Hey friend,
I know you’re trying so hard to hold it together right now. I know it seems like everything is falling apart and you don’t know which way to turn. I know that it all seems out of control and grasping at straws is how you live your life nowadays. Can I tell you something?
It’s okay that you’re not okay right now.
It’s okay that life seems restless and chaotic. Topsy turvy even. That doesn’t mean it feels good. I know it doesn’t. It’s draining. It’s daunting. Sometimes even down right painful.
But friend?
Just stop. Stop pretending right now. You don't have to fake it another minute. You don’t have to pretend that it’s all okay or that you’ve got everything under control. You don’t have to keep trying to figure out what is coming next. You don’t even have to pretend to like your current circumstance.
I know the guard you’ve got up. Hell-bent on trying to prove to others that you’re holding it all together, that you’re taking it all like a pro. That you can handle anything that is thrown at you.
But the reality of it friend? We can't. We can't handle any of it without Him.
You don’t have to always be okay. Because it’s during the times of being unsettled and restless when we will continually seek God. We will probably seek Him harder than we ever have before. And we should. We should chase Him down because He is the only hope we've got to get through it.
It's during those times of not being okay when our prayers are prayed in desperation and sometimes hopelessness. And all of that works together for our good in the messiest and most beautiful ways.
Friend, just hang in there.
This is where God often does His best work. Oh yes. The times when you're on your knees in desperation and complete surrender. Unsure of the future. Even downright burdened and overwhelmed with the current circumstance. Stuck in the ick and can’t get out. This is where we draw close to our Creator. The One who goes before us and knows our every need.
This season of not being okay is temporary. You need to know this. I know that right now it doesn’t feel that way. I know that right now you can’t see an end to it all and you’re wondering where in the world God is in all of this and what you’re supposed to do next.
How can God redeem this? How can He bring good from this?
Oh sweet friend, you just watch.
I know it's hard, but it’s okay to release those things to Him. The things you want to hold so tightly to, but know you can't. Your children. Your marriage. Your dreams. The things you don’t understand in this world. You can release it all to Him. You can stop worrying about whether or not God will come through on His end. He will. Because He’s the same God He’s always been. He hasn’t changed.
The same God that provided manna each day for the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness is still the same God we serve today. The same God that walked in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and allowed them to come back without even a hair singed still lives today. The same God who took the widow’s two mites and blessed them still reigns. And the same God who came down on this earth in human form is alive and wants to be Lord of your life.
It’s okay that you’re not okay today friend. Maybe tomorrow you will be okay. Really okay, not the fake okay. And maybe it's next week. Next month. A year from now. At some point you will be okay again.
Until then, know that in the stillness of waiting, God is there with you. He will not give up on you and He will most certainly not fail you. You can let go. You don't have to pretend with Him. He's got you and He's not letting go.
Need a little extra encouragement today? Try this friend.
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