I have mourned many times. Oh, yes I have! I have cried my heart out... Almost got into depression later from pretending all is fine, I think, or from refusing to accept the reality and move on. Most of us, i believe have gone through these phases.
The death of loved ones, people who, for quite a while you could almost swear that you saw crossing the street weeks after you buried them… That interview that you didn’t pass, whereas you was so confident that the job was going to be yours… getting to the final stage and everybody seems so impressed and you walk out with a smile only to get a regret letter two weeks later, or a call ‘Head Office in Washington said we took so long to recruit and sent someone from there…’ and Alas! Instead of the big shot you thought you were to become, you are still jobless. Broken contracts… Failure in examinations you had always hoped you would swim through… failing health, God when will you ever heal me? Betrayal in friendships you thought you could always count on. Broken relationships from in which you had dedicated your whole being, putting your whole heart in – and that is how it should always be. And then suddenly, you realize it’s all gone, and you feel like the world is caving in on you. And you mourn, you cry, and find it very difficult to move on. How can you ever trust again?
Then worry… Doubt… Fear… they start to creep in. You begin to get impatient with yourself and with God. You start to wonder if you are really of as much worth like you previously thought. Out of a broken heart, you get into bad friendships… bad habits… Or you withdraw. I mean, nothing makes sense anymore. Or your heath depresses you and you are so afraid of doing anything for fear of getting hurt or because you don’t think you have long to live anyway. Or you stop looking for challenges because you no longer think you are fit for them; you have always lost in such anyway. You almost doubt the existence of God, in whom earlier, everybody around you knew you had so much faith in.
Low moments have a way of bringing us down, just like that. I have always been a strong believer of ‘my attitude towards situations’ but I must confess that sometimes, even the strongest of us can easily come down. Beyond our attitude and positive thoughts, we must truly learn to trust in God and put our worries aside. There is hope beyond your situation. Your situation is not an end!
God says, “For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills…” Psalms 50:10. Remember He owns all.
Jeremiah 29:11-14: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Just like the Israelites in Captivity, His love is always moved towards you, He will perform His good word, His promises often repeated, to you. For the fulfilment of these you must pray, seek, and search. That he will hearken, and you should find him; provided, you seek him with your whole heart.
God knows best. He has His own right time for everything in our lives. We need to remember this whenever we think we have to have an answer now, and even more so when we think we have to have a certain answer. We need to pay more attention to the lights God flashes in our life. Instead of worrying and getting impatient, we should learn to listen to God. I believe we all want to listen to Him; we just don't give Him enough time to speak. In our microwave society we stand just a text message away from a friend telling us what he or she thinks we should do. If only God would come to our beck and call. If you slow down and listen to God, He will probably reveal to you why, like Esther, he has placed you where he has "for such a time as this" (Esther. 4:14, NIV).
Instead of worrying, impatience and getting self destructive, listen to the will of God. Last weekend, I was telling a friend of mine, that God probably deals with us in the same way we deal with our small children, who think that they know best. When you take away that sweet from your child because of allergies, she will feel like her rights are being violated. She will only discover that you were doing best when she is grown up enough to discover that you actually were doing that for their good. When you get your heart broken and you are busy wondering where God was in all this, probably that was not his will for your life. And maybe, if you stayed on and got into marriage, you would have ended up in a violent set-up, frustrated or maybe you just wouldn’t cope and by then, it will be too late to turn back… You just never know… Mourn about it (because it is good for your health), seek God’s will and move on. And later, you will discover that God had these wonderful plans for you concerning relationships and marriage! When He sends this Godly, responsible, hardworking, loving person your way, you look back and wonder where you had been going to earlier.
When you no longer feel relevant at your workplace, or like you are not growing, it’s probably a sure sign that you need to move. Either venture in new employment or it’s about time you became an employer. You never know! Seek God’s will about it… He knows Best!
Reasons why you should never worry
Matthew 6:27-29: Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
- Worrying is a waste of very precious time. Worrying won't help you solve a problem or bring about a solution, so why waste your time and energy on it?
- The energy that we spend worrying can be put to much better use in prayer. Replace it with prayer and it turns to trust.
- It is also destructive to us in many ways. It becomes a mental burden that can even cause us to grow physically sick. It tears you down!
So instead of worrying, trust in God, seek His will: He always knows best!
Have a worry-free week! Won’t you?
