Escaping Struggles

The other day I was wrestling with negative emotions and wanting to escape them (Sharing My Heart).  I wanted to do whatever I could to feel normal or better yet, happy.  I tried doing a lot of the things that typically work for me, but was left feeling stuck.

As I finished my last blog and then began a conversation with a friend, God brought the verse below to my mind.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.  James 1:2-4  The Message

I had never thought that my attempts to alleviate my feelings could be trying to get out of something prematurely.  I simply believed that my feelings were wrong and I needed to fix them.  The thoughts that I was wrestling with were making me feel bad and I should try to avoid that at all cost, right?

I think, in general, it's good to not dwell on things that affect our attitude and to try to change our focus.  I have been trying to memorize God's words to help fill my mind with positive and encouraging thoughts.  

But even that didn't change how I was feeling.

I believe very much now, after all that has happened on that day and the days that followed that God had a strong purpose in not alleviating my bad feelings.  I needed to stop trying to do something to escape the feelings, I just needed to let them be and let this situation "do its work" in me and as you will see in my upcoming post, in others.

While the thoughts and feelings were still there, I had a lot of peace after this.  I didn't feel bad that I couldn't change my feelings.  

And what happened next was something that I would have never predicted, not even thought to ask for.   That's just like God to work that way, isn't it?

I don't want to share what happened next quite yet, because I think it's important to take time to think about how this might fit in your life.  Are there struggles you are trying to escape that just won't go away?  It might be time to stop trying to get out of the situation prematurely.  You have no idea what God may want to do through it.