Talking, Talent and Testimonies—Trials and Triumphs
Hello guys and gals...How is everyone? How are your jobs and families? Like many of you, I often need a dose of spiritual nourishment. I’m constantly working to “take every thought captive” (2 Cor. 10:5) and realign my thoughts with the truth.
I constantly keep reminding myself that things could always get worse and that I can’t be worried and thankful at the same time. But let me say this. If anyone has the art of being worried and thankful at the same time perfected, it is me. I kid you not. I am a pro at this. I try to remember to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5: 16-18), yet I ask the Lord when my problems will be solved. When will the things that are hurting me or my family be fixed, repaired, and restored? How will they be restored? When?
You promise that all things will work together for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purpose (Rom. 8:28). So, thank you, Lord. Thank you for all the good things you have given me, and for those, I am standing in faith that you will provide. Thank you for my parents, my children, and my health. But, God, I am still wondering and worried. I am troubled by the unanswered prayers.
So it is a pattern of “help me Lord,” and “thank you Lord,” and thoughts like “I can’t keep going like this, Lord. BUT, but, but..you promised you won’t give me more than I can handle.” (1 Cor. 10:13). And I know that your ideas of what I can handle and my ideas of what I can handle are different.
I pray for my Savior to implore calm for the unrest in my soul and spirit. Anxiousness that even wakes me out of deep sleep at night. Cover me and those reading along with your wings of love and protection.
I had thought myself patient, but now I am questioning. I haven’t reached the level of confidence in my career that it takes to share all of my own struggles with you, but I am in a season of trials and small triumphs.
Celebrate your small victories. Making it through one day without using your crutches, literal or figurative. A day without losing your temper, without complaining, without cursing. A day of lifting people up instead of bringing them down.
Get through one day of doing your job to the best of your ability. Just maintaining for one day can be a significant accomplishment, especially if you’re going through a lot of hardship. We are told not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:34). Yet, we worry about tomorrow because we love those around us and want to care for them as much as possible.
Let’s trust the Lord for each day, one day at a time. Remember, manna fell from heaven daily, not monthly. This is much easier to do when we lean on each other. For some, offering affection and understanding comes naturally. For others, it’s hard to offer love or to allow oneself to be loved. If we are vulnerable, we feel weak.
I’m not entirely sure what message I’m trying to convey this month, but it’s what I need to hear myself: small victories will turn into large ones. Don’t underestimate one or two steps forward as long as we aren’t taking too many steps back. Maintaining and staying in the same place without moving forward quickly is still progress.
Think about the stress you are feeling, illness, or grief as a trip or journey, and ask yourself how important the first few inches or feet forward are. The journey will never begin without that first small victory of beginning the journey—picking up your foot or rolling your wheels in a forward direction and refusing to let opposition or enemy forces stop your progress.
Remember, staying in the same place for a time is not going backward. Let us not set overwhelming goals. Let us not require more of ourselves than the good Lord would require. Let us remember his patience and lovingkindness. Let us be of a gentle and quiet spirit, taking a break from our own chaos.
Love and prayers to my readers and friends.
