Perseverance

I contemplated the past week or so, about my last blog on My R100 faith.

It made me think about how I really cope when the onslaught comes with one terrible ordeal or more bad news.

I cannot help but be reminded of my social media accounts that sometimes are flooded with little memes and generated messages doing the rounds with special bible verses on background pictures to bring a message of hope to those that might need it.

I have to be honest with myself and ask the question if I find it offers words of hope to the situation? Do I see the peace it offers? Or is it a temporary plaster for the ache and worry taking over my soul?

My thought for this week is not about the little messages. But rather how do we find peace and joy when negative reports pop up like weeds in a garden. What is our reaction to the collective of negative news that is never-ending? I will be honest some days it makes me feel as if I can run away to a deserted Island and forget there is a bad world out there.

You might remember the last couple of blogs around faith and when the paw-paw hit the fan with my broken car, faulty washing machine, and everything else that wanted to clonk in. I didn’t expand on the outcome of those events and what I had to do to brave this storm.

I love how God aligns and synchronizes the world around us to make the puzzle pieces fall into place. We have to absolutely be wakey-wakey when this happens otherwise we miss it. I’ll explain why a little later.

I fell into a depression and worried about my financial situation. For months things have worked out and although like everyone out there I also had to tighten the purse strings and my little nest egg soon started to grow lighter as the eggs in the basket started to be used to fill holes here and there. So when everything started to break I didn’t have much to fall back on.

I have always been a worry pot. Believe me when I say if I didn’t have anything to worry about I would look for something. Sleepless nights tossing and turning became the norm and it would come to the point that I would become physically ill and in pain as muscle spasms and headaches would take over.

It’s not a nice story to tell. It’s not nice to stand back and realize what nonsense I have put myself through by the inability to see my self-worth as a son of God. Because if I realize this fact, surely my daily bread would be provided for?

I just could not see it. I was so used to keeping the problems close and doing it in my own strength time and time again, that I could not see how I am cared for and provided for. I was blinded by the problems in front of me and did not step out of the situation to see the bigger picture. And yes there is always a bigger issue.

So the thunderstorm I faced, quickly put into practice the test of R100 faith which jumped into the added zeros kind of faith. To say I took it in my stride was an understatement. I started my Monday morning with a jive. Loaded with positive vibes to get the week going. But the start to this Vibe’y morning came to a screeching halt when my Faithful little Car just didn’t want to know anything about starting. My heart sank. Please Lord not now. Deep deep down, I knew this problem was going to cost a pretty packet but nevertheless, I prayed and hoped that this would be a R100 faith type of fix.

The whole week my car was at the workshop I started to question my ability to afford another car as the verdict stayed the same. They are struggling to repair it. With living on the coast, rust is an issue on vehicles. Mine was such a way that with the recent hard rain and floods we experienced, my computer boxes became waterlogged and in my female term “got fried like an egg”. The estimated cost of replacement was a couple of thousand Rands…. EACH! I have 3 computer boxes. Can you understand the reason behind my worry?

And to make this whole ordeal even worse, was that the mechanic said he might not be able to repair anything at all. They could not find the parts I needed and the possibility to fir me to have my car back was 0 to 1.

Staying calm and positive was hard work. I forgot my identity. I forgot that God has promised and proven a million times over to me that HE WILL PROVIDE.

As if the issues with my car weren’t enough Sunday I decided I might as well keep myself busy and started a bundle of washing. My heart dropped to the souls of my feet when the spinning cycle of my washing machine started to sound like a tractor that didn’t want to track anymore.

My mustard seed has now been mashed and is spread on the hotdog. Ready to be eaten and forgotten.

I just went to my room and crawled on His lap and sighed. “I really can’t do this anymore.”

I’m sure you can all relate.

How do you keep on persevering when the troubles keep coming? So how does this change? What do we need to do to have a breakthrough and see the provision rolling in? To have a carefree mindset with rising fuel and living costs and then silly things like washing machine pumps not wanting to pump anymore?

For one I would say become good at hitting that ball with a bat out of your court. It’s not your game to play. I had to realize that I can do absolutely nothing in my strength especially if I cannot even see or acknowledge my heritage?

I have to get out of that box I have created and see God, a loving Father ready and eager to let it go. The One who wants to hand you treasures unimaginable to you, the one He loves dearly.

If you look at perseverance you are contending for things that you desire. How do you make perseverance flow in a position of lack? Perseverance in times of abundance looks so much different. It’s easier. It is easy to aim for that one thing you need or desire and work towards it when you don’t have to struggle or feel you are walking with the whole earth on your back.

But when you find yourself in a difficult situation like the economic situation we are all facing you feel lost and you can’t see the next thing without a firm foundation of support like a full bank account and no worry in the world?

I had to step out of my blinded mindset and out of the box of problems that I have seen in front of me so that I can see the bigger picture. You need to envision the outcome you desire and create it the way God has by speaking it out. Believing it. Feeling it. Imagine how you feel when the call comes to say my car is fixed and the estimated price has dropped to R1250. Which is a whole lot of zeros less than anticipated. The further blessed news was that my washing machine is fixed and it will only be R950.

My testimony will be this. I saw what I had in my savings account. I voiced out loud that my car repairs will be under R1500 and my washing machine repairs won’t be more than R1000. And I saw myself paying those amounts. I saw how I would continue with life’s next roller ball and I envisioned how that feeling of relief would feel when I saw those 2 accounts paid. I believed it would be like this and I stirred my hope and faith and got excited. And so it ended well.

Can you see the outcome you need in the situation and see the good result happen before it has happened? Can you stir your excitement and faith when things look bleak? Can you see the power you carry with God in you?

Can you see the situation differently before the miracle happens?

Can you wholly put your trust and hope in Father?

I pray for relief in a situation but then I worry about how I will get it done? The contradicting behavior is so obvious.

We pray for an outcome but worry about how it will be achieved. See the result and aim for that. God doesn’t need your plans and interruption of worrying about how. He doesn’t ask your opinion on the matter because He is All good. All loving. And He doesn’t hesitate nor does He sleep where you are concerned.

I pray this takes hold and revives a little mustard seed of faith to move your mountain. After all, Jesus said that is all you need.