You can’t tell me you haven’t been there.
In a season where nothing seems to be going right? A season where EVERYTHING is frustrating?
A season where you feel lonely, confused and God-less? Most of us have in fact been there.
I’ve been there a lot in my life, and it seems like now, I’m realizing that these aren’t punishments, these are tools. I dare say, these are seasons of Delivery and Deliverance.
When you hear the word “delivery”, it is generally associated with giving birth, or the process by which one receives something. Delivery in terms of birth not only requires waiting, but it is also a very painful experience.
It’s been said that women are closest to death at this point in their lives, and yet it is a time that is celebrated. It’s celebrated, not because of the intense pain, but because of the promise that follows.
It’s easy to see and rejoice in something that you know is coming, in the natural—a baby, in the spiritual—a promise. But what about when you’re not sure what will come after the pain?
What about when you have trial after trial, contraction after contraction and you’re not sure that this pain will be worth anything, or at the very least, that you’ll make it through the pain. I’ve been there.
I’ve had moments, where I would get so angry with God because of the situations that I was in—both because of my own decisions and because life happened.
I looked back over the decrees, the promises that God gave me and I wondered how this all added up. In my mind I was like: “God, if 2+2=4, why is this equaling 5 right now?”
“Why does this look like NOTHING that You promised me?”
“What did I do to end up in this season?”
What I didn’t realize, was that the pain that I endured was preparing me for something far greater and it may not be for the reason you think.
There are times in life that I’ve been able to clearly see how the situations I’ve gone through have prepared me for what God has promised. Then, there are other times where there seemed to be no connection.
Through my pain, He’s taught me how to deal with relationships and gain confidence in my ability to hear from Him, but other times it just seemed like I was getting that there was no purpose to the pain I was feeling. It was in those times, God built my endurance.
The reality was that in life, there’s going to be hard and uncomfortable times and while I was waiting around for God to explain Himself to me, to tell me how this was going to make me into a millionaire and to prepare me for marriage, I didn’t realize He was simply building a better me and drawing me closer to Him.
He taught me that thriving in an uncomfortable, hard, season is possible when you’re willing to surrender that discomfort.
If you pay close attention in these seasons you’ll begin to see things about yourself that you didn’t before. It’s easy to get discouraged by this, but I honestly believe that God wants us to surrender that discouragement too.
I didn’t realize that when He said that His grace is sufficient, He really meant it! God doesn’t just want to change your situation; He wants to change you too. These seasons are built to provoke surrender.
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Surrender Nuggets!
The secret to dealing with hard seasons and dealing with life’s issues is about being with Him, and giving Him every emotion that I was feeling—good or bad, and trusting Him that He was more than capable of handling it.
The key to thriving in an uncomfortable season is surrendering your season because only God can take that pain and birth something beautiful out of it.
Guest Blogger: Anna-Stacia Haley
Anna-Stacia Haley is an intense lover of Jesus, cheesecake, and Broadway from Madisonville, Ky. She’s the author of one book entitled, “Loving the Prophetess” and is currently finishing up her Master’s degree in English at the University of Louisville where she also teaches first-year composition. Anna-Stacia, affectionately known as Anna by close friends, enjoys writing, and helping others accomplish their writing goals through consulting and coaching.
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