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Do You Feel Imprisoned by Problems or Held Hostage by Fear?
“Be joyful always; pray continually; and give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. This sounds like pithy advice, but Paul knew the difficulty and power of God’s command.
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were unjustly jailed and bound with chains. Paul sat in a dark lonely jail cell, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. He didn’t have control over his future. Paul didn’t deserve to be beaten, jailed, or bound with chains. And I’m guessing he didn’t understand why God allowed this injustice. His physical pain mirrored his inner torment.
We, too, can find ourselves in a dark and lonely place, not understanding why we’re here or what lies ahead. And like Paul, we don’t deserve cancer attacking us, the marriage unraveling, the loss of our job, or our child going wayward.
These realities are as painful as unfair.
Our souls feel imprisoned by pain and bound by fear. Our prisons have walls of anxiety and chains of fear. In the dark and lonely cells, the enemy seeks to rob us of our ability to recognize or experience God’s provision or joy.
But God.
What Should We Do When It Gets Hard to Follow God?
Lesson #11 on a Journey to a Water Well
Have you ever noticed sometimes life gets harder before it gets easier?
Sometimes taking a step of faith ushers in challenges and uncertainties. Life can get harder before it gets better. But it doesn't mean we're on the wrong path. Quite the contrary, we may have finally stumbled upon God's will.
That was our experience after committing to sponsor the water well in September 2015. We were confident of God's plan for the water well and had witnessed God prepare our hearts as He miraculously positioned us to fulfill this need.
But we didn't expect life to get harder.
What’s With Obedience?
Several years ago I accidentally put a knife through my hand while cutting an avocado. It immediately began bleeding profusely and my husband quickly wanted to call 911. I told him not to because I was convinced it would eventually stop bleeding and I would be ok. Thankfully, he didn’t listen to me and called anyway. I stood over the sink with my hand clenched, not letting anyone examine it.
To-Dos, How-Tos and What-Ifs
Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought, while discussing where to eat with your husband, boyfriend or group of friends, “I don’t really care, I can’t make one more decision today. Someone else decide and just tell me where to go...”
Can you relate? We’re faced with so many decisions inside of one day. Choosing what to wear each morning (selecting which leggings and sweatshirt combo is still a choice), or what we’re going to eat is enough, but we often must do it for all the people in our home too! Let’s not even get into schedules. How and when to wash our hair, prepare meals, clean the house and shop for all the things to do all the above can leave us feeling like we’re in the movie, Groundhog Day. When to get everyone to the dentist? Their physicals? Haircuts? What to buy for any given friend, parent, child, friend’s child’s birthday next week...or even tomorrow. It’s A. LOT.