Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop!
“Oh my brother, don’t give up. You just keep on hanging on. Be strong.”
You make a plan, you write it out, make a vision board about it, put it on your calendar in faith, pin it to your wall, get all the details and specifics about it, pray about it… I mean, you do EVERYTHING RIGHT. But then… you begin to execute, or go after it like you said you would, and it seems like it’s falling out from underneath of you.
But God, what about my goal?! I thought we had a plan!
So first thing’s first… breathe. I know how frustrating and downright scary it can be to think that the plans you so carefully thought about and prayed about may not come to pass, or the date you had set in your mind has come and gone, but that does not mean it will never happen! I had a whole plan laid out for this year (as I’m sure a million people had), but then this pandemic hit the world and everything began to go downhill and my motivation went right with it. I became frustrated, I cried and asked God why every time I make a plan to get better, something out of my control jumps in my face and I end up not being able to do anything? The plans that I made were for the end of this year, but I had to have hit a certain goal before I would be comfortable enough to carry them out. One major part of that was the business that I had finally had the opportunity to jump back into - real estate. I am currently a licensed Maryland agent, and had so many plans of what I was going to do and how I was going to get my business booming. Even though I had just had a baby (the end of December 2019), I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me like it did last time. No excuses! Then… quarantine. Really? All of my plans seemed to be trash. I cried, asked God why he keeps doing this to me, and even snatched the paper off my board which held my 5 year plan and tossed it in the trash. I mean, I was CRUSHED. I can just imagine God sitting back like, “when you’re done with your tantrum, let’s talk.” Kind of how I do with my children.
It can be terribly difficult to see God in the middle of any situation that looks like all hell is breaking loose, or it’s never gonna work out, or plans are trashed, but I promise you he’s there. One thing I have had to learn to do in the middle of all of this is trust Him… COMPLETELY. I trust him with my life and my family’s lives, but do I trust him to do what he knows how to do, and that’s BE GOD? Why must I give up on the plans I established - and thought were great - just because things are starting to flip? Why would you abort your own mission? I had prayed about those plans and really thought I walked through the whole thing with God… so if that’s the case, then why don’t I trust that he will make it happen for me? Why don’t you trust that he can and will make it happen for you? Maybe the way you (and I) envisioned for it to happen will change, but can God still satisfy your heart if you let him? ABSOLUTELY. But that’s the kicker: you have to let him. Meaning, you just might have to let go of what you thought things were gonna look like, or how you thought they were gonna go, and realize that even if he shakes everything up, it’s for your good and you won’t be disappointed. That’s where I have to learn to trust him the most.
Don’t quit on your ideas, your plans, your dreams or goals simply because things are being shaken up right now. Even if the time has come and passed, don’t look at it like a loss, expect that God is going to allow your mind to be blown and your heart protected right in the middle of the shake. It WILL happen for you! If it’s in God’s will, if he sees your heart is in it and it’s in the right place, if it’s good for you, if it’s your [pure] heart’s desire, if you’ve prayed about it, if you’ve fasted, written it out to make it plain, spoke nothing but positivity and put faith into the atmosphere and in action, then DON’T WORRY! I’m not saying you have to do all of these things before God says yes, I’m saying, if you believe, then let God be who he says he is and do what he says he will do. He’s got you! Even in the midst of this chaos, he sees YOU. Stay focused! Maybe you needed a new strategy, maybe you needed to see how strong you are or how resourceful you are when things look like they’re going down. Maybe you needed a test of faith and/or trust in God. Maybe you needed a good ole kick in the pants! I don’t know what it is, but I do know that when we come out of this, we need to be ready to GO!! No holding back, we’re chasing after dreams like never before!
Are you ready?!?
Don’t erase your dreams, give up on your goals or toss your plans [like I did…smh], just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t quit. Don’t give up on God. He will accomplish everything that concerns you! [Psalms 138:8]
#MorningCoffee
