How to stay encouraged when life feels stagnant

Soul Food

Feb 14

There are days when life feels stagnant and I don't feel like I'm making progress.

As a recovering perfectionist being saved by God's grace, I tend to see more flaws than goodness in myself especially when the transactions of my heart are unveiled before God and I get a glimpse.

Like Paul I want to scream, ‘Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?’

Sometimes, I want to throw in the towel because I doubt my soul can ever be pure like Jesus.

I see the heart of Christ and mine and it feels so far and impossible.

I don't feel like I've gone so far in my spiritual growth.

On some days, it feels as if my obedience to God is nothing and I might as well be pouring grain of sand into an endless ocean.

While it is certain that we all have flaws as humans, we must be cautious about focusing too much on our flaws and sink into depression.

Although we aren’t to live in denial about the kind of humans we are (work-in-progress), we mustn’t boast about our flaws either.

Perhaps you might not feel like there is anything worth celebrating physically but there’s so much more than you know.

When life feels stagnant, take time to reflect

Some seasons tend to last longer than others and because of this, it’s easy to feel stagnant.

It’s easy to feel left behind by God.

I opened an old journal of mine where I was going through a tough season and found where I’d penned,

‘I cried today. Because I felt God has forgotten me’

I was overwhelmed by my pain because so many things were happening in my life at the time.

From unanswered prayers, battling external and internal excruciating pain that I kept trusting God for healing and confusion about my seasons, God’s pruning and chastisement made me feel like I had hallucinated about God’s love years ago

This is where we have to reflect on God’s goodness and His love on the cross.

The evidence of God’s love doesn’t depend on him giving us things or not giving us things.

Forget how the world makes you feel.

Scripture tells us God’s love is based on the cross. That he thought filthy wretched humans like us were worth loving and dying for.

My mother could sacrifice a kidney for me, but God sacrificed his Son because He decided my eternal soul was worth saving every single day.

God invested His blood, Spirit, and Life in us. Common men like us!

We must take time to reflect on this and be grateful for this.

Reflecting enables us to be intentional about God's goodness even when nothing looks good around us.

God’s love is shown when he chastises us and not necessarily when he gives us things.

It is a sign that He desires to wean us from childhood to adulthood.

From babyhood to childhood into Sonship.

The fact that he sees the ungodly traits in us and desires to seperate us so we can be purified is amazing love.

He wants us to be so pure like Christ so he can see HIS reflection in us.

It cannot get better than this.

Pray for more sight to see

The more you draw closer to God, it’s only natural to keep seeing your shortcomings.

Anyone who keeps living in denial and doesn’t see his flaws is definitely NOT growing.

Why?

You cannot draw close to the Father of Lights and remain the same or live in denial.

You cannot see the King of the Universe and still regard yourself as something. He begins to get so Big in your life while you grow smaller.

Rejoice beloved! You are growing!

In the Bibe, the closer Paul got to God, the less of himself he saw.

As we grow closer to God, we begin to see how weak we are and how much of his mercy and grace we need to survive.

This should not make you withdraw but make you run your race into Christlikeness.

God needs you to be like Christ so that the Godhead can dwell in you forever.-John 14:23

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him
john 14:23

As we grow spiritually, we begin to understand the primary goal of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s goal is to keep purifying and sanctifying us until He has a permanent abode for God the Father.

And we become pure as we keep obeying God’s will.

Remember to take life at your pace and God’s timing

You’re not the same person you were yesterday.

Or last month or last year. Even if you don't feel like it.

Maybe the earth didn’t move under your feet, perhaps you didn’t get that dream job, or have enough funds to travel to that country, or you’re still unmarried and there aren’t any significant changes in your life you can point to.

The world judges this way because ‘believing is seeing’ for them, but as Christians we don’t judge our progress by the external.

We judge our progress based on how much of godliness we are becoming from within.

So focus on the changes in your soul.

What mistakes did you make last year or last week?

Are you planning to get better?

Don’t give up. You can read up on my failure post here.

Keep seeking God above your needs

Are you trusting God to help you love more, forgive more and grow more from within?

Are you seeking God to help you become like Jesus one day at a time?

Focus on your spiritual growth and everything else will work align with time.

When your soul keeps aligning with God's standards, it only takes a little time for your external to catch up.

You will just feel at peace regardless of the things happening around you.

When others are striving, you'll see yourself blooming in the promises of God.

Because those who put their trust in God are not moved by their external circumstances.

And they bear fruit regardless of the seasons.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit
Jeremiah 17:7-8