Waves & Unwantd House Guests

Have you ever wanted to go away?

        I always joke and tell everyone, "Right about 9am every morning when i realize what God has asked me to do..." Everyone laughs and we go on joking about the million of impossible things we do before breakfast each morning.

But really, are there ever moments where you start to question God and what HE was thinking when HE called you to do what HE has asked you to do?

I am here more often than I would like to admit.
When these alone and desperate times come; they hit me like a wave.
The wave you look at and think you can jump over it, quickly realizing as you are almost drowning, your perception of the wave was wrong. Now you are stuck with lungs full of water, almost throwing up sea water, embarrassed that you thought you could make it, and hating the beach, wishing you would never even see it again!

These times normally come when I have big spiritual changes or big life changes.
I start to panic, then my buddy, overwhelmed, decides he is going to come and stay for awhile. Followed by his friends exhaustion hopelessness. This is the time I should take a time out and really pray. But sometimes, I forget about that and keep trying to kick my unwanted house guests out on my own. They never leave because they are overpowering and bring more friends like desperation, depression, and loneliness. This is about the time my heart feels like it is going to stop. I literally feel like I am dying inside. This is when I shut down. All thoughts and living stops. I can't do much because my house guests have eaten up all my food and have run up my electricity and water so high, I could not pay the bill, and now they have shut off my service. Bummer...

At this point...I have no fight left in me.
This is when the final guests arrives attacking me physically. It feels like a small troll takes residence on my chest, beating it every now and then to remind me of his presence and domination.

Unwanted house guests have taken over, they have trashed my house, they have turned off all my utilities, and now I am starved along with my family because they emptied my frig.

UGH...I hate when life gets to this point of despair.

Have you been there??

Are you there now??

Now I know not everyone is as lucky as I am; to have raving house parties with party crashers like my little troll beating on my chest like Tarzan. Not everyone can have their not so very nice friend depression eating away at every emotion you have, replacing them with false feelings of sadness, despair, or anger. But everyone does have uninvited guests, and whoever they are, the sooner they leave, the better life will be for everyone in your home.

So how do we avoid unwanted house guests all together?

Pray

Not just little prayers....I am talking down on your knees praying, offering your praise & petitions up to the Lord. I find when my prayer life is lacking and when I am whimsically praying, my heart is not truly focused on the Lord, on HIS desires for me, on HIS blessings of life, salvation, etc and I get stuck trying to make life happen all on my own. This is when I end up forgetting to lock my back door and those pesky house guests sneak in.

Read

Read HIS Word. EVERYDAY! I am not saying to do this because I am the amazing Holy Momma who reads everyday at dawn. Yes, I often miss my quiet time because I overslept, or the day was packed and time slipped away from me. It is vital to our souls to fill up with spiritual food. When we don't eat a meal, how do we feel? How about a full day of meals? Even more so for our spirit! It craves spiritual food daily. So feed your soul! Not only does it keep your soul full but it also keeps our perspective focused. We can see reality, and the enormity of the situations of life, and will be ready to take a few steps back if need be to avoid drowning. It keeps our eyes focused on our FATHER in heaven and HIS hand reached out to us; rather than trying to jump over this wave we clearly will not be able to get through without a helping hand. Acts 15:31 says, "And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message." HIS word brings encouragement to the believers living in a sinful world; a world not our own. I NEED HIS WORD DAILY TO BE ENCOURAGED! How blessed are we to be able to read HIS word! If you don't understand bits and pieces, don't lose heart. Just keep reading and the Holy Spirit will minister to you because HE is faithful to the faithful... 2 Samuel 22:26

Share

So often we are the embarrassed half drowned person on the beach. So why are we pretending we are well? Why do we sit there, pulling a lobster out of your suit while throwing up sea water, and telling everyone we are fine? WE ARE NOT FINE! We are dying inside! Lets start asking for help! Ask people for prayer! Tell people a wave just overtook you! Share with people your house is messy and you need some help cleaning up! God never made us to be on our own people!! HE made us to have partners. This is why HE made Eve for Adam, Sarah for Abraham, sons and daughters to be cared for and learn from their parents. HE created the family so they can take care of their elders. HE created tribes of people so they could live in groups and build their own communities and take care of one another. Yet here we are, on the beach, alone. Or we sit in our trashed house alone with a handful of uninvited house guests, and no strength left to throw them out. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." When we ask for help from a friend, we are partnering with a fellow believer, who will help us to watch out for those overwhelming waves and remind us to lock our back door so the enemy cannot sneak in.

Also, don't limit your friendships to merely a prayer life preserver. Start to dig deeper in your relationships. Seek out things to pray over specifically with friendship; being more candid about who you just let in your home....whether it be depression or sadness. Begin to rejoice together! Truly rejoice! Let your heart sing with gladness! Don' hide it and be reserved! Begin to create a community of friends around you who will support and encourage you, and you the same for them. Let us be who God intended us to be; passionate bond servants of Christ, overjoyed about life, friendships, and dedicated to a life of service and love in our community!

So...after this wave hits you, and you pray, read, and share, does this mean those pesky guests will pack up and go right away? Sometimes it is a process. We must get away from the feeling of sitting on the beach of life, hating every moment, and get ready to jump back in the water. There have been times this has taken longer than I wanted it to, but the truth of God's word has helped to encourage me and the Holy Spirit within gives us all we need to get up and try again. It has never been an easy process but God has always been faithful. I am happy to say that the little troll has never taken on a permanent residence on my chest. And I have been back in the water of life, catching the waves.

I encourage you today...draw closer to God. Ask HIM to handle all those impossibilities for you. Ask HIM to remove your unwanted house guests. Ask HIM to give you the courage to jump back in the water. HE is always waiting, with HIS hand held out to you...

Bless You!