The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
Reality check: some things don’t get better. That doesn’t mean nothing gets better, but it means some situations won’t. There are adversities in life that are managed – not cured. For instance, you may have diabetes and while it may not be cured it can be managed. There are also relationships that may not experience the improvement desired, but you can navigate them with God's help.
I am a person who lives in the supernatural as well as the
natural, and know that God does the impossible. And at the same time, as many
miracles as I’ve seen (and there have been a lot) there have been just as many
times that what I or others prayed for didn’t happen.
What do you do at that point when something you live with
daily is clearly not improving and you need help, STAT?
Realize
YOU Can Get Better Even if This Doesn’t
Just because one aspect of your life isn’t going well,
doesn’t mean everything in your life has to be the same way. The challenge you
face may be a big area of your life, but it’s still not your entire life. So first,
remember that the totality of your life is greater than this obstacle. Although
you can’t change other people and there are situations you don’t have control of,
there is one person you can change and that is YOU. So with God’s help and
empowerment, change yourself for the better in whatever way you can.
Develop
a Support System
Whatever you are walking through – don’t walk through it
alone. You don’t have to and you weren’t designed to. If you believe you have
to go it alone – you’ve believed a lie. Find people you can trust who will be
there to listen, to give wisdom and to uphold you in prayer not just during the
particularly difficult times but on a regular basis. God never intended any of
us to bear the trials of life alone.
Practice
Self-Care
Dealing with situations that don’t get better – or get
worse, is hard work. It drains your energy like nothing else. And while we need
to practice good self-care as a general rule, being faithful to do it in the
midst of long-term stress is
particularly critical for overall well-being. Whatever you need to do to
physically and emotionally invest in yourself – do that. For me this may be taking
15 minutes to do nothing but deeply breathe – to dabbing on essential oils or
taking a bath and using my favorite scrubs, to getting the occasional massage.
Practice
Solitude
Strength for the journey usually isn’t acquired in an atmosphere
of noise. When circumstances are at their roughest, I try to get to a quiet
place as quickly as possible and recharge. Some of that is because I’m an
introvert who requires alone time to replenish. But I believe there is value in
this for extroverts too. You don’t build a reservoir of strength in a
cacophonous environment.
Keep Growing
In Your Walk With God
As I’ve already mentioned, handling things that don’t get
better is draining. I don’t know how people cope when they don’t have a
relationship with God. I talk to God in my head about these issues, sometimes
all day long. And He speaks back, giving me wisdom to not only survive but
thrive. In times like this more than ever – I need Him. I see that as time goes
on, challenges can sometimes worsen and I need to not only maintain my walk
with Him but grow to a deeper level where there is a deeper well to draw from.
Pastor Steven Furtick says that we don’t get to choose
whether we will be shaken. We only get to choose what we stand on. Without
exception the foundation of my relationship in Christ helps me stand in times
when things don’t get any better and for a time, may further decline.
My prayers are with
everyone reading this today, as you face whatever trial is bearing down on you.
You are not alone.
Photo by Deanna Doss Shrodes
Photo by Deanna Doss Shrodes
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