Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you’ve lost
You may have spent a huge portion of your life trying and failing to reach the mark but the beauty about life is that it teaches us whether we are willing students or not. Lessons present themselves both in a calm environment and in turbulence as we grow and are called closer to our destinies. Nothing in life works out a 100% of the time and the sooner we accept that our hands are going to get dirty even with other people’s mess is the sooner we are able to surrender this baggage to God.
The truth is we just can’t make it without His saving Grace, His staff, His rod, His guidance, love and chastening. At one point or another we are going to have to deal with falling. It could be falling in love with the wrong person, falling into the trap that was set for you by jealousy, tripping up on your ego only to fall from grace and falling prey to the whiles of the enemy. Either way when you are down on the ground that is the point from which you can really see those who are for you and those who revel in kicking you while you are there.
The art of surrender
It’s such common advice to be told to surrender it all to God but more often than not the how-to is somewhat lacking in the conversation. It’s like we know how to give the advice and we know that the advice once followed will surely yield positive results but the how of the to-follow-it is a mystery we are not too familiar with addressing. As I enter my own season of surrender I hope that my analogy of drama/baggage as a spiritual illness which requires investigation and treatment much like physical illness helps (I may have worked too long in the Medical Industry …the practises are rubbing off on me LOL).
Learn your drama:- all too often it’s the symptom(s) that are identified first as they are the most evident at the time of observation. Usually most doctors can prescribe a course of treatment at first glance. It takes a really experienced practitioner to read between symptomatic lines and order investigations that facilitate more specific treatment or management of the condition.
So Step number 1 is to take some quality time to investigate and learn your drama because only when you know what the problem really is can you start to seek out a solution, be like CSI and leave no stone unturned. Set up the imaginary scene in your mind and begin to re-inact the events that led to the root formation.
Own your drama:- sometimes we get so easily caught up in “why me?” and “how come this always happens to me?.. no one else has to deal with this” but when we do that we close off effective communication with God and the helpers he sends to our aid. Sadly we don’t always get an explanation for why this or that happened or why he did or she did or they did and why people say the things they do, but it’s a non negotiable part of life and though I hate to be so blunt..we really just have to suck it up.
I’m not trying to make light of your affliction or even mine but the truth sets us free if we are willing to accept it. It is true that we were not present at the laying of the foundations of the Earth and therefore we could not possibly ever love or understand it more than the Creator likewise with ourselves. We who are evil know how to do good in some ways so what more of The Creator.
Follow your fear and experience the what-if:- I read part of this book called “How to stop worrying and start living” by Dale Carnegie and in it he outlined a process based on testimonials of how accepting one’s lot and dealing with it from that point changed people’s lives. For example someone on their death bed plagued with illness simply accepted the worst possible outcome of their situation.
They started dealing with the situation by reducing risk of the “big bang” and viola a few weeks later the guy could walk again. He could go back to living because he had done what most of us are terrified to do. He had gone to the underworld and seen the end hypothetically and once he had seen the worst possible outcome it wasn’t an impending event anymore. It became a turning point from that moment on. We have super powers people these are the moments we should thrive on.
Seek God without contempt:- we all saw what happened when Job took it upon himself to blast God. Yes His circumstance was an exceptional one and the suffering that came upon him though sanctioned was pretty hectic. One thing I know is you can’t ask for help from someone you feel is responsible for your suffering, the words may come out and you may get religious about it but until you truly accept your lot as it is help is ineffective to you because you won’t even take it as that.
Yes for a time you may be angry and probably do something to relieve that anger but God can take it..the question is can you? Can you live with yourself after you lash out past the point of no return? Because one other thing I’ve picked up in my walk is that it’s not that God doesn’t forgive us it’s that we struggle to forgive ourselves and our brothers. That is why we allow ourselves to be misled by these fakers who preach works at the expense of accepting grace.
Let go:– Once you accept that you are not owed an explanation and once you accept that you can’t solve it then you are finally able to let your drama/baggage/burden go.
About the author
Sharon Rateiwa is a lover of art with a natural flair for the artistic. When she isn’t sharing inspirational pieces with the world, she designs and performs as a singer and poet. Sharon believes that we of God’s generation have a mandate to take up Godly arms in the fight for a meaningful existence. She gives encouragement by sharing her own colourful encounters.
