Today I’m going to be giving a peptalk to every one of you whose life isn’t going the way you want it to.
First of all, I’m so sorry. Whatever is not working in your life right now, I’m just so sorry about it and if I could fix it for you, whoever you are and whatever it is, I would.
So here’s what we need to start with: first and foremost, God loves you and sees you and knows what’s best for you.
Then we need to move onto a moment of super honest self-reflection where you answer the questions: What is wrong in my life right now? What is the thing (or things) that you wish were different? Just say it outloud right now if you’re able or spend some time journaling through this.
Now, again with some super honesty: how are you feeling about the thing or things that are wrong or bad? Are you sad? Devastated? Angry? Bitter? Anxious? Frustrated? Confused? Exhausted? Overwhelmed? Sick? Bored? Lonely? Broke? All of the above or completely different feelings? Take a moment to say or write what you’re feeling.
Okay, so let’s say the hard truth first: life is not easy and life is not fair and right now a part or parts or all of your life might suck. (Again, I’m so sorry.)
And you might be heartbroken or resentful or filled with anxiety or perhaps in a depression.
You’re probably thinking, wow, you suck at pepalks, Elisabeth. Haven’t gotten to it yet, just hang with me. To change our lives we must first define and accept the reality of our lives, so that was part one.
Now onto the pep in this talk…
And we start with God because he is the beginning and the end and he is the center of our lives.
God loves you completely and he always has and he always will. You have never lived even one unloved moment.
God is with you always and he always has been and he always will be. You may feel alone, and I completely get that, but you are not actually ever alone. You have never lived even one alone moment.
God promises that you will see the goodness of the Lord in the of the living, which means in your lifetime while you’re, you know, alive, and he promises that though in this world you will have trouble and that you have an enemy who came to steal and destroy, he came to bring you peace and he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world and he came to give you abundant life and that he will withhold no God-ordained good thing from you.
God also promises that Christ is your actual peace and that Christ lives in you and that your hope is anchored to the throne that Christ sits on and that one day you will see him face to face and that he will wipe away every one of your tears and one day he will make all things new.
So you have hope for good things in your every single day and you have a huge capital H hope for what’s coming when we pass from this life to the next.
God promises that you are his precious creation and that he created you to do good things, so if you are alive (which I’ll assume you are because you’re reading this) that means you are here for a reason and he’s got something good for you to do for him today and every day you’re still around.
Also, so yeah, there are some things in this life, some circumstances, that you maybe have little to no control over, and that can absolutely suck, but there are so so many things that you have a say in, like how closely you walk with Jesus, how much you talk with him, how much time you spend letting his word transform you, how you take care of yourself physically like how much water you drink and how you move your body every day and the food you choose to eat, and how you take care of yourself emotionally, like if you see a counselor or how often you see your friends or taking the time to journal, and things like how you show up at work and do your best even if you don’t love your job and how kind you are to the people you see every day and how generous you are with your resources and what church you go to and how you choose to serve and the music and podcasts you listen to and the tv shows and movies you watch and you get the idea and the books you read and the courses you take…you have more agency over more of your life than it maybe feels like when you’re feeling discouraged.
So today, sweet one, what are you going to do today to get closer to God?, to make your life a little bit better?, to take a little bit better care of yourself?, to encourage someone else? These are your next steps, asking those questions, maybe making a little plan or a short list, asking God for what he wants you to do next.
And remember, if you’re stuck, you and I can talk or even email. Or you can take one of my mini-e-courses. You’re not alone and there are always next steps you can take to get unstuck.
resources:
fill out this coaching survey and I’ll respond with a custom coaching proposal: bit.ly/how-is-your-life-working
betterhelp therapists: https://www.betterhelp.com/
Relationships 201: https://elisabethklein.com/product/relationships-201
Marriage Methods e-course: https://bit.ly/marriage-methods-pwyc
Heartbreak to Hope e-course: https://bit.ly/Heartbreak-to-Hope-pwyc
WholeHearted Project: https://elisabethklein.com/product/the-wholehearted-project
free guided meditations: https://elisabethklein.com/guided-meditations/
Daily Wholeness Checklist: https://elisabethklein.com/happiness-checklist-1/
Top 10 Tips for Taking Care of You: https://elisabethklein.com/top-ten-tips/
