggling to keep going and put one foot in front of the other with school schedule, work load, projects, finances, and more.
When Everything Falls Apart
What do you do when it all comes apart? When it feels like everything is crashing and burning around you? How do you find the strength to get up and keep going?
Maybe it’s not even a huge trial. Maybe it’s discouragement or defeat or even shame. You walked into this new year with dreams and goals, and then life hit. And now, it feels so overwhelming. You feel like a failure. You feel less then, not enough. Discouragement has set up camp in your heart, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere.
As a person who is definitely affected by the season changes and the sun, I can get so easily discouraged in the dark, cold, dreary days of January and February. I know that, and I try my best to prepare for it. But sometimes, it still comes anyway. So what do you do? How do you find perspective? How do you find the ability to take a deep breath?
What’s the Answer?
Stop.
Be still.
Look up.
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
Psalm 46:10
It seems too simple. It feels like we have to do more. Try harder. And yet, when it feels like everything is falling apart, the best thing we can do is to be still. Realign ourselves with God. Spend time talking to Him, pouring out your heart before him. And then just sit quietly, in his presence. It’s a lot harder than it seems, but if we can learn to do it, the benefits are incredible.
Peace.
Breathing room for our soul.
An end to anxious thoughts.
Redirection.
New focus.
A Few Songs to Encourage Your Heart
Another way to be still before God is to listen to music that helps us to focus on God. Below are several songs that bring encouragement to my heart, no matter how many times I listen to them.
Easter is our reminder of hope and new beginnings. It comes at such the perfect time of year for me. Where we live, Easter comes when Spring has just started to descend. The sun has just started to come out again. New buds begin to form on trees and early plants begin to shoot up. It feels fresh and alive and so good after a long, dreary winter.
Jesus’ resurrection had to have felt the same way all those years ago. The disciples and Jesus’ followers had been through so much before Jesus even died. Then their beloved leader dies a gruesome death. They feel such sorrow and loss of hope. Those three days were the longest days they’d ever experienced.
So imagine their surprise and even disbelief when they hear Jesus is no longer in the tomb. John and Peter run to the tomb and find it empty. Then Jesus begins appearing to some and then all of them. It was amazing and exciting all at the same time.
Fresh Hope
Easter is our reminder that fresh hope is still available. Maybe you’ve been in a season of grief or sickness. Maybe financial stress has crippled you, or maybe somebody has done something to cause you incredible grief.
This weekend is a chance to celebrate new life, new beginnings and to let the past go. I don’t know if you need this, but I do. Sometimes, I just need to be able to set the reset button. I need to be able to let go of some things and put some things behind me. I am giving myself permission to do that this Easter, and I’m giving you permission to do the same.
A Sunday of Healing
When you celebrate Easter this Sunday, let your heart open up and really feel God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and renewal. When you sing the worship songs, release the frustrations and worry and fear. When you hear the message, open your heart to God’s message of new life and new beginnings. When you fellowship, love on other people and feel their love in return as the body of Christ is meant to be. Let this Easter Sunday minister to your heart and heal you; then let it propel you towards what God has for you.
With Easter this weekend, I decided to pull an excerpt from my husband’s book, Six Days to Sunday. We drop into the scene where Mary has just been to the tomb and realized it’s empty.
Mary’s Sorrow
Mary stands outside and weeps (Jn 20:11). Peter and John go back to the room to report their findings to the others. Mary stays put at the tomb and looks for herself. But when she enters, she sees something Peter and John didn’t see—two angels. “Why are you crying?” they ask.
“They’ve taken Jesus,” she says.
She turns and sees a man standing in the entryway of the tomb. “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” he asks.
She turns back to where the grave clothes are lying. “Friend, if you’ve taken his body, please tell me where you’ve put him, so I can care for his body myself,” she says, thinking the man is the caretaker of the garden cemetery.
Jesus Calls Her Name
Mary is distraught, looking at the place where she thought she would find Jesus’ body. She’s lost in thought and then hears something so strange, yet so familiar… something she’s heard a hundred times and longed to hear once more, something she thought she would never hear again.
“Mary,” Jesus says. In an instant, she recognizes his voice. She turns. “Teacher!” she exclaims.
It’s that moment of shock when the hair stands up on the back of your neck. Your brain sends a rush of emotion and feeling from the back of your brain, down your spine and through your fingertips, and down to your toes.
Mary has her Hope Restored
Hope was restored. It wasn’t over. It wasn’t a dream. He was alive. He spoke to her. “Don’t touch me just yet. I need to go to the Father. Go back and tell the disciples what I have told you.”
Mary’s faith comes back. Her heart swells. Her confidence is restored. If she had any doubt about Jesus before, one word sent those doubts and fears fleeing, never to return.
She runs to the disciples to tell them the news. “He’s alive. Jesus is alive!”
“What are you talking about? Are you sure you saw him? This can’t be true.” The disciples were stunned in disbelief. How? How in the world is Jesus alive? And then they ask, “Are you sure? How do you know? What did He say to you?”
“He said just one word. He called my name,” she said.
Mary has her Faith Restored
The first step to restoring your faith happens when Jesus calls your name. How does he call your name? It’s him calling you in a sunrise. It’s Jesus calling you in the downpour of a rainstorm. Hearing his voice in the coo of a newborn. It’s the laughter of a child, the smile of a man standing with a sign asking for help from a dirty roadside, the touch of a hand, a hug from a friend, the kiss of a loved one. It’s Jesus calling you.
He says, “I know you. I haven’t forgotten you. Of all the people I could be reaching out to, I choose you. I know you lost hope in me, and I know you didn’t understand. You got hurt, and you lost faith. I saw the pain in your eyes and the hurt in your heart. But I’m here. I’m calling you. I’m calling your name because I know you. I know your name, and I am here for you.”
Our faith is restored when we simply choose to hope once again.
One of the hardest things to deal with in this life is when God chooses not to take something away. This week, Macey, our six-year-old, worked on one of those all about me papers. She had to fill in the blank with her favorite foods, colors, what she likes and doesn’t like, etc. She brought it to me when she had completed it, so she could show me her answers. The first one on the page said, I worry about ___________________. I looked at her answer and then looked at it again. She had written growing up in the blank.
She sat next to me on the couch. “I worry about growing up because of my Diabetes,” she said quietly and with a bit of uncertainty. I just stared at her for a beat before I pulled her into my arms.
“Macey, you don’t have to worry about growing up,” I told her. We talked for a few minutes before I sent her to play, but those few words hung heavy on my heart for quite a while. I told Matt about it later, and he reacted the same way I did. “That’s not something a six-year-old should ever have to worry about,” I told him. I hate that she has to deal with it, that God hasn’t just taken it away. But even as I said those words, I couldn’t help but think about other little kids who worry about growing up. I think of kids who have it so much worse than my Macey. Kids with cancer, with terminal illness, and more.
The Pain in This Life
No matter how bad you think your life is, there is always somebody who has it so much worse than you do. All you have to do is look around. This life is full of tragedy, heartbreak, pain, and loss.
I felt myself spiraling with thoughts of concern for Macey and the life ahead of her. Fear of the future, hurt for her, frustration all began to come at me. Then I read in my morning time some verses that have become so dear to me over the years.
God’s Grace
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10NLT
I read these verses and stopped. I pray every morning for God to heal Macey of her diabetes or to provide a cure. Right now, there is no cure for Type 1 Diabetes. She will be on insulin for the rest of her life. I’ve asked God to just take it away so many times, especially during those long, painful days in the ICU. I can feel Paul’s pain when he says, “I’ve begged God to take it away.”
Because I can feel his pain, I can also hear God’s words so clearly. “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So when you’re weak, then I am strong.” When you have something that you’ve begged God to take away from you and he hasn’t, only then can you truly understand these words. I felt these words wrap around my heart, even as the tears came. I needed to remember: God’s grace is enough for today.
Strength in Weakness
Because God’s grace is all I need, he will make me strong through my weakness. What’s even greater is that God will work in Macey’s weakness. She can come to know God’s grace in an intimate way in her own life, but it’s my job to teach that to her. It’s my job to help guide her in her faith so that she can learn to be strong through God’s grace.
Do you have something in your life that you have begged God to take away or change and he hasn’t? A looming divorce, financial hardship, cancer, terminal illness, the death of a loved one, loneliness, heartbreak. I say these words to you, “God’s grace is enough.” I know it doesn’t seem like it, and it definitely doesn’t feel like it. But as someone who has been there and is still there, I can come alongside and wrap my arms around your shaking shoulders and say those words. You can learn to be strong by walking through your weakness with Jesus at your side.
We can know that we have begun to understand God’s grace and find his strength in our weakness when we can come alongside someone else and wrap our arms around them and say, “God’s grace is enough. Let me tell you how it was for me.”
The lack of peace in our world right now can be terrifying. My kids saw my husband and I watching the news on Ukraine last night and had hundreds of questions before bed. My little girls wanted to know if Colorado was close to Russia, because that’s where their grandparents live. I reassured them that it wasn’t. Matt and I told our kids when we finished talking that our goal was not to scare them but to help them to have a heart to pray for the people in Ukraine.
Our Response
It’s hard to know what to do in times like these when peace feels so far out of reach. It feels wrong to continue with normal life—to go see a movie or to go to bed when the other side of the world is in turmoil. It feels wrong to go about our lives when so much destruction is happening. Yet, we have to get up tomorrow and go to work and deal with all the things that we have to deal with. We sort of want to put a pause on life, yet life keeps moving forward.
Then, there’s the fear. We lie in bed at night and wonder what’s going to happen next. We fear for our safety, for the safety of our country. Thoughts of war run through our heads, and we can’t shut it down and sleep.
How do we respond? How do we find peace in the midst of turmoil? Here’s a few things that I thought of in response to what’s happening in Ukraine.
1. Pray
Pray for peace and for the people of Ukraine. I believe God gives us a heart of empathy that doesn’t let us turn away and just go about our normal day-to-day affairs after hearing and seeing what is going on in another part of the world. I think he does that, so those images will impress upon our hearts the burden to pray. There is evil in this world. Satan is still alive and well and wreaking havoc in this world, and he took a third of heaven’s angels with him when he fell. It would be foolish to think that they are not at work. The Bible tells us there are principalities and powers of darkness in this world. We have the power in our hands to be able to overcome the dark, and that power is through prayer.
We can teach our kids the same thing. The best response is to spend time together as a family and pray.
2. Give
If you want to actively get involved, Saddleback Church in California has a Ukraine Relief Fund and is actively working with pastors in Ukraine to get them the help they need. If God has blessed you with the means to be able to give, this is a great way to help.
3. Love
During times like these, we are reminded of what really matters. For the dear people in Ukraine, it doesn’t matter what kind of house they have, what kind of car they drive, what possessions they have accumulated. What matters to them now is the safety of their loved ones. These times remind us to love on our family. Make right relationships that need to be made right. Spend time loving on your kids; check in with extended family members and neighbors. These are times that people are more open, so capitalize on it and spread love.
4. Hope
Find hope in the only One who can bring hope. Pick a verse or two below to dwell on. When you can’t sleep at night because of the fear in your heart, repeat the verse to God in prayer.
5. Encourage
When we feel helpless, scared, fearful, uncertain, one of the best things we can do is choose to bring hope to someone else. Instead of focusing on me and my fears, find somebody that I can focus on instead.
Take cookies to your neighbor, invite a family over for dinner, send flowers to somebody, check in with your loved ones, call a friend, wave at the crossing guard, smile. Do what you can to encourage somebody else today.
We all can play a small part in making our world a better place today, tomorrow, and the next day. Choose to do something today to work towards that goal and let God’s peace fill you when you do.
More Encouragement
For more encouragement, check out my post When God Finds Us. Here’s a song to bring peace to your heart today, as well. Weary Traveler by Jordan St. Cyr.
A friend of mine messaged me this week that she is at the edge of burnout. She didn’t use those words exactly, but after she told me how she is feeling…that is the word I would use to describe what she’s going through. She told me she feels tapped out in every area of life and just can’t keep going. That is the very definition of burnout. Webster’s Dictionary defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.”
Have you been there? Are you there right now? We all have times in our lives when we just hit the wall, when we just absolutely feel like we can’t keep going. With life so incredibly stressful now with the lasting impact of Covid, the social unrest, the stress of finances, and more, so many of us are facing burnout.
My Burnout
I went through a season of serious burnout about six years ago. It was right on the heels of a car fire we had. Multiple things merged during that time that sent me spiraling into burnout.
Because of the real fear I felt, knowing that someone had set fire to our car, I no longer slept well at night. Add to that a baby and a toddler and two other young kids, I was exhausted all the time. This was also around the time that we had several church members get mad at us and leave the church. On top of all that, we were trying to grow our church and find a new building to meet in. I was past being able to handle life.
I felt unloved, helpless, overlooked, overworked, exhausted, tapped out, and stressed out of my mind. What resulted was an inability to be around people. That is not good when you’re a pastor’s wife. Although I knew it wasn’t healthy, I honestly just could not be around people. I just wanted to be alone or with my family. This, in turn, only added to my guilt and frustration.
It took me a good eighteen months to get through that season of life. Though it was long and hard, God got me through it.
How are You Handling Life?
Have you been there? Are you there now? Everybody handles burnout differently. You may be handling your burnout fine all day at work, but then you come home and fall apart. You eat junk food and binge tv late into the night to cope. Maybe you’re home all day with kids that are home from school from covid and you can’t take one more minute. So what results is mom screaming and yelling all day long, only to fall in bed at night in tears for the way you handled yourself with your kids. Maybe you pull away from everybody and spend copious time alone. Maybe you try to find an escape, spending money you don’t have just to feel good and try to find an escape. I am guilty of doing all of these things at one time or another.
Encouragement
Let me first encourage you that burnout is not bad. Burnout is simply your body and mind’s way of telling you you’ve pushed too hard for too long. It’s a warning that if you don’t back off now, there will be literal physical consequences to your body. So if you’re in a season of burnout right now, it’s time to stop and notice what your body is trying to tell you.
Let me share with you some things that helped me. Hopefully, one or two of them will help you get through your season of burnout.
10 Things You Can Do to Combat Burnout
Get extra rest. During this season, you are going to need more rest than usual. Find ways to get extra rest. Fit in a nap when you can. Try to go to bed earlier at night on the nights you can.
Plan a weekly day off. You need to have one day a week that you do nothing stressful. Do something that you enjoy on that day.
Find quiet time. Find time away from everybody, away from the traffic and noise of the city, and go somewhere to find peace and quiet, even if it’s only for an hour. Go sit at a park, take a walk, find a lake to sit next to…do something to get away for just a little bit and give yourself breathing room.
Remove extracurricular activities for a time. Get rid of anything but the essentials. Say not to anything you can just until you get past this season. You need to find ways to remove some of the stress right now.
Make things easy for yourself right now. Throw food in the crock pot every morning so you don’t face 5pm decision fatigue trying what to decide to cook for dinner. Order groceries online and pick them up or better yet, get them delivered.
Develop a morning time routine. It’s imperative that you find time to spend with God daily right now. This will help keep you grounded and keep you from spiraling out of control and doing something you regret.
Read an encouraging book. Find a book that can encourage your heart.
Listen to uplifting Christian music. Create a list of music on Spotify that contains only spiritually uplifting music.
Do something for yourself for fun. Buy a new book, some new art supplies, a cute shirt or pair of shoes, a writing journal, a new wall painting, or whatever small joy that brings a smile to your face.
Let someone know you are struggling so they can pray for you and check in with you. Suffering alone is the absolute worst thing you can do.
This Time Will Come to an End
It’s important to remember that nothing lasts forever. This season of burnout won’t last forever, even though it feels like it will. God will get you through this season. Stay faithful to Him and let Him carry you through this time. Here’s a few verses to encourage your heart.
Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits.
Psalm 118:1 MSG
In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.
Psalm 118:5 NLT
I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me.
Psalm 118:13 MSG
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.
Have you felt like you want to quit lately? Do you ever feel like what you’re doing is just not working, like you’re not cut out for what God has for you?
There’s usually a time (or two) when we come to a point in our lives and wonder if what we are doing with our lives is a mistake. Often, we call it a mid-life crisis. It’s a point where we realize that life is quickly flying past, and we wonder if what we are doing with our life really matters.
Maybe it’s the business you felt for sure God led you to start or the non-profit you were convinced He wanted you to spear-head. Possibly it’s the career you’ve given your life to that suddenly doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Or maybe you chose to stay home with your kids, but now you just feel exhausted and discouraged and unfulfilled. Whatever it is, you felt so sure that this is what God had for you at one point in your life…now, you’re not so sure.
A Few Bad Reviews
I know exactly how you feel. For those of you who are new to Faithfully Stepping, along with this blog and the books, journals, and devotionals I create with my husband under Manney Resources, I also write fantasy fiction under my pen name A. J. Manney. I wrote in last week’s blog how I’ve been struggling with comparing myself to other authors. Well, this week, I was slammed with a few bad reviews on Amazon for one of my books.
One reviewer said that they felt like they were reading a book written by a preteen in a frenzy. Ouch! I’m not even really sure what that means. I do know this—it’s not good. I read the reviews and felt sick to my stomach. They bothered me all week. I finally sat down and talked to my husband about it and told him everything I was feeling. After a long talk that grew heated at times, he finally said this. “I’m not going to let you give up on your dream, the dream God gave you, just because some people don’t like your writing. You’re not doing it for them.”
Finding Hope
I heard his words but didn’t let them sink in. Then I read a verse during my morning time routine that really encouraged me.
While I wait for God as long as he remains in hiding, while I wait and hope for him. I stand my ground and hope…
Isaiah 8:16,17 MSG
As I read those words, “I stand my ground and hope,” God brought back to mind the words Matt had spoken to me. God reminded me in the quietness of the morning that it wasn’t time to quit. I need to stand my ground and not give up.
Don’t Quit
I don’t know what you are considering walking away from or giving up on, but I want to encourage you today to stand your ground and hope. It’s too soon to give up. It’s too soon to quit on what God has called you to do. It’s too soon to give up on your marriage or your child who’s walked away from God. Don’t quit praying for your miracle. Don’t stop praying for that job or opportunity. It’s always too soon to give up.
Whatever God has led you to do, don’t give up now that it’s difficult, now that’s it’s not what you thought it would be, not when it’s harder than it was supposed to be.
“God never promised success; He simply promised His presence.”
From my book The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life
When Women Pray
I read today in my new favorite book by T. D. Jakes, When Women Pray, the quote below.
God’s extraordinary power will flow through the prayers of ordinary people when we have the faith to pray—and when we are willing to take action to open the door and take hold of what God has set before us.
When Women Pray: 10 Women of the Bible Who Changed the World Through Prayer by T. D. Jakes
I love those words! They are the encouragement I need to not give up and to keep going with what God has for me! I hope they do the same for you today.
More Encouragement
For more encouragement on this topic, check out Jess Connolly’s book,You Are the Girl for the Job. I love this book. It will encourage you to step into what God has for you and not give up. And check out this song by Mandissa—”It’s Not Over.”
Malachi with just a few of the books he’s read recently.
Teaching Reading
When I first started homeschooling, my oldest was in kindergarten. I thought it would be a breeze. After all, it’s kindergarten. How hard can it be? Well, in two words. Very hard. I didn’t realize how crazy I would become trying to teach him to read. I was so discouraged with it. No matter how many things I tried, he just didn’t get it.
The only thing that kept me from switching curriculums a hundred times was the constant advice I heard from Sarah Mackenzie from Read-Aloud Revival. She kept saying, just let the process work. Give your kids a love for books, and the reading will come in time.
So, I did that. Fast forward a few years. Now Malachi is in fifth grade, and we can hardly keep him stocked with books. Now, I’m working with our third daughter who is learning to read and is still struggling. But I’m not worried, because I know that if I just let the process work, she will be fine. It may not be this year or next year, but at some point, everything will come together for her and she will be able to read fluently.
God’s Process to Develop Us
God is a God of systems and structure and order, so it shouldn’t surprise us that He has a process He takes each of us through. That process is found in Romans 5.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Romans 4:3-5 KJV
The New Living Bible puts it this way…
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Romans 5:3-5 TLB
Let’s look at the process in greater detail.
1. Tribulation
First, the problem or trial comes. It may be the loss of a job, a sickness, the loss of a loved one, financial stress, the betrayal of a friend. We all have problems and trials come into our lives. It shouldn’t surprise us. This is the first step of God’s plan to get us to a point where we are completely confident in Him. Certainly, enduring hardships helps us to develop patience.
2. Patience
Without the trial, we wouldn’t mature and grow; we wouldn’t develop the patience required to get to the next step. Learning to endure the trial, to not give up and quit, to not lose faith in the midst of life’s hardest moments develops grit in us and gives us experience.
3. Experience
Learning to endure helps us to grow in our experience. It’s been often said, “A faith not tested is a faith not trusted.” All of us want to be mature, experienced Christians. We want to help others endure their trials and give others encouragement, yet most of us don’t want to have to go through the process of gaining that experience. However, gaining that experience is what gives us hope.
4. Hope
Gaining hope means we’ve been tested, we developed patience and stuck it out, gained experience along the way, and that fills us with the hope that we can do that with the next trial God sends our way. Moreover, we can also be a light of hope to others still in this process. This hope that we have deep inside of us helps us to not be ashamed.
5. Not Ashamed
Once we’ve made it through this process, we can hold our head high in confidence in God’s absolute goodness and working in our lives. We revel in His love for us, that He has worked on our behalf. We begin to understand just how much He loves us. That confidence we take with us into the next problem or trial God sends into our life, and subsequently, the process starts all over once again.
Where are You at in the Process?
We have the “cheat sheet” to understanding how God works in our lives. Instead of just being in the dark, confused, and hurt by God’s allowing something to happen in our lives, we can see exactly where we are at in the process and see what it is God is trying to work in us right now.
Where are you at in the process right now? Has a huge problem come crashing into your life? Did something happen that you just didn’t see coming? Or are you just trying to endure right now? Are you in the developing patience part of the process? Have you entered the experience stage? Are you learning what God wants you to learn and growing in your faith? Have you reached the stage where hope begins to finally bloom? Do you finally see God at work and feel His love? Have you just come out of a trial and better understand God’s goodness and love towards you?
Wherever you are at in the process, take hope in the fact that it’s all part of God’s plan. Know there is an end in sight. Above all, don’t give up. Stick with the process. As a result, you will gain patience, experience, and hope. Subsequently, that hope will make you step confidently into what God has for you because you better understand His incredible love for you.
Whew! What a week! Does this picture say it all or what? As everything seems to be falling apart around us, I just wanted to remind us of three truths that can bring hope during this crisis.
God Hasn’t Forgotten You
I am here to remind you that God hasn’t forgotten you. He sees what your family is going through. Knowing the future, He can see how this loss of income is going to set your family back. He knows that you are fearful for your family member with the weakened immune system.
Remember Hagar, from Genesis? Hagar was Sarah’s servant. When Sarah saw she couldn’t bear any children, she told her husband Abraham to sleep with Hagar. Hagar gets pregnant, and Sarah gets mad. Hagar experiences her own crisis. Sarah sends her out into the desert, and Hagar fears she and her son are going to die there. So Hagar sits down and cries. God comes to Hagar and tells her to go back to Abraham and Sarah. He tells her that He is going to bless her and her son. Hagar responds, “You are the God who sees me.”
She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, “You’re the God who sees me! Genesis 16:13 MSG
Hagar was amazed that God saw her in her time of need. El Roi is the Hebrew name for God meaning, “the God who sees me.” In the midst of this crisis, be reminded that God sees you. He hasn’t forgotten you, and He will see you through this difficult time.
God is Still Good
One of my favorite songs right now is I Know by Big Daddy Weave. Here are the words to the chorus.
I know that you are good I know that you are kind I know that you are so much more Than what I leave behind I know that I am loved I know that I am safe Cause even in the fire to live is Christ, to die is gain I know that you are good
I Know by Big Daddy Weave
The lyrics don’t do it justice. You need to listen to it! When life goes crazy all around us, we are tempted to look around and question God’s goodness. We think thoughts like, “If God were good, He wouldn’t…” Consequently, this just makes us more discouraged. Don’t let your mind go there. Instead, choose to focus on God’s goodness.
An easy way to focus on God’s goodness is to take five minutes each morning in the days and weeks to come to write down three things you are thankful for. After a few days of this, you will begin to remember that God’s goodness is interwoven into every area of our lives.
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 KJV
If we choose not to believe in God’s goodness, we will give up and feel powerless to move forward. We have to focus on God’s goodness. Remind ourselves of who He is, and focus on Him, not our circumstance.
This Will Come to End
The coronavirus crisis won’t last forever. Soon enough, we will be wearing t-shirts that say, “I Survived the Coronavirus of 2020!” Just like everything else in life, this will pass. Peter reminds us of this in I Peter.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: I Peter 1:6 KJV
The three words for a season reminds us that nothing is forever. Trials and hard times come and go. Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes that there is a season and a time for everything. Just as God has gotten you through trials in the past, He will carry you through this crisis.
When we understand that God hasn’t forgotten us, choose to focus on God’s goodness, and remember this won’t last forever, we can find the hope we need to get through this crisis.
Almost every morning, Matt gets his Bose speaker and turns it up to play this song as we start our day- Alive and Breathing by Matt Maher. Whenever that song comes on, I start smiling. Here are the words to the chorus.
Joy still comes in the morning Hope still walks with the hurting If you’re still alive and breathing Praise the Lord Don’t stop dancing and dreaming There’s still Good News worth repeating So lift your head and keep singing Praise the Lord- Matt Maher
The words are such an encouragement and the music is upbeat. It’s the perfect song to start your day with. It puts a smile on my face and reminds me today is a new day. It’s another chance for God to work in my life and in my circumstances.
Where God Finds Us
As I think about those words, I think back to the verses I read in my morning time this week. I read the book of Hosea. Hosea writes a few verses about Jacob, the twin of Esau.
Brought to his knees,
Jacob wept and prayed.
God found him at Bethel.
That’s where he spoke with him.
God is God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
God-Revealed, God-Known. Hosea 12:5 (MSG)
Where did God find Jacob? God found him on his knees weeping and praying. God often meets us in our darkest hours, when we’re brought to our knees. When everything in our life has fallen apart, and fear and desperation drive us to our knees, that ‘s where God finds us.
When God Finds Us
When God found Jacob, He spoke with him and revealed himself. We know the full story. God wrestled with Jacob. Jacob refused to let God go until God blessed him. God will find you in your time of need. He will speak to you, and He will reveal Himself to you. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but God will find you and reveal Himself to you. How do I know this? Because that’s what God has done for me time and time again.
How God Finds Us
There are so many different ways God can find us and reveal Himself to us. Here are just a few of the ways God has revealed Himself to me over the years.
Through His Word. God has encouraged my heart innumerable times through reading His Word during my morning time. There have been so many times that I read a verse during my morning time that brings tears to my eyes and reminds me that God loves me and is for me. Read My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time to get your own morning time started.
In church. So often, God will use the words that Matt says on a Sunday morning to bring a sense of peace and comfort to my heart. He will say a phrase or explain a verse that God knew I needed to hear that day.
Through the words of a book. So often, someone else’s story will remind me of God’s unfailing goodness and faithfulness. Sometimes the book reminds me that I have life so good and reminds me to be thankful for my life, my health, and the blessings around me.
Through a blog post. I subscribe and get lots of emails from bloggers in my inbox. Often God uses the words of a particular blog post to encourage me.
Through a podcast. Many times I have found myself crying while washing the dishes as I listen to a pastor preach or someone tell their story of God’s faithfulness to them during a trial.
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He Will Find You
In the hardest seasons of my life, I have fallen on my knees and prayed and wept. God has found me there and wrapped his loving arms around me. It may be through His Word, a sermon, a book, a blog post, a podcast, or some other form; but he will find a way to remind me of his goodness and faithfulness.
I don’t know what you are going through today or what may be in your future, but I know that God will come to you when you need Him the most. When you find yourself on your knees weeping and praying, that’s where He will find you. Then He will reveal Himself to you. He will remind you that He loves you and is for you, and He hasn’t forgotten you.
