Even if My world falls apart……..Have you ever had moments when you couldn’t see the promise of a better tomorrow? EVERY little thing was going wrong? Have you ever witness other people going through endless barrages of horrible things?
The responses can be so varied. And I am not talking about unbelievers. Unbelievers don’t know the hope of Jesus. I am specifically talking about those who call themselves Christians.
When Christians become victims
There are Christians who act as though they have no hope at all. Their hope is rooted in their circumstances nd because their circumstances are bleak they have no hope.
And then there are those believers whose hope are rooted in people. Their faith is carried on by their friends and/or family They rely on them to carry their spirituality . And when they are let down they can’t believe their friends or family deserted them like this. And their hope is gone. (The hard part is those friends or family more than likely didn’t give up on them but are going through their own hard stuff. They do what they can but they can’t always carry so much- nor should they).
Then there are Christians where the grass is always greener somewhere else. They always want more of what somebody else has. They don’t want to do the hard work to get there. They lament (aka whine) that they will never have what so and so has (these believers will generally compromise their standards to get what they think other people have).
The light in the dark
Then there’s another group- and this other group stands out above the others. This groups has fortitude. They choose to stand firm no matter what their circumstances are and choose NOT to be defined by them.
I love how MercyMe puts it in their song Grace Got You
Have you ever met those who
Keep hummin’ when the song’s through?
It’s like they’re living life to a whole different tune
And have you ever met those that
Keep hoping when it’s hopeless?
It’s like they figured out what the rest haven’t yetThe second you realize what you have inside
It’s only just a matter of time…’Til you sing, so the back row hears you
Glide ’cause walkin’ just won’t do
Dance, you don’t have to know how to
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Laugh, ’til your whole side’s hurtin’
Smile like you just got away with somethin’, why?
‘Cause you just got away with somethin’
Ever since, ever since Grace got youSo when you’re standin’ in the rain again
You might as well be dancin’, why? ‘Cause there ain’t no storm that can change how this ends
So next time when you feel blue
Don’t let that smile leave you, why?
‘Cause you have every reason just toSing, so the back row hears you
Glide, ’cause walkin’ just won’t do
Dance, you don’t have to know how to
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Laugh, ’til your whole side’s hurtin’
Smile like you just got away with somethin’, why?
‘Cause you just got away with somethin’
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Grace got youGot away with somethin’, bubblin’ inside of you
Spillin’ over ’cause your life is full, how incredible
Undeniable, monumental like the Eiffel
Uncontrollable, let the joy flow through – haha
Giddy, over pretty, pretty please
Let me see your hands in the air with you out your seats
Warm it up, let go, shout it out, celebrate
When you can’t articulate just say, “Amazing grace”The second you realize what you have inside
It’s only just a matter of (only just a matter of)
It’s only just a matter of time (just a matter of time)’Til you sing, so the back row hears you
Glide ’cause walkin’ just won’t do
Dance, you don’t have to know how to
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Laugh, ’til your whole side’s hurtin’
Smile like you just got away with somethin’, why?
‘Cause you just got away with somethin’
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
Grace got you
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
Ever since, ever since Grace got you
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
Grace got you
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
Grace got you
I Want to Be that Person
I want to keep hummin’ when the songs through and I want to keep on hopin’ when it’s hopeless . But sometimes I’m not . Sometimes I take on the victim mentality.
Personal experience
There was a time when I gave up…I tossed in the the towel. I was just trying to survive. I have had so many conversations with women who have told me “I’m not giving up I’m just trying to survive.” I lost sight of what was really important. I wasn’t going to commit suicide or anything like that (though there was a time that I struggled with that as well- but that is a story for another time) but onecan give up on life without taking ones own life.
Giving Up
Giving up looks like indifference. We can be beaten up so much that we just give up caring. Caring about anything. We become numb to the world around us. We ignore our friends and family, we convince ourselves that they too no longer care. We project our struggles and insecurities onto them and assume we know their intentions.
We don’t take care of ourselves;ves. We stop caring for other people. Our relationship with God goes down the drain. Our homes are a wreck. Our mental capacity can’t move past our own problems.
And then we try to convince ourselves that we aren’t giving up. BUT we can mentally and physically give up- we can die inside. Our hearts can tun to stone.
What God Wants
God doesn’t want us to just survive. He wants us to thrive. He wants us to live life to it’s fullest and even when everything is falling apart God wants us to say Eve if things never get better I still will praise and glorify God with everything I’ve got.
What a powerful testimony. That’s something special. THAT”S WHAT FAITH IS.
Trusting God even when things are going horribly. It’s choosing trust in God’s promises even when we think it doesn’t make any sense, when we can’t see how anything can be possible.
When God is glorified and made famous through our struggles, when we choose to say even if, I still will, We are choosing a godly influence, it is the most powerful influence we can have. However when we choose to be the victim and we project our struggles onto other people, when we lose sight of God’s promises we lose that godly influence and we become a negative influence.
Have you ever struggled with this like I have?
It look a lot of heart work where I had to surrender my hurts and pains inflicted by people. I had tried so hard in my own power to move past those hurts but once I learned I couldn’t do it on my own and that I had to really pray through and study these things in the Bible my heart began to soften and I began to change. The problem is I didn’t even realize I was in this place. I spent weeks begging God to show me what was wrong.
God Cares for Me (and you too)
He over time gently revealed my victim mentality. And when I did that I could begin to let him change me. It doesn’t mean that this struggle doesn’t creep in sometimes but I am able to recognize it quickly and deal with it.
I want to continue on this path to continually work on these areas so they cannot take root in my life. I want people toes my hope and faith in Jesus. in the middle of my struggles- not just the struggles. I want them to see my reliance on him even in the midst of whatever chaos is going on in our lives.
Have you ever fell into the victim mentality where you weren’t really living? Have you ever convinced yourself that you weren’t giving up only to realize that you you had really given up whether mentally, spiritually or emotionally?
I hope that through this post you can see that there is a different way of looking at those struggles!
Thanks for hanging out with me today. If you are new here WELCOME we are so glad you joined in.
Feel free to check out the links below to catch up!
Write 31 Days 2018 Influence Posts
Choosing Courage 100 Day Writing Project
Write 31 Days 2021 Link up List. (Scroll to the bottom)
