Hello, Beautiful Soul Sisters. We have rounded out the first quarter of 2023 and what an exciting three months it has been. I don't know about y'all but there has been a lot going on-- there always seems to be-- but God is still in control. Over the last three months, I have celebrated, laughed, grieved, and cried, but God is still so good to me and I trust He's been good to you too. Often times, though, we get caught up and distracted by current circumstances, the hustle and grind, and what seems like a lack of progress. Allow God's Word and promise to reassure you:
"And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast". (1 Peter 5:10)
"And we know that all things work together for the good of those that love God and who are the called according to His purpose". (Romans 8:28)
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 4:19)
What I love about all of these verses is that there is a preceding clause of something undesirable, then God's power interjects the undesirable and makes a holy, incomparable promise. Even more so, the undesirable clause is not the emphasis, God's promise is. When you remain steadfast and hold near God's promise, the preceding undesirable clause doesn't even matter.
No matter the outcome or what came before, He is still good. No matter the outcome or what came before, He still knows what is best for me. No matter the outcome or what came before, what is ahead of me is greater than what is behind me. No matter what. . . God is faithful and consistent. He keeps His promises and is due all the glory, honor, and praise.
Whenever I'm in a funk-- caught up and distracted by my circumstance-- I employ these few tactics to help me shake it and stay focused on my purpose and His promise.
Write it down: I keep two different journals for writing-- one to vent and get the frustrations and tense emotions out of my head and off my heart, and another for intentional, guided prayer and supplication. This helps me honor my humanness and the imperfections of being human with messy, undefined, scrambled emotions. I often feel relief once its on the page. I'm no therapist or psychologist, but I think this is because the frustration and emotion are no longer abstract. I have, to an extent, articulated it and gotten it out of me. Then, some time later after I have meditated on a scripture and devotional, I am intentional with p God and practicing gratitude. This helps guide my supplication and allows for bidirectional communication.
Dance it out: This tactic may not always involve dancing. Sometimes it can be singing loudly (and very badly) in the car, pumping out an extra set in the gym, going for a long run, or even doing absolutely nothing. This tactic is less about the method and more about the physical release of the tension and stress that we tend to carry. Whatever my body is craving and desiring, I allow myself the space to do that.
Give it back: To give it back, for me, can mean one of two things-- 1) Turn the negative, stressful energy into positive, productive energy by doing something positive and/or productive; or 2) Pray to God about it and make the conscious decision and effort not to worry about it anymore, at that point it's God's thing to handle, not mine. You can decide what giving it back means to you. I find that once I give it back (how ever that looks in a particular moment), that thing that causes angst, tension, sadness, stress, whatever, is not mine anymore and I am not responsible for carrying it.
Beautiful Soul Sisters, if you take nothing else away from this blog, take away the indubitable fact that no matter what, God is faithful and He is in control. We are all on a journey to fulfill a purpose and bring glory to His kingdom. Life be lifin' and it's okay, you will be better than okay. Shake it off. Stay focused. Keep going. You've never become, you're always becoming.
Happy Journey,
xoxo. Jess