here's the thing when God has something for you no one can stop it no one not your past not your circumstances not the people who doubt you when God has a plan for your life it's already done it's already written and no matter how many obstacles you face no matter how many setbacks you encounter God's plan will prevail it was around 3:00 a.m. that time when most of the world is asleep but for some reason I found myself Wide Awake pacing the floor restless with thoughts swirling around in my mind I was frustrated burdened by
the weight of my life and the fact that I wasn't where I wanted to be something wasn't right I didn't feel like I was living up to my potential like I was was falling short of everything I believed I was capable of so I did what I knew best in moments like that I prayed I went out into the Stillness of the night alone with my thoughts in my heart and I started talking to God God I'm not where I want to be I began my voice almost a whisper in the silence why why am
I stuck why am I not moving forward like I thought I would what's holding me back I laid out everything that I believed had been holding me down I listed off every reason every excuse every piece of evidence that I could think of to explain why my life wasn't where I thought it should be I was looking for God to validate my feelings to give me some kind of affirmation that I had been dealt a difficult hand and that it wasn't my fault that I was stuck I wanted him to tell me that I had
been wronged that life had been unfair to me and that I had every right to feel frustrated and defeated but what I heard in response wasn't anything like what I expected in the quiet of that early morning I felt God's voice speak to my heart in a way that I hadn't heard before it wasn't harsh but it was firm and direct he said stop being a victim I froze that wasn't what I wanted to hear what do you mean a victim I asked almost incredulous it felt like a slap in the face because I had
never thought of myself as a victim I had always thought that I was just dealing with the cards life had handed me doing the best I could under the circumstances but those words Hit me hard you're grown now God said the decisions you make today are up to you you can't keep blaming your past for where you are now that was the turning point for for me it was like a light bulb went off in my mind I had spent so much time blaming my circumstances my past and other people for the fact that I
wasn't where I wanted to be I had told myself over and over again that my struggles were the result of things that were beyond my control things that had happened to me not things I had caused but in that moment God was showing me that the power to change my life was already in my hands I just hadn't been using it you see for years I had been living with a victim mentality I didn't even realize it at the time but that's exactly what it was I had been telling myself that my life was the
way it was because of the things that had happened to me because of the circumstances I was born into because of the things I couldn't control but God was telling me that I had more control than I realized he was telling me that if I wanted to change my life I needed to start taking responsibility for it that moment was a wakeup call and it changed everything for me I realized that if I wanted to see transformation in my life it had to start with me it wasn't going to come from anyone else it wasn't
going to come from my family from my friends or from my circumstances changing it had to come from within me I began to understand something that I had never fully grasped before real transformation doesn't come from the outside it doesn't come from waiting for someone else to fix your problems it doesn't come from hoping that your circumstances will suddenly change real transformation comes from within it comes from recognizing the power that God has already placed inside of you and deciding to use it the power to change your life isn't somewhere out there it's already inside
of you for so long i' had been focusing on all the things that were wrong in my life I had been zeroing in on every obstacle every setback every unfair situation that had held me back I had become so focused on what I couldn't control that I had forgotten about what I could control and what I could control was my mindset my attitude and my actions that's the thing about life it's not about what happens to you it's about how you respond to it there are always going to be things that are out of your
control there are always going to be circumstances that you didn't choose and that you didn't cause but what what you can control is how you respond to those circumstances what you can control is your perspective your attitude and the decisions you make moving forward too many of us give up too soon we pray once and when we don't get the answer we want right away we quit we throw in the towel because it didn't happen on our timeline but prayer is not a one-time transaction it's not something you do once and then walk away from
prayer is a journey a process that requires persistence in faith you see prayer is about more than just asking God for things it's about building a relationship with him it's about aligning your heart with his will and sometimes that alignment takes time sometimes the answer doesn't come right away because God is working something out in you first he's preparing you for what's coming and that preparation process takes time but too often we give up before we see the Breakthrough we pray for 5 minutes and when the situation doesn't change immediately we assume assume that God
isn't listening or worse that he doesn't care but let me tell you something God hears every prayer he knows the desires of your heart he knows what you need even before you ask but he also knows the right time to give it to you when you pray you're not just asking God to change your circumstances you're asking him to change you and sometimes that change takes time it takes persistence it takes Faith you have to be willing to stay in the fight to keep praying even when you don't see immediate results one of the biggest
mistakes we make is giving up too soon we expect instant answers instant gratification but that's not how Faith Works faith is about trusting God even when you can't see the outcome it's about believing that he is working on your behalf even when everything around you suggests otherwise let me ask you this how many times have you given up on a prayer because the answer didn't come as quickly as you wanted how many times have you thrown in the towel because the situation didn't change immediately how many times have you walked away from a dream because
the road was too hard too long or too uncertain if you want to see real change in your life you have to stay in the fight you have to keep praying keep believing keep trusting that God is working behind the scenes just because you don't see the answer yet doesn't mean it's not on the way we are all Spiritual Beings having a human experience and as Spiritual Beings we are going to face challenges that test our faith it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when there will be moments when everything seems to
fall apart when the road ahead looks impossible when your faith is shaken to its core but here's the thing it's in those moment moments of testing that your faith is strengthened it's in those moments of uncertainty that you learn to trust God in a deeper way anyone can have faith when things are going well anyone can believe when life is easy but real faith is forged in the fire of adversity real faith is built when you keep trusting God even when everything around you says to give up one of the most important lessons I've learned
is this my commitment to God to my dreams to my purpose has to go beyond how I feel in the moment it has to go beyond my circumstances my definition of commitment has always been staying true to what I said I would do long after the mood I set it in has left it's easy to make a commitment when you're feeling good when the energy is high when everything is going your way but what happens when the mood changes what happens when life throws you a curveball what happens when things don't go as planned that's
when you find out what you're really made of that's when you you discover the depth of your faith the strength of your commitment because anyone can stay committed when it's easy but the real test of commitment comes when things get hard the real test comes when You Face setbacks disappointments and failures I had to make a choice would I give up would I let this moment Define me or would I I stay true to who I was even if my circumstances had changed I could still stay true to my faith to my values to my
purpose whatever that purpose might be I began to realize something profound God's plan for my life was bigger than the setbacks disappointments and failures it was bigger than anything I could have imagined you see when one door closes it's not the end it's just the beginning of something new I didn't know it at the time but God was redirecting me he was taking me down a different path one that I couldn't see but one that was far greater than anything I had planned for myself that's the beauty of God's plan it's always bigger better and
more fulfilling than anything we could dream up on our own but it requires trust it requires faith it requires the willingness to let go of our own understanding and lean into his Proverbs 3 col5 says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding that's one of the hardest things to do because we want to understand we want to know why things happen the way they do we want to have control but faith is not about understanding it's about trusting it's about trusting that God knows what he's doing even
when we don't it's about believing that his plan is better than ours even when we can't see the full picture it's about letting go of our need to control the outcome and allowing God to lead us where he wants us to go Psalm 46:10 says be still and know that I am God but being still is one of the hardest things for us to do we live in a world that values movement action productivity we're always doing something always trying to fix things always trying to make things happen but sometimes the most powerful thing you
can do is be still being still doesn't mean doing nothing it means trusting that God is already at work even if you can't see it it means letting go of your need to control the situation and allowing God to move in his time think about Moses he was standing at the edge of the Red Sea with the Egyptian Army closing in behind him there was no way out it looked like the end but God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea and when he did the waters parted God made a way where
there was no way that's what happens when you trust God he makes a way where there seems to be no way he opens doors that no man can close he moves mountains that you thought were immovable but you have to be willing to trust him you have to be willing to let go of your own understanding and lean into his promises no matter how many obstacles you face no matter how many setbacks you encounter God's plan will prevail and no one can stop it no one
