Pushing through Spiritual Discomfort

Notes from my quiet time...

Spiritual discomfort always precedes spiritual growth and manifestation. In my life, I've learned my greatest lessons after I've encountered a really tough challenge. 

Perhaps you're familiar with those divine challenges that are easy to overcome and master in no time. No? Neither am I. For some reason, God doesn't give me those. 

Go figure! 

Instead, He orchestrates and allows intense periods of discomfort that are designed to provoke the growth He desires to see in me.  

These uncomfortable places sometimes challenge my faith in Him as well as myself.  You see, He doesn't allow me to get just a little uncomfortable. No, not me. He allows me to get SO uncomfortable that I literally start to doubt everything and nothing makes sense.  

Even the things that made perfect sense before seem crazy and insane.  Things I was sure about start to look a little uncertain. Steps I was confident in taking become shaky and unstable. Decisions that were clear and definite become blurry and questionable.  And then my mind becomes a battlefield of  contrary thoughts and ideas: 

• Did I really hear from God? 
• Did I miss something? 
• Did I jump the gun? 
• Did I move too quickly? 
• Maybe it was my flesh all along. 
• Maybe I should have just let well enough alone.  
• I should have given it more thought before making that decision.  
• I should have waited a little longer. 
• God are you even paying attention because THIS IS NOT WHAT I ASKED FOR!

Then Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-25

I can so relate to this. In my heart, I believe the Lord and what He said to me. I believe His Word and His promises. I believe in His Character and His love for me. But there are days when I have to cry out WITH TEARS, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

In my spirit, I KNOW the truth and I believe God. It's my unbelieving flesh that is the problem.  My spirit knows that every divine process God sends my way will work out for my good. Time and time again, both in His Word and in my own life, God has proven this to me. But this flesh of mine!  It tends to panic at the very thought of discomfort.

I can honestly say that I love being blessed and experiencing the divine will of God, though my flesh absolutely detests being uncomfortable.  And if I think back over my process and relationship with God, I can also honestly say that I've experienced my greatest growth and blessings after I've been the most uncomfortable. 

Every single time I have been able to stand and push through discomfort without retreating to my comfort zones, God has delivered on His promise...BIG TIME.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

~1 Peter 1: 6-7 

Now, you may be wondering HOW in the world to push through the discomfort.  I've learned that you have to be intentional about it so I'll share a few of my methods of pushing through:

• Remember your past experiences with God - sometimes taking a moment to remember all of the times God has delivered you will motivate you to keep going. Remember where you've been, what you've overcome and how much you've grown. Don't minimize your victories of the past. They should serve as a reminder that God has kept His promise before and He will do so again.
• Renew your mind with The Word - there is a reason this leads to transformation.  You can only win the battles in your mind by flooding it with truth. If we continue to think the same fearful and negative thoughts, we will remain the same or get worse.  Uproot negative thoughts by sowing the promises from God's word daily.  Write them down. Speak them out loud if necessary. Every time you have a negative thought, search the Word for a truth that counteracts it.  
• Refresh your spirit with Praise & Worship - its the only thing that can defeat the flesh and the enemy's attempt to discredit God.  Don't hold God prisoner to the emotions of your discomfort. Discomfort can quickly lead to discouragement and resentment toward God.  But when we praise God's character and worship His holiness, our reverence for Him leads to humility and gratefulness.  Then we are better able to withstand the discomfort trusting in the fact that God does not lie, change or fail no matter how things look or feel.

So my encouragement to you today, if you're in an uncomfortable place, is to face the discomfort head on and push through it. Don't retreat or return to your comfort zone. There is nothing left for you there.  Don't give up and give in to the temptation to take matters into your own hands. You'll make a mess that will only lengthen the process and make matters worse.  Don't quit the process because its taking too long. You're closer than you think. Keep going!

Choose to trust and wait for Him. He will deliver! Stand on the promise because it won't fail. Push through your emotions and temptations because what's in store for you is worth the wait, worth the fight and worth every minute the discomfort.  Don't be convinced by your fears or your flesh to abandon the course.  What's on the other side is the answer to your prayers, and I'm telling you it's worth it!  Stay focused!

For still the vision awaits its appointed time;   it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

Poised Under Pressure

If I could use any word to sum up my life for the past few months, that word would have to be HURRICANE.

There have been so many things happening all at once.  Some things I can control, while there are many other things happening that are far beyond my control. In this time, I've had to manage a multitude of thoughts, anxieties, emotions, concerns, and fears whipping around in my heart and mind like hurricane force winds. 

At one point, it seemed as if the sheer pressure of all these feelings happening at once was going to overtake me! And if the pressure alone wasn't enough, right at the height of the pressure, the enemy decided to rear his ugly head with issues, distractions and options designed to pull me off focus. 

Has this ever happened to you? 

It's an old strategy of the enemy that works quite well if we are unprepared and unaware of his tricks.  You see, when we're under pressure, especially as women, we are less focused and our reasoning capabilities are impaired.  In this state, we are more likely to make rash/emotional decisions, react with extreme responses to minor situations, and take out our frustrations on those closest to us.

The reason for this is that we are naturally prone to avoid pressure.  We don't like the feeling of being cornered or overwhelmed, so our tendency is to seek comfort and relief.  This desire to avoid pressure is actually the root of so many of the bad decisions that we make.

If we are not focused, we will end up in sin and disobedience when we are under pressure.  And if the pressure gets strong enough, we will choose to compromise on our long term commitments for the sake of temporary relief. 

In fact, the pressure of any given situation combined with the enemy's "quick fix" options is a perfect storm.  It's precisely when the emotions are raging, frustrations are high, problems abound that your enemy and your flesh will convince you to solve your own problems, escape your discomfort and take out your intense feelings onto others.    

Have you ever had a major reaction to something your spouse or kids did or said, only to realize later that you completely OVER reacted because you were upset or frustrated about something that had nothing to do with them??

In my process, I've learned to take note of my behavior and responses during stressful seasons, (albeit sometimes after the fact) in order to assess my level of growth and maturity. Most of the time, seasons of pressure, stress and fatigue provide insight into my spiritual maturity and highlight the areas where I still need to grow. 

More specifically, it exposes those wicked things that are deeply hidden in my heart, unseen by anyone other than God, and provides the opportunity for me acknowledge those areas, choose to change them and ultimately get better.  Learning and getting better after you've escape the hurricane is wonderful! The process of enduring the pressure, however...not so much.

My prayer for you is that you remain poised when you are under pressure.  What do I mean by that? I mean, you must remain committed to God even when you have no idea what He is doing and it seems like He is just sitting idly by while all hell is breaking loose in your life (I promise you He is paying attention and He is working it out for your good!).

You must remain in character even when a situation or person tries to provoke an ugly response.  You must remain calm even in the face of chaotic situations.  You must remained focused on your own personal growth even when you're tempted to blame someone else for your problems.  And most importantly, you must remain committed to the truth of the Word of God, even in the face of strong temptations and quick fixes.

If you can remain poised under pressure, you'll manage through even the toughest situations with grace, dignity and character. You'll grow in patience, humility and meekness when you learn that nothing is so big and no one is so important that its worth lowering your standards and compromising your relationship with God. 

I know from experience that the pressures of life can be overwhelming.  Be they marriage issues, family struggles, financial concerns, health challenges, depression, divorce, stress or whatever...you name it, these things have the ability to threaten our sense of stability and security. 

So let me level with you: It is by no means easy to remain poised in the face of these things.  But I can promise you that no matter what you're facing, God will walk through it with you. He is paying attention to your circumstances and He is working it all out for your good.  Just trust Him. Stay focused and stay poised.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! Psalm 143:10

My sister, if you allow Him, God will teach you His ways and He will give you the peace, security and stability you so long for in your life. His Word says so!  You won't find it in a man. You won't find it in a romance novel. You won't find it in a glass of wine.  You won't find it in shoes, purses or clothes.  You will only find your heart's desire in the arms of your loving Father. He truly does have everything you need and desire, and He longs to bless you and give you a good life! 

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. Isaiah 1:19

I don't know about you, but I WANT THE GOOD OF THE LAND!!!  :-)