This week reminded me that even strong faith can coexist with heavy emotions - and I want to share why.
To be honest, deciding what to write about for this post has been too hard. Maybe it's because I think I always need to have something to write about, or maybe it's because I'm thinking too hard about what to write about. Whatever reason it may be, the truth is, this past week has been mentally tough. It's not easy to write about encouragement when you yourself are struggling with hope and faith.
Whenever I start to feel my body cave into anxiousness, worry and sadness soon follow. Who wants to feel anxious? Absolutely no one who has actually dealt with it before. Soon after it begins, worry follows, because the anxiousness must mean I am not trusting in the Lord in the way I should - right? I want to be God's most faithful servant. I want to always trust in Him, I want to never worry.
"Jesus wept too."
Three words Pinterest reminded me of.
When Jesus was crying with Mary as they were walking to her and Martha's recently deceased brother, He knew that He was about to raise their brother from the dead - yet He still wept with them. Did that mean He didn't have faith? That He wasn't trusting? Not at all. He knew Mary and Martha were about to rejoice. Yet He saw their grief, along with the grief of others, and He had compassion on them and began to weep.
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "“Where have you laid him?”" he asked."
“"Come and see, Lord,"” they replied.
"Jesus wept." John 11:33-35
What does this say for me?
It says that it's okay for the weight and sadness of this world to catch up to you every now and then. It doesn't mean you have no faith - maybe it just means you're human.
When my body and mind feel overwhelmed, I want to remember that with one breath, my God can shake the world. Nothing is big for Him. Meaning - anxiousness has nothing on my God.
For me, I have realized with the instinct to wonder what 'I' need to do next, what if the answer is in fact nothing? Instead, it's my God who conquers all and who has already defeated death.
Deuteronomy 20:24: "Our God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."