I don’t know about you, but I have been in particular life situations that go on so long, with so little change, that I simply want to give up.
Only, I can’t.
I mean, what am I supposed to do: pack up all my things and go . . . where?
It’s not as if I haven’t tried, telling God,
“Listen: I have prayed and prayed and prayed about this, and YOU’RE Not Doing Anything. I’m done with you. Good-bye.”
Yeah. Right.
Chronic Problems, No Solution in Sight
If you are facing a long-term, chronic problem that just never seems to go away, be encouraged, because there is an answer. And although it doesn’t look like it, progress is being made despite your not being able to see it.
Because I’ve had plenty of opportunity to practice, I have found a few coping strategies to get through those times that I’m kicking around in the desert, waiting:
Yes, You Can
1) I know you’re convinced that you can’t take it anymore, but you seriously can. As tempting as it is to stay in bed, eat chips, and play games on your Kindle, get up. The very act of walking around does something. Putting on your socks is progress, setting the pot on for tea is more progress. By the time you eat breakfast and face the first morning’s task, you tell yourself, “I can do Step A. Then I’ll do Step B. And C. I’ll make it to Z.”
2 Peter 1: 3 assures us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” Everything.
Think about it: the tasks you’re setting for yourself are doable — just maybe not the tasks you would like to do — but it’s not as if you’re facing the Grand Canyon with a rope and a hook and instructions to throw the rope, hook it to the other side, and walk across.
Walking a Tightrope
2) Speaking of walking across the Grand Canyon, that’s what life feels like sometimes: you’re on a tightrope, halfway across (don’t ask me how — I don’t know how you or I managed it this far either) and your only options are to turn around and head back (are you nuts?), fall (not an option), or keep going forward. Both you and I know that we don’t know how to tightrope walk, so how is it that we’re here?
Proverbs 3: 5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” He knows how to walk a tightrope; that’s all that matters.
God’s It, All of It
3) God’s all you’ve got, you know, and He really is enough. If you get tired of telling him about your problems, give it a rest. He won’t forget, and we certainly know that you won’t, but when God’s timing isn’t in alliance with yours and you keep running into a brick wall, why keep whacking your head?
Give yourself a precious 15 minutes today to totally escape from your thoughts about your situation. Focus, determinedly, on something else. Take a walk and absorb the sunshine and the breeze. Do a jigsaw puzzle and concentrate on finding just the right piece. Lean on the gate and watch the chickens.
Revelation 8:4 tells us that, “The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.” Your prayers are precious, and they’re heard. Take a break.
Change Happens Fast
4) Don’t think that what you see, is what you have to get.
While it’s tempting to believe that your situation will go on, and on, and on until the day that you drag yourself into your death bed, think of God’s words to Moses in Exodus 6: 6:
“I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians . . . I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.” God didn’t stop working in people’s lives 3,500 years ago, and He doesn’t limit his concern to specific people, with the exclusion of you.
God Is Good Indeed
5) Think about the goodness of God. This is a variation of Step 3, which encourages you to take a break from thinking about your situation all the time. Since you’re dependent upon God for your answers, think about who He is:
He’s perfect. (Psalm 18: 30)
He’s completely good. (1 John 1:5)
He’s powerful and in control. (Matthew 19: 26)
And most importantly, He is your Father, and He loves you very much. (1 John 3: 1)
Be encouraged, my friend. You are not — and are never — alone.
Thank You
Thank you for joining me at Commonsense Christianity, where I write about living the Christian life, as opposed to talking about it. Of course, this means that I’m stumbling and fumbling my way through the process, just like you, and I share what I learn as I learn it.
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