Tag Archives: Encouragement

We Press On

I’ll admit to being in a spiritual funk for the last few weeks. I was discouraged by prayers I didn’t see answered and dreams unfulfilled. Doubt set in about hearing and understanding God. I wondered if it was time to give up, stop praying, stop dreaming, stop hoping. I find when I feel completely out of control, when what I think is best doesn’t appear to be happening, it can trigger an anxiety down spiral. I find myself asking, “Is God good? Does He care? Does He even see what’s going on?”

Sometimes the answer to our questions and the confirmation He cares lands unprompted right in our arms. His Presence just comes close and we find the strength to press on. 

I’m still waiting to see Him move in power in the circumstances around me. And I know many who are also struggling with forgotten promises and impossible dreams. Losing loved ones. Waiting for healing. Stuck in an unfulfilling job. Wondering if life can be bigger than repeating the same cycle day after day and week after week. People who feel alone – in marriages, in friendships, in families. 

Still we press on.

We have a hope in us that will not fail and cannot give up. Because we know how the story ends. What we see now, in the flesh, is not all there is. We know there is a reality beyond what we can see here. 

There is more to life. 

Through divorce, addiction, violence, and affliction. Triumphs and heartaches. Celebration and mourning. On the mountaintop and in the valley. Through love, loss, reunions, and separation. 

We press on.

Because the hope we hold is greater than anything this world has to offer and the security we have in Christ can never be stolen away. Our treasure, our prize, our crown is in Heaven, along with our Savior. 

We press on.

Because Jesus is at the finish line. He waits for us – the first victor over death promises we will share in His victory in the end. We press on – following the model of our Savior. 

Life is hard. It’s full of obstacles and disappointments. At times we feel overwhelmed and out of control. We feel hollow and lost. 

Why do we keep going even when it’s hard? Why do we hope even when the darkness surrounds us?

Because God is still moving. He is still in control. We can find victory in Christ, here, now.

Through Christ we have hope for this life and for the next. 

Hold your head up brave warrior, beloved child. We are made new – now. He walks with us – now. Our King is victorious. And He’s coming back.

We press on.

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-12,16-18

I pray today you feel God come close to you as you walk through life. I pray you find the strength to continue to hope in the promises of God and that you are strengthened by His Spirit to continue to work for good in this world. I know He is real. I know He is near. And I know He is good. Be encouraged today as we press on together. 

A Prayer for Refreshing

Sometimes I pray most effectively when I write my prayers. It helps me organize my thoughts and gives me a way to look back on God’s faithfulness in my life. Today I want to share a prayer not just for me but for us as we fight the busyness of life to give time to God.

Father, we come to you drained of energy, distracted from purpose, and drowning in expectations.

Rescue us from

    Endless fatigue

    Aimless pursuit

    And comparison.

Take the loads we carry and replace them with Your peace.

We enter Your Presence, ready to be quiet, and stand in awe

        Of Your greatness

        Your Holiness

        Your power.

Grant us a refreshed spirit and a renewed mind so we may see You, and the world around us.

Get us out of our heads and into: our families, our marriages, our occupations, our churches, our community, our world.

Restore our joy and give us eyes for Your Presence in us and around us.

May we, if just for a moment, take our gaze from: Our problems, our busyness, our burdens

    And give it to you.

We lay our whole selves on the altar in this moment.

Teach us to surrender a greater and greater portion of our lives, our hearts to You.

We trust in: Your will, Your way, Your timing.

Build the courage to depend on You, to know where we’re going, to know what’s best, to be in control.

Mold us, mold our lives until we are conformed to You.

Eyes on You, Lord.

Eyes on You.

Shift our gaze from lives bent toward chaos, a culture careening toward destruction.

Be our True North, the orientation in our confusion.

Eyes on You.

Ground us in Your promises.

Lead us in Your love.

Realign our lives to Your path, Your purpose.

We praise You for being the God who: hears, sees, knows. Us.

Kindle a new fire in our spirits today, Lord.

Let us walk only toward You.

Amen.

Keep Going

I’m going to admit something awful. I didn’t want to write today’s post. Last week was crazy; between dance and soccer, vet appointments and work, I was already exhausted. Then I hurt my back over the weekend and found myself unable to put on my own socks Sunday morning because of the pain. Thankfully with some medication and rest, it improved enough that I was able to return to work. But I was empty. And out of words. I found myself staring at a blank screen, desperately searching through my writing notebooks to find a coherent thought I might be able to share. I came up empty. Nothing stuck out and nothing came together.

Then I received an email from a friend with a word from a teacher urging writers to keep writing, not to give in to the resistance, because God is working through words right now. 

She had no idea I was sitting home at that very moment ready to give up on writing. “Just take the week off,” I was telling myself. But something in me knew that if I gave myself an excuse once, I would certainly use it again. And her encouragement came at just the right time.

I write in the hope that people find the love of God in my words. I write to encourage people to find freedom in Christ. I write because He saved me. And I find that stories have a way of speaking directly to the heart. 

I’m not taking this week off. God has things to say, even when my own words seem to fail me. 

I was reading a verse I’d previously highlighted and wanted to share it with you:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed;”

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

I am empowered with an unrelenting conviction that good will triumph over evil, that Jesus is coming back and resurrection and redemption are waiting over the horizon. I am emboldened by His invitation to partner with Him, working to bring His glory here and now. It’s a conscious decision to place myself, my life in the midst of His moving. Whether He returns while I breathe life or after I meet death, I will always be standing where Grace is found. I will always be in a place where I need God, where I need to see Him move; a place where I never have it all together or all figured out; where I’m not tempted to believe I can do it on my own.

It’s a choice to stand in His strength over mine.

This week I call out to you to stand up and keep going. Don’t let your circumstances hold you back from your destiny. Find a moment to connect with your Maker and ask Him how He wants to move through you today. We are Daughters of the King, each with a unique, divine calling on our lives. Even when we’re confused, walking in the quiet times (See: When God is Quiet), there are opportunities for growth and glimpses of our destiny. Ask God to give you the strength to keep going today. Whether that means running, walking, crawling, or letting Him carry you, keep going. 

“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;”

Matthew 9:37

Go out in peace today knowing your life is in His hands, and He has work for you to do.