28/08/2010

When all is going south

I want to encourage you today.

Maybe you are at the top of your game and don’t need much encouragement right now. If that is the case, maybe you can think of someone who does and forward this message to him or her.

But perhaps you could do with a bit of hope. So here we go. I speak from experience and from faith. There IS reason for you to hope and look forward to better days because:

1. It’s all going to pass. Life goes on. As a rule of life, everything changes. Be encouraged by the knowledge that your situation will not last forever. Nothing stays the same. Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. (Job 11.16)

2. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Every time I went through hardship in my life, it made me stronger by the time I got to the other side. Good teachers often come disguised as trouble. But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good. (Genesis 50.20)

3. What kills you, does you a favor. Okay, there’s a caveat. This one only applies if you are sure where your soul is going after you die. Like Paul, for example, who said: For to me, life is Christ and death is profit. (Philippians 1.21)

4. He promised: It will never be more than you can bear. In other words, contrary to what you may think or feel, you CAN deal with it. You CAN overcome it. It’s never going to be bigger than you. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. (1 Corinthians 10.13)

5. Focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t. A lot of energy and life are wasted on worrying about things you can’t do or change. Make a conscious decision not to fret over them. Instead, use all that energy to do what you can. And after you’ve done it, just put your head on the pillow and leave the rest to God. Do not fret—it only causes harm. (Psalm 37.8)

Want to be even more encouraged? Read these five points again, but this time, do it out loud. Don’t ask me why, but it works.

Take heart.