Getting Over The Big Things

One of the things that trips us up the most as Christians is the ability to move past the things we love that aren't good for us. Often, we realise what is holding back our growth LONG before we actually let it go.  Knowing that something isn't good for us doesn't automatically mean that we are able to let go of it.  It could be a bad relationship, or maybe a friendship that drains you or a job that's sucking the life out of you or a shopping addiction that's killing your finances. It could be anything. Sometimes we just need to make a strategy and take practical steps to get over certain things. 

I've found the following steps to work for me. 

1. Set a deadline  - give yourself a date after which you will no longer allow yourself to pine over what you're about to lose.  Ensure that is realistic or else when the date comes and goes and you're not over your problem you'll find yourself becoming depressed. 
2. Write it down - a visual reminder Sometimes it's all that we need to get over certain things.  If your space is private enough consider putting it on your mirror as a daily reminder.
3. List all the reasons that whatever is it you are trying to get over is not good for you.  Making an actual list will sometimes give  you that jolt you needed to move on. Reality will hit and you will have a stronger mental resolve as a result. 
4. Let it go a little bit at a time.  Cold turkey works for some things.  Other things need to be changed over time.  Break down your problem into parts.  Set mini deadlines for dealing with each part.
5. Pray, pray, pray.  This should come first, in the middle and last.  In other words,  pray the entire time.  Pray for God's wisdom, strength, clarity of thought and focus because you will need it.  You might even consider a fast too.  A fast will  help teach you some self control, this may help prevent you from going back to what you've left behind.

I do hope that these steps will help you leave the weights behind and launch into God's purpose for your life.  Have a blessed day. 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

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Joana James - Author 

All of Joana's books may be seen here. 

All things work TOGETHER for our Good

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

This Bible verse takes a lot of abuse. We misquote it a lot and one variation that I hear often is "all things work out for good". This is what causes a lot of people to doubt its validity. This misquote causes us to expect every situation to work out in our favour. When it doesn't, we blame and doubt God.

What this scripture is really saying is that no matter how many difficult situations you may face, in the end God's plan is that all the tiny pieces of the puzzle will come together and the big picture will be something great.

You see each situation has a purpose in our lives; and it's not to frustrate us, but to mold us for the future. Our reaction to each one is important because it determines whether we are ready for the next stage in our process. God never promised that we'd have stress free lives but He did promise that He would always have our backs (Hebrews 13:5b).

Remember that in the end all these tiny situations that cause us headaches will come together and work out in our favour. It's always at the end of the puzzle that we realize what each piece was for. The same thing goes for life. You will realize how each situation or struggle has come together for your good at the end when you look back and marvel at how God worked it out.

Till then, keep on trusting God. Know that He is busy putting your puzzle together and it WILL work out according to His plan if your trust him and do what He asks.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

When God doesn't make sense

If you've been a Christian for a while you'll know that there are times when what God does makes absolutely no sense to you. Even if you've been a Christian for only a short time, most of the time you'll be at a loss trying to understand how the wide range of things that happen to you on a daily basis are supposed to fit together and work out for good.

So what do you do when God simply makes no sense to you? Trust Him. Simple answer right. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not the one that you want. You probably thought I was going to say something wonderful and profound and give you a kick-start on your week right? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

For the myriad of times that God will make no sense to you, you simply have to trust. You have to learn to trust that He has the Big Picture and He knows what's best.

So here I am preaching to myself 'cause right now, God makes absolutely no sense to me. What He's doing is driving me up the wall and if I let it, it may just drive me away from Him. I have a lot of questions that are going unanswered. I also have a lot of requests that seem to be ignored. Sigh. So now what?

Trust.

It's an issue that comes up over and over in my walk with God because in general as an individual, I have trust issues. I also have control issues, I wanna be in control of my life at all times. That's not good. Not for a Christian so it's safe to say that God and I are almost always in a tug-of-war. He wants my problems so He can solve them, but I keep taking them back because His way doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Trust.

That's all it takes really. Trust. Trusting that God knows what He's doing and that things will work out in the end. Trusting that God has your best interest at heart. Trusting that all the little pieces of the puzzle will come together nicely and will create a great big picture that makes perfect sense.

Ah Trust. Five letters that feel like five mountains that need to be moved. (Faith moves mountains right? But that's a whole other sermon)

At the end of the day, when God makes no sense, when the things he does seem like they're meant to hurt us, not help us, when He is silent and when it seems like He is doing nothing, remember to trust. He's still in control and always will be. Trust. Trust that He knows what He's doing and He's doing it in our favour. Trust that His way is perfect and complete.

Trust.

Now it's time to follow my own advice. (You should too).

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

The Big Picture

As mere humans, we never really have a total picture of what's happening in our lives. Each circumstance or situation seems unique until God opens our eyes and allows us to see the real deal, the whole picture that encompasses each puzzle piece that we used to see in isolation.


In September last year, I wrote a post titled "When God's desires become yours". Back then, I asked God for a very specific thing, and He said no. I was disappointed, but I chose to trust him. Six months later, I figured out why he said no. The Big Picture.  You see the thing I wanted so badly turned out to be rather unattractive at the end of the day. Now, it repulses me. Guess what? God knew that.

We humans are pretty myopic. Fancy glitter and glamour confuses us and blinds us to the truth about the situations around us. We are ALWAYS making decisions without all the information simply because we can never, ever know everything. That's why trusting God when He says no makes so much sense. He has the big picture and He knows everything about everything. Would you rather rely on your limited information like I was doing or would you go with God's choice for you, knowing that He knows what will change in six months time.

It may be hard to accept a "no" answer from God but remember that He is the one making the informed decision, not us. I'm ecstatic now, realising that He saved me from another disastrous situation. Had I ignored Him and gone ahead on my own, I'd be nursing some severe wounds right about now just like I had to in the past. I'm pretty sure that you have had some of those situations. We humans like to be in control of our own destiny but here's a bit of a newsflash. We are NEVER in control of our own destiny. If God is not controlling it, then the devil is. Not us. We are not our own masters, no matter how much in control we think we are. If God is not guarding and guiding us, then the devil is bound to be manipulating us for his own pleasure. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have my destiny driven by someone with my best interest at heart.

I challenge you today to accept that last "no" you received from God. I guarantee that maybe a few weeks, months or even years from now, all the pieces of the puzzle will come together and you will realise that you were being protected from your own desires. Trust God with your Future, He's the only one who knows what it really looks like.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo