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Mistakes, catastrophes, challenges, financial debts, failed relationships, distressing medical diagnosis, an uncertain career path, gambling and alcohol addictions, and the list goes on.
These are the few things I could think of that may cause an individual to feel like all is lost. You’ve probably wondered ‘why me?’ more times than you can count.
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You may be feeling fed up, exhausted, or simply tired of life even in this very moment.
In extreme cases, there may even be a strong desire to end it all.
Well, the truth is, I’ve been there too.
If there’s one thing I wish you to take away from this post, it’s this – God does not make mistakes.
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No matter your life journey up to this point, you belong here, and you matter.
I’ve said this in one of my many social media posts – many of the difficult life situations we experience at some point in our lives are typically temporary.
The trap we tend to fall into however, is we’ll apply permanent responses to temporal problems.
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From my experience, this is where we then catastrophise and eventually spiral to a place that takes a great deal of effort to recover from.
The negative emotions brought on by the problematic situation, feeds negative responses and if left unchecked, this cycle continues on.
Having the ability to dictate your mindset amidst chaotic situations and consequently your perspective, isn’t an overnight job.
It takes time and applied intentional effort as I’ve spoken about here. When you’re at a tough crossroads, being optimistic is the hardest thing to do.
If you’re used to life throwing constant curveballs, it’s even harder.
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I used to think of the term ‘success’ as a financial or business achievement.
Since making changes to my journey of life however, I now believe the most important success one can achieve is to obtain mastery of yourself – from your core.
There are numerous real-life stories of individuals who achieved things others could only dream of and still ended their lives.
Well-known celebrities we admire who admit to suffering with depression and the like.
There’s a great multitude of people who feel ‘less than’ within themselves.
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It’s the reason I ever began sharing.
I knew exactly how alone I felt in my darkest hour and once I worked my way through it, I knew I wanted to support others experiencing similar mental difficulties.
You may feel you don’t matter, that no one sees you, or you’ve gone through so much that you’re now unredeemable.
Never place faith in the self-sabotaging thoughts provoked by your turmoil because you matter more than your problems.
Some of the greatest characters in the Bible were the underdogs of their community.
Let’s take a brief look at a few examples.
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Moses was one of the greatest leaders of Israel escaping death from his very birth.
When God called him, despite God Himself making the call directly, Moses had such little faith in himself that he raised a question.
The thing is, Moses had fled Egypt due to a murder he committed – that of an Egyptian he saw beating an Israelite slave.
Following his escape, he found refuge in the desert and resorted to tending the sheep of his new father-in-law Jethro.
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When God called him, he was a fugitive living in the desert attempting to live a humble life.
When God revealed his mission, Moses was so focused on his inability to speak fluently that he recruited his brother Aaron to go along with him and be his voice.
Despite his lack of faith in his own capability, God still used him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt in wondrous ways still spoken of today.
(If you’ve never watched Cecil B DeMille’s The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston, I strongly recommend it)
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Another was David.
David was a mere shepherd and the least of his father’s house, yet he became the greatest King most loved by God in the Old Testament.
He was young and boy-like in comparison to his brothers and the other soldiers of Israel, but he had something they didn’t.
His unwavering belief that God could use him to deliver Goliath into his hand and deliver Israel from the Philistines.
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David’s faith saw him slay Goliath in his humble shepherd attire with just a bunch of rocks!
Irrespective of his social status or his appearance for which the army of Israel were greatly concerned, he did exactly what he set out to.
What the army of Israel didn’t know, were the tribulations David had faced out of sight.
He previously fought and killed both a bear and lion on separate occasions whilst protecting his sheep.
The calamities he faced in the darkness gave cause to his unwavering confidence in public.
Ultimately, he was the only one brave enough to take on Goliath because he wasn’t focused on the size of Israel’s problem, but the size of his God from whom he derived his strength.
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You see, the problem you’ve been facing in the quiet and for which you feel overwhelmed, can be the very thing that strikes a switch in your life.
If you can stomach a determination to fight through it, the very issue you felt would be your end, can be the very stepping stone from which a new lease of life begins.
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Some of the world’s most iconic real-life heroes faced the absolute worst of atrocities. They sustained extreme injustices most of us would never endure and yet, they’ve left their mark for generations.
No matter the gravity of your struggle, you are meant to be here. What feels insufferable today, will be a reference point tomorrow – as long as you don’t give up.
Men may give up, those you relied on most may have turned their backs on you, but God never will, and neither should you.
To give one final example, let’s explore Joseph’s story.
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Joseph’s story is significant because he was sold as a slave by his own brothers when he was 17 years old and later imprisoned for alleged indecency towards his master’s wife.
Although we can’t be sure of an exact timespan, we do know he served at least two years in prison (likely more), despite his innocence.
Through all the unjust actions taken towards his life even by those he loved, he was presented with an opportunity to translate Pharoah’s dream which saw him rise to fame, becoming Pharoah’s second in command at the age of 30.
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Before he got there though, he went through serious mud first.
Betrayed repeatedly, wrongfully accused, and unjustly imprisoned all taking place across thirteen years of his life.
How does anyone keep hope alive for so long with such back-to-back bombardments?
But he did.
He never lost faith in the vision or path he knew God destined for him and after all the trials and tribulations, his time for glory eventually arrived.
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Sure, there are multiple people who have had a decent start at life.
The most impactful that we easily remember however, are those whose initial circumstances ‘looked’ headed in one dire direction, but for which dramatic change occurred.
It is my belief that God knew the battles we’d face and how we might feel during certain difficult periods of our lives.
He provided examples of those who seemed inadequate, unprepared, least known, and most disadvantaged, and used them to perform some of the greatest wonders recorded in the Bible.
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When we’re going through the worst calamities, it can feel impossible that we’ll experience anything different but there are many such individuals who become heroes in their own story.
Your situation needn’t define you. It will shape you, but you define who you are.
Suffering is unpleasant by all accounts but similarly, when we refuse to succumb, we become more resilient in life on the whole and for the betterment of our future.
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Your refusal to quit on life, and on yourself, can be a future testament to someone in your exact shoes later.
Your life story can become the reason someone else chooses to hold onto hope.
Even in the midst of the mountain situation that is your current circumstances, a tiny amount of faith can make a major difference.
No matter what you think of yourself, you have purpose.
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I have no idea what you’re currently facing, but what I do know is you’re not meant to give up on you, or your life.
The labels others may have placed on you, or those you’ve placed on yourself bear no significance to the wonders you can achieve in future despite what today might tell you.
We all reach points in our lives where we doubt ourselves or question the reason for our existence and the calamities we endure, only exacerbate these feelings.
Life adversities can be difficult to overcome but aren’t impossible.
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You’ve survived this far and despite our inability to see our strengths in suffering, we were made with a capacity not only for enduring but for excelling through the worst of circumstances.
Separate yourself from the noise for a moment and tap into your key strengths.
Shift your focus from the problem, lock in on your capability, and stir up your faith.
The issue today, can be your glory tomorrow but it requires you to act on faith.
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You matter because God says you do and based on my own life experience, that’s all the affirmation you need to keep on.
So, keep on and bring your life’s value back to the forefront because God’s already given you the tools you need to do just that – use them, and start rewriting your history.
