This is a guest post from Marina Abdel Malak – a FrAnthony.com guest post favorite. In her previous posts, Marina spoke about her battle with ANOREXIA NERVOSA and how God helped her overcome it. Now, thanks to God, Marina is preparing for a career in helping others overcome their illnesses in medical school. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
Ever had one of “those mornings”? Where you can just tell it’s going to be a tough day?
You know the drill: your alarm rings, and you realize that you haven’t really slept all night because you were thinking about the pile of things you have to do. As you drag yourself out of bed, you feel the heaviness of your exhausted body weighing you down. You get ready in a hurry, hopeful that you can avoid the morning rush – which, of course, you cannot.
Now you’re stuck in traffic, and you haven’t moved for the past ten minutes. Now you’re going to be late, your shoulders are aching, you forgot to pack your lunch, your head is pounding because you didn’t get a chance to stop for coffee, and your phone is constantly ringing with reminders for you to check. This day cannot possibly get more stressful…
But of course, it probably still does. Your coworkers tell you that your boss is in a bad mood today. Or your peers let you know that you have a test next week. Your mom texts you and tells you that she isn’t feeling well and is going to the doctor again, for the fifth time this week. You get an email reminding that you haven’t paid your bill yet, and it’s long overdue with an incredibly high interest fee. You are tired, hungry, in pain, annoyed, confused, exhausted, and overwhelmed.
Yes, those are some of our toughest, darkest days. It is so difficult to carry on, as every minute feels as though things are constantly getting worse. Naturally, you break down.
“God! Why is this happening? I am so tired. I am frustrated. I cannot do this. I need a break. I want to get away from all of this. I want for all of this to be taken away from me. Why aren’t you listening? Take it all away, please! God, why? I don’t have the strength to carry on, so why are You allowing this to continue?”
And then through all the tears, screams, and anger, there’s a voice trying to talk to you. A reminder that God is trying to instill in you.
My child. I am here. And I am listening, as always. Did you ever consider that all of these circumstances are happening for a reason that you don’t see? Everything is serving a purpose in My plan for you. But you must be patient. You will see how it will unfold. But I also want to teach you an important lesson. You don’t feel strong. I know that. I feel your pain, and I see you struggling. But why are you relying on your own strength? I am the Comforter. I will give you strength. But you are depending too much on yourself – I want to know that you need Me. My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
And suddenly, it hits home. For the past few weeks, you’ve been so caught up in life that you neglected to ask God for His strength. You were so focused on getting things done that you relied too heavily on yourself; you forgot to ask God to take control, to strengthen you with His amazing power. And that’s okay. We all fall into this trap. We become so entrapped in our worldly lives that we often forget that we are here to serve a purpose: to bring God glory in what we do.
He has given us each our lives as He deems fit, and He is in control. That’s one reason why we often feel weak, tired, and hopeless – we have simply forgotten to depend on Him. We have forgotten to ask Him to strengthen us. We have become reliant on ourselves, and we have lost sight of Him.
God gives strength to the weary, and power to the weak (Isaiah 40:29). He wants to help us. He wants us to enjoy our lives, to serve His name, to help others, and to have success. But we need to remember to trust in Him, to depend on Him, and to ask for His strength. We need to remember that we alone cannot do anything; all good things come from Christ. Even in our toughest moments, God uses things for the good. But we need to trust Him. To pray to Him. To depend on Him. To put all things in His hands – and not our own.
This is challenging. But prayer makes it a lot easier. Come to God in prayer and let Him know that you are struggling. That you realize you have been depending on yourself, and that you cannot do this on your own. That you need Him. And that you want Him to fill you with His never-ending peace, strength, and hope.
And God will not let you down. He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). He loves you so much, and He is watching over you at all times. You are inscribed in the palm of His hands – He will never forget about you, and He has the most amazing plan for you (Isaiah 49:16; Jeremiah 29: 11). All you need to do is ‘let go and let God’. Surrender to Him. And He’ll do the rest.
For discussion: Have you ever had one of those days when you feel weak and cannot carry on? Did you talk to God about it?