“When It Feels Like You’ve Done All and Nothing Seems to Be Working”

It’s that time of year and the popular phrase: “‘Tis the reason for the season’ is spoken, dropped, hung, written, posted, meme’d, texted, printed on mugs, t-shirts, baseball caps and tote bags. But I want to ask you today:

“What season are you in?”

Perhaps it’s a season of: fatigue, worry, anxiety, restlessness, fear, doubt, emotional paralysis, relational disconnect, career upheaval, financial disarray, mental anguish, total disbelief at what you’re witnessing … I’m sure you can add your own descriptive words to the list.

I’ve learned that it’s necessary to look at our giants square in the face in order to understand how to craft a plan of action. That is, only if you want your situation to improve.

⁸ The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NCV

To be perfectly honest with you, I’ve been there more times than I care to admit. Pick any of those scenarios and I’ve lived them each several times over. Can anyone relate?

But our Scripture verse here is my weapon of warfare against those gigantic circumstances. This reminds me that GOD Almighty has already gone there and dealt with what I’m presently moaning and groaning over, losing sleep and appetite over — mistakenly thinking that I am alone in this battle along life’s journey.

Friend, the challenge is not in the circumstances. The challenge is in lifting up our shield of faith and believing GOD at His Word: He promises to be with us — always. The call is to trust Him based on what He says.

This trust is not the human kind of trust. Where we are asked to trust another human being — nor ourselves. Because we all know the end result of that. But it’s the divine trust that can only come from the One Who gives us the power and strength to rely upon Him to work in and through us while we are walking amidst the chaos of circumstances swirling around us.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 1 John 4:4 NLT

Let’s be real here for a moment. Piling on more doubt and worry doesn’t change our situation. Panic only clouds our thinking. Going into a frenzy of emotional tirades only elevates our blood pressure. Reacting to our circumstances in these ways only leaves us feeling more defeated and further from anything resembling victory.

“What are you after?”

If the methods you’ve been applying haven’t paved the way for progress, then it’s time to change those ways. Doing more of the same will only reap more of the same results.

 Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. Colossians 3:2 GWT

As a Christ Follower, our priorities take on a transformation of sorts. The decisions are not made for us, rather, they are made by us. We determine that other things have greater value. Our perspective shift causes us to live accordingly. This leads us to a holy paradigm shift.

Again, let’s keep focused on the what we’re after. If that ultimate goal, ambition, target is something of temporal shelf life (for lack of a better description), then why are we giving all of our energy and breath to it? It’s got to be worth it, right?

However, if what we are striving for, working towards, laboring over is something that will never fade, discolor, rust, weather, break (I think you get the picture) … we might do ourselves a favor and go to the One Who can make that happen through us.

Hear me when I say: “I don’t know what you’re going through,” and I fully respect your pain, agony and frustration — truly I do. I’m not trying to discount or diminish your difficulties. I am however, offering you the opportunity to look at your situation and circumstances from GOD’s Perspective.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

Right there … do you see it? Peace. We can have peace in the middle of the storm. Jesus Himself tells us straight up: you’re going to have hard times. But … He has already addressed all those hard times. Those gut-wrenching, white-knuckling, severe headache times. His death made it possible for our tired lungs to breath in newness of life.

And it’s so terribly easy to forget that because we take our eyes off of Him. We get caught up in the circumstances — which by the way, are temporary. They’ll look different tomorrow after a night’s rest. They’ll feel different after we engage in prayer or write it out in our journals. At some point, it may feel as though they disappear — but they only change their colors (like a chameleon adapting to its environment).

Let me invite you to suit up and walk through each moment and each day with an empowered perspective. Whatever your season looks and feels like, as a Christ Follower, you have His Word on a promise: He’s dealt with your situation because He transcends time and has already been there. He won’t ever leave you high and dry to try to figure your way out. He gave His life so that we could have ours with Him — forever.

Friend, take it from one who has lived through some incredible challenges this side of Paradise. Some have taken me to a point of nearly giving up on all hope that I would even be here to share this with you.

Don’t give in to your giants. Give your giants over to GOD Almighty.

Let this worship song give us some space to go to the Lord. Praising Him because we know He will come through for us and blow our minds with His answers and outcome.

I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~~

LindaRJohnson, TitusTwo Visionary

*Thank you to Bryan and Katie Torwalt and Brock Human for this.