Bad things do come to an end

Take a moment and encourage each other to look forward

The last few years have been good for me but there was a time that I went through a season that was difficult.

I felt drained, anxious and overwhelmed over nothing. It was as if someone put a small weight on my shoulders and added to the weight each and every day.

I went to the doctor and he ran all kinds of tests and said I was healthy. His good news didn’t cancel out how I was feeling on the inside. It was nice to know that there was nothing physically wrong but it didn’t solve my growing problems.

Could there be an issue in another area of who God created me to be?

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Bible tells us here that there are three parts to who we are. I had the body checked out and according to the doctors I was just fine. The trouble was I wasn’t.

Each new day brought with it a little more weight and a little more weight. When Sunday came I would sit at the front praying for strength and as I stood to minister it seemed that my burdens were lifted only to return after church was over.

Have you ever prayed to the Lord for an answer and no answer came? Have you ever asked God why or how long must you endure a hardship?

I was very glad for those around me who tried to understand me even when I didn’t understand myself. It’s hard when others expect you to be the man of faith and power and you respond with fluff and flower.

I thought about how hard it must be for any man to be the dad and the husband when he himself is in a bad place. I thought about how hard it must be for any warm loving wife to respond correctly when she herself is under a dark cloud of freezing rain.

It was about the fourth month that I felt the Lord whisper, “ask others to pray for you.”

I had to think about this as most people ask me for prayer and not the other way around.

I was willing to see a doctor for help but would I humble myself and ask others to pray for me?

It’s always a question, when we need help will we be willing to ask someone for help?

Pride is like a four-foot table that we stand on in hopes that it will stop a 40foot wave from drowning us.

Soon little notes, text or emails would come to me telling me that they were praying for me and it meant so much.

I’m not sure what brought me into that bad season and I’m not sure what brought me out but after nine months, one day at 6 a.m., I was between awake and asleep and I noticed that my dreaded companion and weight had lifted.

I didn’t want to get up because it felt so good to be me again and then I heard a still small voice say, “It’s over.”

That was almost 20 years ago and I have been fine since.

Now it’s Christmas season and we’re all reeling and dealing with the negative effects of COVID-19; an unsettling economy, social distancing, and face masks which have created much fear, anxiousness, stress and worry.

Just as everything in the past has a beginning and an end, this too shall pass. We need to take a moment in this moment and encourage each other to look forward.

I thought about the little notes and how much they helped me to keep the faith.

I want to challenge you take a moment today and send a text or an email to someone you know and tell them that you’re praying for them to have a great day.

I know that we are in times of separation one from another but there is no distance in prayer. With unveiled hearts let us show someone that we care.

Seasons Greetings. Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. God bless you all.