I used to like riding roller coasters. The thrill of the unexpected turn. The feel of your stomach as you plummet downhill at unimaginable speeds. The way your first thought because the ride screeches to a halt is, ‘Let’s do this again!’
Roller coasters was once my friend. But we’re not on great terms anymore. My back hurts after the ride. My anxiety shoots through the roof on those turns. And quite frankly, my bladder isn’t what it was once!
It’s not only my body, though. Roller coasters have just lost their thrill for me. I don’t like being uncontrolled, and if there’s one thing you may have zero of on a roller coaster, it’s control. The ride has all of the control; all you may do is hold on for dear life.
The older I get, the more I feel like life is like one big, never-ending roller coaster. The turns you never expected. The dips and drops you may have never predicted. Upside down and throughout, life leaves you stressed and anxious, often feeling as if you may never get yourself together.
The good and bad news with this scenario is that it’s true: life can often feel uncontrolled. But we don’t should let that out-of-control life control us. Yes, we would like to have control. Yes, we would like to know what’s coming. But we are able to’t. Here’s the thing—we are able to’t control the roller coaster’s speed or where it’s headed next, but we can control where our eyes are fixed as we ride. We can control our response to the roller coaster of life.
We can fix our eyes on our good Father who goes before us, and we don’t have to fear. We can fix our eyes on the God who leads us into righteousness and restores our souls. We can fix our eyes on His truths, follow His Word, take heed to the Spirit, grab His hand, and keep walking on together.
A helpful tool in getting it together even when life seems like one big out-of-control roller coaster is to look at your current realities. On top of a tough life, we regularly go searching at everyone else’s life, wondering how they will seemingly have all of it together. We wonder how they always remember to ascertain on their friend in a crisis. We wonder how they appear to drink water all day, count their macros, and get in those 10k steps a day while we’re still trying to seek out the expensive water bottle we purchased in hopes of getting in all of the water we want. We wonder how they may be on every field trip when we are able to barely remember to send in the cash for the sphere trip. We wonder how they finish every Bible study and skim every latest book on faith while we’re doing well to get through a every day devotion before the children turn the home the other way up.
The truth is, we have a look at other people’s lives and compare them to our own, which isn’t fair and doesn’t even make sense—because we’re living completely different lives! The reason that your friend can go on all the sphere trips is because she is a stay-at-home parent, and her schedule allows it. The reason that your friend gets all her steps in, drinks all of the water, and counts all her food macros is because she works with a private trainer who helps her with these systems. The reason your friend has so many journals gathered is because that’s a way that she connects to God, and albeit, it’s different than the way you connect with God.
Comparing our lives to everyone else leaves us feeling empty and uncontrolled. Something inside us cries, “Why can’t I get it together?” But we don’t should keep getting whipped around on that ride. When we acknowledge and assess our current realities (and likewise make a plan to reevaluate them continually as they modify over time), we’re getting it together. Getting it together is a continuing process, and just like every other process, the more you do it, the higher you get—and the more you trust God and take heed to His Spirit in the method!
To understand and assess your current reality, step off the roller coaster and take into consideration where God has you right away. A helpful tool is the word PONDER. Think through your:
Past and present hurts – I’m hurting from …
Obligations – I said that I might …
Needs – I want _____ for my health
Desires – I need to do/be …
Expectations – I should …
Responsibilities – I even have to …
Examining the six areas of life that make up your current reality changes the whole lot about the way you ride this roller coaster of life. There are seasons in life where your responsibilities are heavier and take up more room in your life. There are also seasons where your obligations have to be thinned out. What are all of the things you may have said “yes” to? Can you remove any of those out of your plate to assist your life feel more manageable? Can you make more room for the things God has called you to or gifted you to do?
Getting it together is having the precise response to your current reality. Where you’re isn’t a mistake. The people and circumstances that surround you didn’t just materialize. God has a stupendous plan and a purpose for you in your current reality. But with a purpose to see this, it’s essential to have a very good understanding of what makes up your every day life. Our realities are so complex because we’re complex people. Some of those areas feel heavier than others in your current season of life. The roller coaster accelerates and slows down. As you grow and alter and move through different seasons of life, understanding your latest reality can be necessary so you may respond rightly to the brand new reality God has for you.
Your current circumstances are uniquely yours and possibly vastly different from mine. That’s why it’s necessary to know what your life looks like today. And remember, as you zoom forward on the roller coaster of life, don’t go searching at everyone else to choose the way you’re supposed to have your life together. Our circumstances are different, but our God is identical. Fix your eyes straight ahead on Him, the Maker and Creator of you and your story, and trust Him together with your ride.
‘Why Can’t I Get it Together,’ by Jamie Ivey.
Photo Credit: Photos for promotion/Jamie Ivey/ Used with permission.
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Have you ever chosen a word for the 12 months? Whether you choose a word every year or never have before, I feel this episode will enable you to order your life within the 12 months to come back. If you do not know what your word is, today is perhaps an amazing day so that you can hear among the things that we’re promised in Christ that you just in faith can claim for yourself for 2024. Keep in mind, each of those words requires faith.
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and don’t necessarily reflect the views or positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.
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