Our light at the end of the tunnel...

Ever notice how much we tend to focus on the negative? We find ourselves in one of the many dark tunnels of life and we tend to think "This is it! There is no way out..." 

Except there is… There is God!

We often fail to realize that God is our light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather, He is more like the flash light that guides us through, shows us the path towards the exit to a happier well lit place. And getting there is easy... All we have to do is stop focusing on the darkness that surrounds us. Easier said than done, right? WRONG! 

Here is what I have learned, it’s my secret that I am sharing with you all...Ready? 
It is ALL in your mind. Perception is a powerful thing. All things in life are as bad [or as good] as we perceive them to be. We have options. We are free to think outside the box. And if you choose to believe that God will see you through the darkness, then see you through the darkness He will. And you know what? He sees you through even when you don’t believe He will. 
The problem is, you were too busy, panicking to realize He was there all along. 


How do I know this?


Once upon a time, I was the queen of panic. It was my trademark. I panicked first, cried second and then went into “solution mode” third. What I never did was say “Oh! Ok. Well I’m sure God already has a solution to the problem and I just need to wait faithfully and pray that He shows me His way.” 
Those were the words that in those days, never, not once, came out of my mouth. 
Those were sad days for me. I would focus so much in the darkness that I allowed the enemy to suck the joy out of the most joyful events [i.e. daughter’s pregnancy] where I was so focused on all that ‘would go wrong’ or ‘could go wrong’ and even the ever annoying and yet so classic ‘how are we going to afford it’ that I failed the see the greatness that was in front of me. 

So now… because I have chosen to change my focus from the darkness to God and my perspective has changed I am able to handle things differently. 

It’s been a reprogramming process [that didn’t take very long at all] because our mind has a tendency to believe the negative much easier than the positive, and in God all things are good and positive. And the best part of it all is that it doesn’t require insane amounts of work, it’s not a painful process. 

God wants so much to be with you and see you through the good and the bad times that, all you really have to do is let Him. Spend time with Him like you would any friend. Put on some worship music and just talk to Him, tell Him about your hopes and dreams and your obstacles along the way [which He already knows, He just wants to build a relationship with you] and then hand them over to Him [yes, your hopes, dreams, obstacles and all]. 
Thank Him for all that He has given you and all that He has not [because he always has a better plan for you than you have for yourself]. 
Don’t take anything for granted. I am thankful for even my ability to get up in the morning and drive my kids to school. What was once such a tiresome & tedious task is now something that I can honestly find joy in. I play worship music and listen to the kids sing along and I find joy in that [because they are my focus instead of the fact that we are late or there is traffic].

The enemy uses the negativity around us to bring us down, and whether or not he accomplishes it, it’s a matter of whether or not you allow him to, by which perspective you use when looking at the situation.

The days that I allow life to get too busy for me to spend time w God, worship in the car or while I am sitting home alone, are the days when I find that I am irritable, impatient and tired. But when I remind myself that He is with me and that it is by His grace and His strength that I do everything… Nothing brings me down because I am the daughter of a mighty Father who lives to see me happy and wants to guide me through it all, much like we wish we could do for our own children. 

It’s a lot to process, I know. But before I go, I want to leave you with these words to think over...

Psalms 139:7-18 [NIV]

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you. "