Sometimes what we are going through isn’t about us!! There is no need to argue or fight. God is above it all!!! He will be exalted!!!
No matter what is attacking you today or what you are going through step out of your emotions and let God in. Let him remind you it’s not about you, about them, nor about what either of you want or need. Let GOD alone be exalted! He alone deserves all praise for everything that happens.
Even in the frustration, sadness, confusion, he is right there and no matter the outcome. He will be exalted!
We must let down our wants, desires and expectations and seek him in the madness. Trust him in the hardest situation and fully rely on him. It’s not about our will. Trials are here, walk through them and let them build you.
My Prayer Today:
Jesus, what are you trying to teach me today? This is all I am seeking.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalms 46:10 NKJV
“Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
Psalms 46:10 CSB
“Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”
When you make a mistake, you must be kind to yourself, and give yourself the same grace you would allow another person. But for me, showing myself kindness is an area I personally know I need a lot of improvement in. I’m hard on myself when I make a mistake and I find it easier to forgive others than to forgive myself.
I am on a journey of healing, so this means, seeking to learn why forgiving myself and having grace for myself is so difficult.
When I make a mistake, I tend to call myself names, and sometimes those around me have heard it. I’ve called myself dumb, I’ve asked myself what is wrong with you, I’ve apologized to others, and I’ve spent hours stuck in mind battle trying to understand how I could make such a “stupid mistake”.
Let’s just say I treat myself worse than I would treat any other human being who has made a mistake. Even the simple ones. Being hard on myself can be because I hold myself to a higher standard than I hold others, or because I’ve had others say those very things to me. But no matter what the reasoning or source is, I’ve realized this is no longer acceptable and must change.
The Bible says our tongues hold the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21), and while I try my best not to use my tongue to degrade others, sadly, I can’t say the same for the way I have used my words or thoughts towards myself.
Yesterday, I felt Holy Spirit speaking strong to me telling me, it’s time to begin changing this. This happened after making what I felt was a crazy & ridiculous mistake. I felt lead to spend time trying to understand why is it truly easier for me to forgive others over myself. I felt lead to ask myself: “Do you think they deserve forgiveness more than you do? And the answer was no. They most certainly did not deserve forgiveness more than I did. And, I was not any more unworthy than they were.
A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.
Proverbs 12:17
When we apply this Bible verse inwardly, we learn that us being hard on ourselves, ultimately only hurts ourselves.
If you are someone who tries to practice showing kindness to others, why do you do it? Is it because you don’t like hurting others? Is it because you want to be seen as a good person? Is it because you know it is just morally or biblically wrong not to be kind to others?…These are some of the things I’ve had to self reflect on.
Why are some of us able to protect others, yet we have no personal boundaries set to protect ourselves from our very own self-directed insults?
We are human. We will all make mistakes.
The above statement is something I have been told many times from both friends and family members.
If you’re someone like me who is hard on yourself, try to remind yourself of this when your thoughts start to move in before you place yourself on trial. YOU ARE HUMAN, ALL HUMANS MAKE MISTAKES. Let’s remind ourselves that there was only one perfect man who walked earth, and that was our savior Jesus Christ.
Going forward may we learn to allow mistakes to be an opportunity for personal reflection and growth.
May we begin to cut off the insults instantly, before we allow them to take root in our minds and become in-planted lies we believe. Doing this will take discipline and will not come easy at first. However, I have committed myself to begin doing the work to get to the point where I will see myself through God’s eyes. Will you make this commitment to yourself with me today?
Let’s loves ourselves and be patient and kind to ourselves.
Jesus calls us to be humble and put others before ourselves. But this doesn’t mean we are called not to be humble towards ourselves and it doesn’t mean be harder on ourselves allowing negative self thoughts to take root. We all are God’s children. Our lives are a gift. So let’s learn to recognize when we aren’t extending to ourselves the same grace which we extend to others.
I know I’ve got to do better and be a better example to my daughters. Because I would never want them being hard on themselves or unkind to themselves. If you can relate, please leave a comment or contact me directly and let me know!! My prayer is that you too would learn to show yourself kindness. 🙏
~Growing with you, Sandy
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Father God, we thank you for your love. For loving us even during the times we aren’t loving ourselves. Father forgive us for not seeing ourselves the way you see us. Forgive us for the word curses we have spoke over ourselves without knowing that was what we were doing. Give us wisdom so that kindness will begin to flow from our tongues. May kind thoughts of ourselves run through our minds. In Jesus name, I declare the word curses we placed over ourselves are now broken. I decree that we will begin to show ourselves the same grace, mercy and kindness we extend to others. Holy Spirit, I ask that you move in and heal the hearts, minds and spirits of your people. Father God, remind them who they are.
Brothers and sisters pray these words to God right now with me: I am smart and not dumb. I am wise and not stupid. A set back does not mean I am stuck in this place of disappointment. I will reflect on why the instance, circumstance or situation happened the way it did. And I will get back up and acknowledge my mistake and try again. Maybe that means rescheduling the meeting, budgeting better and redoing finances, studying harder and retaking the test, correcting an error and resubmitting the application, pick yourself up and try again!!
Father God, we thank you for Holy Spirit conviction and for reminding us we can learn from setbacks and mistakes. Holy Spirit,lead us on this journey. Lord Jesus, remind us to love and show kindness to ourselves in the same way you do to us. We know only you are able, in your mighty name we pray, Amen.
“Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”
Isaiah 43:19 GNTD
We are going into our 5th day of the new year 2023, and I pray you are filled with a heart and mind of expectancy. Take time to draw close to GOD through worship and in prayer and be reminded that it’s not about our own wants or desires or any new year resolutions. As followers of Christ, we must pray daily and seek out the Lord’s will for all decisions we will make.
In the Bible, in Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah was prophesying over what is to come in the future. The “new thing” he was referring to was Christs coming. Through Isaiah, GOD was giving the people of Isreal a hope and encouragement. Although they were not following GOD’s way and continued on in their evil ways no matter how many times GOD delivered them, GOD was starting to reveal to them that they would have a chance for salvation through the coming of the Messiah. GOD still loved them and wanted to give them another chance and help them to change.
Just as God was doing a new thing and making a way for the people of Israel, he desires to do the same for both you and I. When we fully surrender our lives to him in obedience, that is when he will be able to work in us and through us and do a new thing. He wants to make a way out of the dry dessert for us too. He wants to use us and transform us.
GOD is calling us to a new level of freedom in 2023. But he needs our willing hearts. Just as it was up to the people of Isreal to accept GOD’s offering, so must we too accept his invitation to move in a new direction.
Do you want what GOD is offering? Do you want a new direction in life. Do you want to step out of your old patterns and walk into the new thing he wants to do? We have a choice. Will you choose to leave behind the old? Will you choose to leave behind the repetitive unhealthy cycles in life that you’ve been battling in your own strength?
For he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!
Psalms 95:7 NLT
Pray with me:
Father God, We thank you that you are a loving God. No matter how many mistakes we make you are always there giving us another chance to surrender our hearts to you. Lord, forgive us today for our disobedience, and for the times we take our lives into our own hands and forget that you are our creator and that you know the beginning and the end. You go before us, and see all that we cannot and you protect us. Holy Spirit, convict our hearts today. Change us and remove any desires that are not from you. Father God, in this new year, may the desires of our heart be to grow closer to you and to surrender to the purpose that you created us for. We know that we are not fighting in the physical, but we fight against spiritual principalities, and demonic forces. This world is getting dark. I declare and decree that plans which the enemy has to destroy us and keep us bound in the darkness will be broken, in Jesus name. You have a choice. Tomorrow is not promised, so today in this new year I pray that you will choose breakthrough, choose change, and choose to follow Jesus and watch the amazing way he will transform your life. I am excited to see him do a new thing in mine. My prayer is that you will surrender and allow him to do the same in yours. In Jesus mighty name, I pray, Amen.
It’s time for me to pull over and let the Lord drive.
Last year, I was in this place, feeling as though I was just stuck. I felt paralyzed and unable to move. Confused, scared and not knowing which direction to step in, I’d walk around with a heavy heart daily. I’d wear a fake smile when I saw people so that no one would ask what was wrong. And when they did ask how I was, I’d say “I’m doing good”.
So here is my truth; I wasn’t doing good, but I wanted them to believe I was. I didn’t want to appear weak so I thought I had to present myself as having it all together. I didn’t want anyone to know I needed help to get “unstuck”.
I’m hard on myself when I make mistakes and I hate disappointing others, so much so that I fail to set boundaries for myself. If I’m being honest, up until a year ago I had no idea boundaries were even important.
I’ve told myself, God is with me so I can endure anything [Because with God we can]. I’ve told myself that I can handle anything that comes my way. But if that is the case, why are there times that I feel as though I can’t carry the weight? And why are there times it feels as if my own heart is about to burn right through my chest?
I think some of us have been in this place of pretending. Not for the world but, pretending for ourselves. Because if we were to admit that we needed help, or if we were to let go of the circumstances hurting us, to ourselves that would be giving up, and giving up is not supposed to be an option. At least it never was for me.
As circumstances arose in my life, I coached myself by telling myself that giving up is only for the weak. I told myself, “If you are strong, you must be able to endure any type of pain.”
As I grow and draw closer to God, I am beginning to realize that I was in denial. Because as I was coaching myself to “endure”, I’d been allowing the pain to slowly break me to pieces. I had to self reflect and ask myself, “Is that really how I want to live the rest of my life?” The answer was clear: No it is not.
I want to be happy.
I want to smile and feel the joy that only peace can cover us with. But how do I get there? I don’t know how to fix what is wrong. I’ve tried. I don’t know how to make others see my heart, I’ve tried that too.
I always end up trying in my own strength. But why? I know that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness [2 Corinthians 12:9], so why was I stopping him from showing up? Why was I stopping God from showing me his power?
I knew the answer: It was because of fear.
I was comfortable holding onto what hurt me because I feared facing reality.
When someone or something hurts us, we need to step away from it. Otherwise, we will never begin to heal.
Living in daily pain blinds you. You become so used to being hurt that you believe it’s wrong for you to stop the hurt, because if you do, you’re either giving up or you’re going to hurt someone else.
Hurting someone else is the absolute last thing you want to do, so you cope and you endure.
But sometimes it takes loving ourselves to stop the hurt.
If loving yourself enough not to let someone hurt you causes them to label you as selfish or self-centered, you have to be ok with their label. You have to be willing to accept that their opinion of you is “theirs” and theirs alone
Do you want to be happy?
If so, accept that you will not find happiness in an unhappy place.
Accept that pain and happiness cannot coexist.
Accept that there are some who are incapable of showing love to “you”, even when you love them.
Believing in someone will not guarantee they will believe in you. Being kind to someone does not mean they will be kind to you.
So know this…
It’s ok to walk away from what is breaking you. It’s ok to have a boundary. Letting go doesn’t make you a failure.
Will it be easy? No. Will it hurt? Of course! Will it take time to gather up the strength to make the decision to do it and then follow through with it? Yes! For me it took years to get to where I knew I had to let go and let God take the control.
Are you in this place? Is your relationship with a close family member, friend, partner, or work superior hurting or diminishing who you are?
Be strong enough to realize that living in pain is a cycle that must be broken. You may not know how to break it or what direction to go in, but you don’t have to. Surrender yourself to God’s lead and take him at his word. He wants us happy.
Staying in pain or constant discomfort will not bring you happiness. It is time to stop just existing. We will always have struggles in life but we must choose not to allow them to keep us feeling stuck daily.
It’s time to enjoy the life you were blessed with and start to live! Tomorrow isn’t promised.
Make the choice to be Happy and let God handle it🙏 It is a choice you will never regret. Get out of your way and ask Jesus to lead. You must guard your heart in order for the healing to start.
Allow God’s truth to change you and restore joy to your life. Choose to be happy!
Growing with you,
Sandy
Father God, Thank you for loving us even when we feel unlovable. Thank you for standing with us through doubt and uncertainty until we are strong enough to surrender our circumstances and situations over to you. Thank you for never giving up on us and for waiting for us to place our lives in your hands. Jesus you pursue us even when we try to live without you in our own strength. You love us through our bad choices, downfalls and when we are stuck in our valley. Thank you for never giving up and for showing me what unconditional love truly is. Father, tonight I lift up anyone who is struggling in a dark place which they feel they cannot come out of. Father, I ask that you restore the joy in their lives and reveal to them that your grace is sufficient for them and that your power is made perfect in weakness. May they seek after you in their valley, oh Lord. May they surrender it all at your feet Lord and place their trust solely in you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
I’ve been battling frustration lately, over things I have no control over. When I am frustrated or upset, I talk out loud; this is one of my biggest flaws.
Have you ever done that? Talk to yourself out loud, complaining to your self? When I do this others can hear what I’m saying and often take offense to it.
Complaining out loud can make a situation worse, because even when you aren’t trying to offend others, it can and does happen.
Can anyone relate to this? Have you ever gotten so frustrated that you become blind to your own behavior and say things aloud that can offend another person? If so, you are not alone and neither am I. But let’s be mature enough not to justify our actions. For we should never meet evil with evil or bad with bad. We must be wiser and do better.
I disappoint myself when I allow my frustration to get the best of me and allow it to shift my mood into one which is cold. I’m human so people I care about disappoint me and frustrate me, that’s normal, but I know I need to learn to manage my frustration better. I don’t want to be an ugly person with an ugly attitude, that’s not who God called me to be.
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6 NIV
In Romans 8:6, God’s word says that to overcome reacting in our flesh, we must allow the Holy Spirit to to control our mind and lead us. Funny thing is, when we are angry we tend to forget that we should be relying on God to lead us. But when we do it without the Holy Spirit, just where does replying based off our emotions get us? No where better.
Tonight this is my prayer:
Father God, help me to be mindful enough to get alone in your presence when I feel myself becoming frustrated rather than letting that frustration consume my mind in the moment. Holy Spirit fill me and lead me so that I may be obedient to your will and your purpose for my life. Holy Spirit allow your peace to come upon me in those moments and redirect my actions. Help me to seek your lead rather then behaving like someone I don’t want to be. Father, I know I have no control over others. But by your spirit Lord, I can try to control my own actions. Help me to seek you and to grow and overcome. Strengthen me and cover me in your peace. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏
Change is hard. When life seems to be falling apart we either struggle to hold it all together or we just give up. When you feel defeated and as if pieces of your life or situation are all over the place, that is when it is time to take a break, slow down, pray and put things into perspective.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, give yourself time to feel and sort through the pieces.
I’ve never been one to love puzzles, I’ve always found it overwhelming to look at 500+ pieces all at once. But I do know that when you invest the time to just pick up one piece and slowly start to build, eventually you create an amazing picture. By taking the time to slowly focus, and take it piece by piece, with patience you can put together what seemed at first to be a very overwhelming project.
In real life, we face challenges of all kinds. You get through one hardship or obstacle only to be faced with another. When you feel overwhelmed don’t avoid the issue and don’t run from the situation. Instead, take time to rest and spend time with GOD.
There’s something about being in GOD’s presence, he brings peace that can come from no other.
{Look up Philippians 4:7}
Many of us are so focused on trying to take control of our circumstances or on running away from them, that we fail to invest time to find mental clarity. Once these important steps (rest, time with God, refocusing) are realized and completed, that is when it will be easier to actually pick up one piece and begin creating something new or begin to restore pieces which seem irreparable.
It doesn’t matter where you start, what matters is remembering that you will get no where if you don’t begin somewhere.
Nothing is perfect and not many things come easy or without struggle.
When I have a problem all I can think about is how the issue can be eliminated. I don’t want to struggle, be hurt or feel defeated. But sometimes GOD allows certain things to break because it just wasn’t what he had planned for us. If we seek his guidance through the uncertainty, and invest time, eventually all pieces come together as GOD planned for them to.
After completing a puzzle many are left with a feeling of accomplishment. Their final result is an awesome picture made by themselves (or family and friends who may have contributed). Life is very similar to puzzles. As we navigate through life, each challenge, situation, and hardship are strategic pieces that are needed to create a bigger picture – Your life story.
GOD blessed you with purpose, chase it!
When we are overwhelmed with what seems like a mess, we are incapable of seeing the masterpiece that God has created. So when we are overwhelmed, lets run to GOD rather than running away. Lets set on our minds towards focusing on each circumstance, moment by moment, step by step, building piece by piece. One day we will reflect back in awe and pride.
Don’t allow giving up to be an option. Make up your mind not to turn back. GOD is a finisher of all things. We are not battling relationships, family, friends, or problems. We are battling our minds which the enemy fights to gain control over. Do not allow him to make you feel defeated. Decide that you are not a quitter and begin picking up those pieces.
Philippians 1:6 (NLT) says this, “And I am certain that GOD, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Father GOD,
We thank you today for your love and mercy. Father you are good and have a perfect plan set out for each of us. Father when we feel defeated or overwhelmed, help us to call upon your name. May we never quit and never label ourselves as being incapable of accomplishing the work that you have called each of us to. Father, we know that in time all pieces are needed for a greater purpose. Please help us to never loose sight of that.
In Jesus name, Amen
Reflect: What situation or challenge are you currently being faced with? Are you feeling as if you just don’t know where to begin? Bring your pieces before the LORD and ask GOD to redirect you so that all things fall into their proper intended place.
Made Piece by Piece 