Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed?  Are there days where it seems like no matter how hard you try, you can’t ever keep up with it all, you don’t feel good enough and you wonder if you are really cut out for this??

I do sometimes… and I know I’m not the only one.  

Discouragement, fear and doubt are some of Satan’s favorite tools to use.  It doesn’t always take huge things to keep us from reaching our potential, all he needs to do is make us feel like we aren’t good enough, and cause us to give up on ourselves.  Often we end up helping him with his devious designs by the thoughts we think, the self-talk that runs through our minds throughout the day.  Sometimes we aren’t very kind to ourselves!

We are all painfully aware of our own weaknesses, and though we may have a vision of who we want to be, we get discouraged because our present self seems so far away from being who we long to be.  If we aren’t careful, we can come to the conclusion that we are a hopeless mess and be tempted to throw up our hands in defeat.

Even the great ones who came before us have thought these same things.  Moses and Enoch both doubted their ability to do what God asked, feeling that the people hated them and would laugh at them.  But God didn’t care what their weaknesses were, He had a work for them to do and would give them the strength and power to do it.  It is the same with us!

I know that when hard days come, there is always hope, there is always a way up and out of discouragement.  There is always peace in Christ.  I think it starts with slowing down and taking time to be still, spending time in sincere prayer and earnest scripture study, and standing in holy places.

When we take time to be still, we can feel the Spirit of the Lord and be filled with a sense of His great love for us and live in gratitude for the multitude of His blessings.  A feeling of renewed vision and purpose can come as we exercise faith in the Lord and learn to see ourselves as He sees us.  

I believe we are born with specific missions to fulfill and God has given us everything we need to fulfill the measure of our creations.  It is up to us to discover His will for us, choose that “better part,” (Luke 10:42) and move forward in faith, having confidence in His plans for us.

If we truly understand how precious we are in God’s sight, and how He would never give us more than we can handle (with His help), then we can have the courage to carry on through the hard days that come.  We can choose to be kind to ourselves, refusing to think negatively.  We can give ourselves the freedom to learn from mistakes, to grow and become who God knows we can become.  We can live with gratitude for God’s tender mercies.

These words have filled my soul with hope many times throughout my life:

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!” (Phil. 4:13)

This is the scripture that I repeat over and over to myself, on those days when I want to cry or when I wish that time could stand still to let me catch my breath. And every time I choose to look to the Lord and plead for His help, He always gives me the strength I need to fulfill the stewardships He has given me.  He helps me to have peace that through Him I can overcome my weaknesses and become who I want to be.

When I take time to be still and feel encircled in His love, I know that “all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9:14-24)  His light banishes the darkness of overwhelm, discouragement and fear.  Peace is possible through Christ.  Truly, “The Lord is my light, He is my joy and my song.  By day and by night, He leads me along!”

P.S. – I found an awesome blog post on the topic of discouragement and the fear of failure.  This post, written by Seth Ellsworth, illustrated perfectly that there really is no failure, there is only learning and growth for those who are honestly striving to become better.  I was reminded how important it is to be aware of my thoughts, for they are powerful in helping me to become who I want to be.  It is definitely worth reading and re-reading!