What we believe about ourselves is how we treat ourselves, and it’s so important to be gentle with the power that lies within that fact.
I never get on here and write just to write. I always go to the Lord first, learn from Him, study some, and He’s eventually been laying things on my heart. More than half of the time I have no idea how to start and/or finish what it is He’s trying to say through me— but He always pulls through with His helping hand. Today I want to talk to you on the topic of faith fatigue. It’s so real, and honestly a playground for us to get lost in wondrous thoughts. We do not have the natural mind of Jesus. As Paul stated, our thoughts are not His thoughts. However, we do have the sacrificial gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, ready to be called on whenever we so choose. There it is though, ‘choice.’ It takes strength to make that choice, but it’s worth every bit of muscle you put into it.
Whenever we face something bigger than us, we naturally call on the Lord. It’s just what we do as Christians, right? It’s what we’re supposed to do, what we’re encouraged to do. Seek refuge in the only One who can give eternal life and prosperity. However, I think we waste a lot of time complaining to the Lord, rather than truly seeking Him. Now I’m speaking to myself here, too. This isn’t me talking at you, because I’m just as human as the next person. I’m simply the messenger here for what God wants us to know, and it’s that He is not only behind us, but He is ahead, besides, and within us as well.
There’s been seasons where I was weak. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, even physically manifesting the symptoms of my weakened mind because of temporarily crushing circumstances. I know how hard it is to draw enough strength to even open that line of communication with the Lord asking for strength, let alone thrusting it out of me. I didn’t have it in me, or at least that’s what I’d say. Have you ever been there, too? Where you just ‘didn’t have it in you to keep fighting’? I think it’s safe to say we’ve probably all endured a season where we felt we needed to give more strength than we had. I just think sometimes we wait on the Lord to come in and supernaturally alleviate all of our issues, when we have a bit more responsibility than that.
We were told in Genesis (for those unfamiliar with the chronological order of books in the Bible, this is the very first one) that man was made to work. Adam was responsible for tending to the garden that we’re familiar with, as it’s the place Eve ate from the forbidden tree. People confuse ‘work’ being a byproduct of the fall of humanity, but Adam was given that responsibility before then. It’s not work that’s of Satan, it’s the dissatisfaction with work that is. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 it reads,
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”
Okay, okay, so I bolded several parts of these verses that really stuck out to me. First, we are commanded to follow their example of laboring and toiling to fill our stomachs. Even with Jesus physically present, they worked for every bit of what they wanted. We get confused with the gentle parts of the Bible where it affirms us that we receive nothing by our works but by His grace. We completely neglect the parts like 2 Thessalonians 3 and James 2, reminding us that our faith without works is dead. We think it’s Bible to sit back, to just simply pray and do nothing more to change our circumstances. Now I’m by no means minimizing prayer, it should remain your first line of defense for all of yours days. However, I am also really pushing to emphasize the importance of playing an active role in what you are believing God for.
Do you know how easily the disciples could’ve sat back, relaxed, and just ‘believed in God’ for providing food, drink, shelter, healing, etc for them? Literally… so easy. God did not call us to possess the spirit of laziness, and from the very beginning, we were shown an example of how to walk side by side, in-step with what we’re trusting God for. We’re told to walk by faith in 2 Corinthians 5:7, that means we put one foot in front of the other, and believe God will give us the endurance to just keep taking one more step. This is what we are being shown in 2 Thessalonians 3, when they offered us a model to imitate.
Honestly I think these next couple of verses are such a bar, plainly speaking. They go on to say, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,” and then, “They are not busy; they are busybodies.” My God. I know I’ve been a busybody more than I was busy in some seasons, I’ll be the first to admit it. Doing way more praying than I was believing. It takes faith to pray through challenging times, but it takes work to put one foot in front of the other. In scripture, we’re commanded to do both. To do just one or the other makes you a busybody, to do both makes you busy— and when you’re busy, you work according to the level of your belief of what God will do. Not what He can do, but what He will. To believe He simply ‘can’ do it means you believe it for someone else. To believe He ‘will,’ is when you draw confidence from knowing you are a child of His, to whom He keeps His promises.
Whether it’s a divorce, a life-changing medical diagnosis, an eviction notice, a bankruptcy, a complete downfall of a business, God is with you. His goodness is not based on the alignment your circumstances. Even when things are awful, God is good. Do not suppress real, raw human emotions throughout your trials and tribulations. Feel every bit of them, and they will serve a purpose if you let them. They may even become the fire that’s ignited for you to do or be the very thing God called you to in due time.
I want to reassure you, nothing about this post is encouraging suppression of human feelings. We are human, and to not be in touch with our humanity is shorting God on what He’s able to do through us. Feel it all, but don’t allow the emotions to feel heavier than the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you. Don’t allow the ruminating thoughts to take you where your prayers suffer from suffocation. Refuse to let your thoughts become so deep, dark and hopeless that it steals your strength to pray. Prayer truly changes things. I dare you, myself as well, to find a balance between validating emotions without validating thoughts that aren’t of God. It’s okay to know that you’re in a valley, and feel sad about the valley; but the moment your thoughts take you to places that make you feel the rest of your life will be in a valley because of this one, pray. Immediately pray. Refuse to believe the thoughts the enemy places in your mind at its most vulnerable hour.
We spend so much time asking God to give us strength, not even acknowledging the power He already placed inside of us when He died on the cross and said, “It is finished.” We were born again with the discernment, conviction, strength, and grace of the Holy Spirit when we chose Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We waste time asking for more of something that He already said is ours. In the book of Numbers, chapter 13, the Lord commanded Moses to send leaders from each Israeli tribe to Canaan, a land overflowing with milk and honey. However, once the Israelites arrived, they were intimidated by the size of the land and its descendants. What God had already declared was for them, they tucked their tails in between their legs and ran away from. They saw themselves as small as grasshoppers, and so they made up their minds that they looked as such to their opponent. This chapter is a great reminder that no matter how vast the land or how large the giants, if it was Him who sent you, it is yours. Don’t be the one to deny yourself what God declares is your inheritance. Don’t turn around, leaving the land of milk and honey that He promised you because you’re intimidated by the giants. He is a Provider who equips us with all that we need before He sends us on an assignment. He doesn’t promise zero affliction or intimidation, but He does promise us an overflowing land of favor once we overcome it.
Claim your land, remembering He placed a strength inside of you before sending you to your Canaan. Trust He did His part, and focus on doing yours. Pray as much as you want, I encourage it, but don’t wait until you feel Him answer to keep moving. He is with you. He is ahead of you. He is behind you. He is beside you. He is within you. Whether you feel it or not is not indicative of His placement. Keep moving, keep fighting. He is omnipresent, and the Keeper of Promises. It’s yours, family. Name it, claim it, proclaim it.
