Until

Have you ever felt that life is an uphill battle?

Or… maybe more like a rollercoaster where you slowly climb this big hill and speed down the other side, only to twist really fast to the left, then another hill that turns and flips you upside down and loops you out the other side and comes to a screeching halt that jars your whole body. Could be a Tuesday. 😳

Or… like Dean, you feel like you’re living out that scene in Star Wars when Luke, Leia, Han and Chewy are in the trash
compactor and the walls start closing, squishing you while you try to stop the squishing but even the poles bend under the weight. UNTIL C3P0 and R2D2 finally pushed the right button. Sheesh.

Today, we’re going to look at what can be our UNTIL.

Let’s be honest, life isn’t getting easier. Life isn’t slowing down. Our stress isn’t going away.

Stress wreaks havoc on our bodies and minds. There was a couple of months earlier this year that I was really struggling with the extreme, next level kind of stress and not sleeping well – at all. My brain was foggy, my body was inflamed and bloated. I was really struggling.

I’m sure you can share a time in life when you faced very similar things. Maybe you’re there right now. I did all the things I knew to do: relaxing bath, no phone before bed, read before bed, box breathing, listening to rain on my phone, praying and worshipping in the middle of the night while staring into the darkness, having Dean pray for me, telling myself I was safe so I could get out of flight/fight mode.

Here’s the thing: God made us to be able to do hard things. I had to walk through that time. There was no pushing fast forward and skipping to the end. After awhile life calmed down to a “normal” level of stress and I noticed things in my body regulating itself and sleep was getting better.

What if it’s less about not having stress but more about how we get through it?

While God does tells us we can pray for mountains to move sometimes they don’t. Sometimes we need to climb it.
He tells us we are overcomers - which means there is something to overcome.
He tells us to put on our armor - which means there is a battle we will face.
He tells us trust Him - which means there will be times when doubt overwhelms our faith.
He tells us to be courageous - which means there will be times that fear will freeze us in our tracks.
He shares with us stories from the Old Testament through the New Testament of people of faith that faced heart-wrenching, faith testing, physically challenging times.
He promises to be with us and never leave us. If life is always hunky dorey filled with glitter and cupcakes, why would we doubt that?
He tells us to ask for wisdom - which means there will be times we will not be sure what to do.

God also gave us Habakkuk 3:19 that says:
“The Sovereign LORD is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”

When I am weak - God is my strength. I can lean on and rely on HIm. Which is amazing! I can remind myself it’s not all on me or up to me. He is bigger than what I am facing.

Then Habakkuk shares a little nugget with us: where we may feel unsettled and wobbly we can ask to be surefooted.

Just like this cute guy over here ➡️ the Nubian ibex.
“He is a wild goat native to Israel’s deserts since Biblical times. They can scale nearly vertical cliff sides, navigating precarious ledges with astonishing confidence.”*

“The Hebrew word for ‘heights’ is ‘bamah’ which means both ‘high places’ and ‘battlefields.’”*

He will equip us to face the battle or climb that cliff you’re hanging on by your fingertips.

Maybe it’s less about not having stressful and difficult times but asking to be surefooted to face them BECAUSE God is our strength.

On my own that stretch a couple of months ago would have been unbearable instead of difficult and annoying.
Our UNTIL is not reliant on a droid to do the right thing to help you.
Our UNTIL is reliant on God and His strength.

He is with us in the storm now.
Just like the frustrated and tired disciples who rowed all night while not getting anywhere UNTIL Jesus came.
(Matthew 14:22-33)
Jesus changes us as we go through it.
Jesus changes us when we walk in faith and courage.
Jesus changes us when we are weak and overwhelmed and look to Him for all we need.
Jesus changes us when we ask for wisdom and walk it out in obedience.

You will face a time in your life when you will need an UNTIL moment with Jesus. I hope you remember that God is your strength and the cute Nubian ibex and ask for surefootedness to be able to scale that cliff.

I hope you have the most amazing day!
All My Love ~
Jodi xo

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*taken from article written by David Adamson