Motivation Monday – When Everything You Want Is On The Other Side Of Your Fear
“Our current situation won’t last forever. Nothing ever does. ”
If you’ve had a year like I’ve had to date, you might be thinking, ‘enough is enough’. Have I said that out loud more than once in recent months? Absolutely.
What has been your breaking point for ‘enough’?
A few years ago my husband’s business went through one crisis after another, challenging us both with staffing, finances and ongoing collateral damage. Every time something else unexpected occurred, we found it increasingly difficult to smile in the face of misfortune. A friend shared that in her time of challenge, she prayed to the Lord, ‘not one more thing.’ And yet when we prayed that same prayer, one more thing, and then another would add to the intensity and pain of the downward spiral we were experiencing. In the same window of time I was flying back and forth across the country to my mother, who was failing quickly. She passed away March of that year, and just as we finished pleading what we thought was our final ‘not one more thing’ prayer to God, my husband’s mother passed away.
Enough. Enough. Enough. Not. One. More. Thing.
These are unusual times. These are times that have many of us either praying, ‘not one more thing’, or ‘how long, Lord?’”
Not one more lockdown.
Not one more example of a person of colour being discriminated against unfairly.
Not one more person dying of covid-related symptoms.
Not one more family unable to say goodbye to their loved one during covid.
Not one more wedding unable to be attended by family and friends.
Not one more zoom call.
Not one more week of virtual church.
Not one more week of living inside the bubble.
Not one more indigenous child’s grave being discovered, buried beside 214 more.
Not. One. More. Thing.
Sometimes we think we deserve to have everything we want on this side of eternity. We work hard, we pray hard, we church hard, we mom and dad hard, we nurture, raise, praise and protect all we hold dearly. And yet. There is almost always. One. More. Thing.
Are you feeling that the weight of your grief is eclipsing the gift of your glory days? Are you trying to be hopeful but wondering in fear if the next thing over which you have no control will leave you feeling hopeless?
Friends, it is okay to grieve all that has been lost. We have lost freedom, live connection, and loved ones. We have all experienced loss of something or someone to varying degrees.
What do we do with the loss? What do we do with the weight of all we carry when the journey has been too long and the load has been too heavy?
Perhaps we can only carry our grief when we know:
That Jesus actually wants to help us carry our grief – and can carry the entire thing if need be.
That everything we want is on the other side of our fear. That glory not only awaits us, but in fact, we are being transformed right smack in the middle of our grief, from glory to glory.
At the Relate Sisterhood Conference held this past weekend, Helen Burns reminded us of the truth found in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
I was reminded of what He has ALREADY carried – in my place so I could experience peace and healing, even in the ‘one more thing’ grief-filled moments of my life.
Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Lean in to the glory that your current sufferings are being offered
as an opportunity for transformation.
He has done the work once and for all so you could be healed now.
Lean in to the glory that awaits you on the other side of your grief, and your fear.
Revelation 21:3-4
Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.
Our current situation won’t last forever. Nothing ever does.
Even if there is one more thing beyond this one,
He carries your grief as you become more gloriously like Him.
Even if there is one more thing beyond this one,
there will be a time where grief will be completely and magnificently banished
by the glory of God.
It is that thing my hearts wait for.
Will you wait with me?
I believe in you.
Cathie