How good does your life look on the outside, and how increasingly empty is it feeling on the inside?Do you feel stagnant in life, having lost your passion and energy?Are you an all-or-nothing type of person, and lately it’s been more nothing?Have you been so busy just living that you’ve forgotten to be ALIVE?Have the tasks and chores and the things on your to-do-list overshadowed the sheer fact that you woke up to the greatest gift today? The gift of a new day of life.

So the challenge is to find balance. To be living and be fully ALIVE. To be productive while being grateful. To care as much about your zest for life as the appearance of your life.

It’s easy to lose our balance, in fact I would venture to say it’s darn hard to maintain our balance. When life is out of balance, we quickly experience burn out. Hey sister, if you can’t find joy on the journey to your goals, you’ll likely never make it. And if you do, you’re going to be miserable and how long will you be able to force yourself to continue on in misery?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my happiness for a goal weight. I’m not willing to be miserable for the next 11 months to achieve anything. I’m not willing to skip out on living now to become someone I think I want to be next.

And here’s the great news … we don’t have to! We can achieve our goals, we can become more than we ever imagined, we can walk in the fullness of life like never before, and we can do it all without misery.

What’s the secret?

BALANCE.

Most of us are either too focused on work and forget the play, or we’re all about the play and the work doesn’t get done. Which one are you?

Do you recognize how this imbalance is not serving you? Do you agree that becoming your best will require both work and fun? What good are the size 8 jeans, the $20,000 in savings, and the clean house if you forget to be ALIVE? You can’t just go through the motions here. You gotta throw your whole body into this thing.

Many of us are walking around feeling stagnant. Our lives on the outside are beautiful, picture perfect, you may even have all the things you once prayed for – but inside we’ve lost our passion and energy for more. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had women come to me and say, “my life is really good, I just can’t figure out why I’m still not happy.”

For my girls here at the retreat with me, life has been ridiculously good together the past 5 days, right? We’ve lived big, we’ve created memories that will last a lifetime. We’ve done things we’ve never done before. We’ve breathed in life. We’ve laughed and cried and had tremendous breakthroughs. And today, you go home. You go home to a home that hasn’t changed. You go home to a family that is still the same. This energy and zest you have within you today will be met with a reality threatening to suck the life out of you. Plus you carry home a bag full of dirty clothes, no chef to cook for you, and quite possibly crappy weather.

How will you protect this feeling you have inside right now when it comes crashing into your real life that hasn’t experienced the same?

For everyone that’s at home, everyone that hasn’t had an adventure in a long time, everyone that wakes up to the same boring reality on a merry go round that lost it’s merry a long time ago, let me say this … it doesn’t have to be this way. If life is boring, you’ve just gotten busy living and forgotten to be ALIVE.

There may be things you have done before that simply have no place in your life now. There may be old thought patterns that served to protect you back then, but honey, they gotta go now because they’re really limiting your ability to step into the big, beautiful, overflowing plans God has for your life.

You were created with the unique ability to learn, grow and change. Unlike other creatures, you have been given the divine right to abandon that which is no longer beneficial, and do something totally new. And you can do that today. Now, let me give you 6 words of pure power to speak in the face of every single bad habit, negative tendency, or hurtful pattern you’ve got going on in your life.

I DON’T DO THAT ANY MORE.

I don’t need to justify it. I don’t need to examine or explain it. I’ve just decided I don’t do that any more.

It sounds like this:

I used to give up at the first sign of struggle, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to drink to cope, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to jump into relationships to avoid being alone, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to make impulsive decisions, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to say the meanest things to my own self, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to believe the whispers of the enemy that tell me I’m not enough, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to play little over fear of rejection, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to over-commit and completely exhaust myself, but I don’t do that any more.

I used to fret and worry, but I don’t do that any more.

I SIMPLY DON’T DO THAT ANY MORE.

Why?

Romans 12:2 – I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind.

When you decide you don’t do what you used to do, your life begins the process of transformation. That simple decision allows healing to begin, chains to be broken, patterns to be changed, and a totally new path to be formed. That path leads to the abundance of the life your Creator always envisioned for you. The life he so desperately hoped you would choose.

Honey, it always starts in your mind. When your mind is renewed, you change. When you change, things start changing.

Do you know the definition of insanity? It’s doing the same thing, expecting different results. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will certainly keep getting what you’ve been getting. It would be crazy to assume anything different would come from the same patterns.

Yet, that’s exactly the thought process the enemy tries to keep you stuck in. Keep thinking these same thoughts, and lose another piece of your soul as absolutely nothing changes. Keep doing these same things, believing one day it will all be different for you, then dwell in sheer disappointment when the same old stuff you’ve been running from chases you into every tomorrow.

At some point, you have to stand up as the chosen daughter of the King and say, I DON’T DO THAT ANY MORE! Reclaim your mental space, reclaim your daily choices, reclaim your dreams and desires, and stop letting them be bombarded with the ploys of the devil.

YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH.

YOU ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE.

YOU CAN FINISH WHAT YOU START.

YOU ARE DESERVING OF GOOD THINGS.

Why does God allow our struggle? Why does he watch from above, knowing we’re about to face a problem, and not unleash his power to prevent it?

The struggle you’re in right now could have been avoided. The problem you’re dealing with today could have been solved before it ever got to your doorstep. You could be blissfully unaware of every hardship that was ever headed your way, because God COULD have blocked it all. But he didn’t. Why not?

Why wouldn’t he use his power to make everything peaceful in your life? Why wouldn’t he block what has caused you pain? Why wouldn’t he clear every obstacle so you could just move forward with ease?

If he can, then why doesn’t he?

If you’re new to this faith thing, or if you’re smack dab in the middle of a mess you wish you could have been spared from, you might be wondering why God withholds his power and chooses not to stop struggle and allows life to hit so hard sometimes. It’s a fair question. In fact, it may even be a question that has held you back from a fully surrendered life to God, because deep down you don’t trust his goodness to be good for you.

Think about this … while God sits above with a higher perspective on everything we encounter, he not only sees what has been and what is, he sees what will be. He knows how this story ends. He knows of the victory before the battle even begins. He knows of the breakthrough before the breakdown. He knows of the healing before the first hurt. He knows of the growth before the pruning. He knows of the future beauty before the ashes.

But he sees much more than that. He not only sees the realm of time from beginning to end, but he sees what is within. He knows exactly what he put inside of you. And God, in all of his wisdom, knows what is inside of you must be under pressure to come out.

A diamond is simply a piece of coal that has been made good under pressure. Who did that? That was God. God’s design decided the same carbon that would form the dull and black coal, would create valuable clear jewels within the earth’s mantle under extreme pressure and heat. Same material, different environment, over millions of years.

So what could he be doing with you and the pressure you’re under? Oh girl, he could be revealing what he designed you for! He could be making you more valuable than you ever imagined. He could be using all he put within you to totally transform your life.

But you want it without the pressure, don’t you? You would prefer to skip the problems and avoid the struggle. No heat, please! And time … can we skip that process? We all would prefer things to be easier and faster. That’s our human desire. However, God’s desire is higher and greater than our own, and he’s willing to allow his girls to face the darkness to receive the clarity of the diamond.

Perhaps you’ve seen the image going around social media that shows the shadow of a giant up against a tiny warrior with a sling shot. It says “If God puts a Goliath in front of you, He must believe there’s a David inside of you.”

Ohhhh, I like it! Tapping into the warrior that’s inside while staring down impossible obstacles that overwhelm us. It’s the true bible story of David and Goliath, of course. David was just the shepherd boy showing up to the battle lines to deliver lunch for his brothers. And there he encounters the enemy’s giant named Goliath, standing over 9 feet tall. An enemy who had held his people hostage in fear. An enemy who kept them from moving forward in the battle. And little David boldly steps up and says “yo...

I read a great analogy on life that really puts everything into perspective. It’s deep. Grab your pen, I think this is for you today and you will want to write this down.

Life is like a helicopter.I don’t know how to operate a helicopter.

Gosh, life can be complicated and confusing sometimes. There has to be a button you could press to get out of this tailspin, but you’re not sure which button is the right one. You’re staring at a dashboard of flashing lights and sirens warning you of immanent danger, but you don’t know what to do to get out of this.

Maybe right about now you want to hit the eject button. You want to get out of this. You want to jump from the disaster. But here’s the problem, helicopters don’t have eject buttons, and neither does life. You can’t just escape this. You can’t wish it all away. This tailspin in your life is seen by God, and he is equipping you to handle it. Now, Sis, handle it.

You don’t have to continue to spin out of control. You don’t have to be stuck in the same ol’ round and round going down. You have been given the power to change things in your life. You have been given authority over every choice you make. You don’t think you know how to fly this helicopter, but God is asking you to learn. He’s asking you to take responsibility for the choices you make, take control of your thoughts, and demand better of yourself.

How do you live this life well? You look to the example given to you!

2 Peter 1:3 MSG “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.”

When you get to know Jesus, you get to see how to start living your life better. He starts showing you how to take control of this helicopter and stop the tailspin. He shows you how to take your wild thoughts captive and make them obedient. He shows you how to forgive and move on. How to fight and conquer. How to love and let be. How to seek and find. How to move forward and overcome. How to rise up and break through.

Jesus has miraculously given us absolutely everything needed to live a life God can be pleased with. You are lacking nothing! You think you don’t know how to operate this life, but actually, YOU DO. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength, including fly this helicopter of a life you have been given to live.

This confusing and complicated life is yours to live. As you grow closer to Jesus, he will teach you how to better live and stop the tailspin. Your answer is Jesus. Seriously, he is the one who will show you how to raise those wild banshees you call your kids. Jesus is the one who will show you how to love your husband and yourself enough to no longer enable this behavior. Jesus is the one who will guide you to make the choices you don’t know how to make. Jesus is the one who will strengthen you to make the changes you know need to be made, but you’ve been avoiding. Jesus is the one who will take control of this helicopter and set the course … if you will ask him.

When you get to know Jesus, things start changing.

How do you get to know Jesus? You simply start seeking him. Start talking to him. Start reading about him. Start listening to others who know him. Start studying his words.

Getting to know Jesus not only changes your circumstances, but it changes YOU. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Your life becomes different because honey,

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. January 18th – the day Lonnie and I celebrate our anniversary. Not our wedding anniversary, but our becoming a couple anniversary. 32 years ago, on this day in 1991, with my big poofy bangs and him with the stripes shaved in the side of his head, we became the Lonnie and Pamela Duo. He asked me out, I said yes, and then followed the biggest kiss of my life. Yes, I was 15 and I’m pretty sure I fell in love right then and there.

I share this with you this morning to tell you how God hears our prayers, delights in our prayers and moves in mighty ways.

It all began the summer before. The summer of 1990 when I suppose I had officially exhausted the short list of boys in our tiny town and had either dated them all or was related to them and so what’s a desperate girl to do but turn to God. I prayed a very specific prayer. GOD PLEASE BRING NEW BOYS TO OUR SCHOOL.

Now I didn’t know it, but about this time, a family was uprooting from Dallas, TX and setting out in a UHaul to find a fresh start. They just “happened” to come across a small farm for sale in tiny little ol’ Ava, Missouri and buy it. Ava just happened to be the school where a young girl with big poffy bands was praying for a new boy to come to town.

Now, what’s important to know here, and applicable to you whether you’re 15 and looking for a boyfriend, 30 and hoping for a husband, or 50 and tired of yours … PRAY ABOUT IT. Not just about a man, but about everything. Pray about it. Why would we ever choose to worry about it instead? Why would we turn to our best friend and complain about it instead of turning to the one who can actually do something about it? Why would we post on Facebook and ask the world for input when we can ask the one who created the whole world for input?

Have you prayed about it?

Psalm 5:3: “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Meaning, I wake up and the first thing I do is I talk to God about it. He is my first resort, not my last resort. Why do we treat praying about it like the least we can do when it’s really the best we can do?

Did you know, this morning, I talked to God about you. Seriously, I did. On my knees, I asked for your healing. I prayed for these circumstances to change. I prayed that the fear inside you would flee. I prayed a breakthrough would happen for you today. I prayed for miracles over your life. I prayed for restoration and revival, in Jesus’ name. And while my prayer for you may not seem to carry much weight, I am beginning to understand it’s greater than anything else I could have possibly done. It’s greater than me being able to sit down and have lunch with you today. It’s greater than me showing up at your door with a new car. It’s greater than me giving you the best advice you’ve ever received. I talked to the Almighty about YOU and it’s the best I could possibly do.

Power is unleashed and directed to you in that moment. Divine alignments are being arranged. Doors are being opened. Impossible things are being declared possible. Simply because the request has been laid before God on your behalf.

Now, Sis, start laying down those requests every morning, and watch things change in your life. Watch the tides turn. Watch breakthroughs happen. Receive your answers. Be guided and directed as never before. Praying is the best thing you can do, so do it first!

And when you’ve prayed about it, wait in expectation.

What does this mean? It means KNOWING God is moving.

Your problem is big. God is bigger.

Your faults are great. God is greater.

It seems impossible. God does the impossible.

Have you forgotten the power which resides within you? You are HIS creation. His spirit lives within you. Through him you ARE capable and you will be MORE THAN a CONQUEROR.

What problem are you facing today? What impossible is knocking on your door? Retreat girls, what reality are you going home to today? This is your battleground. It’s time to boldly proclaim “IT’S GOING DOWN.” Rise up warrior. It’s time to fight for the life you want and the life you were created for. Tap into the inner strength which comes from your God and move forward.

Jeremiah 32:27 – “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is anything too hard for me?”

Nothing is too hard for our God. Nothing is beyond his scope. Your impossible is 100% possible with God. God sees it all. He sees your faults. He sees your struggles. He sees your problem. He sees your impossible. AND HE LOVES YOU TOO MUCH TO LEAVE YOU ALONE.

So what will your response be to this amazing, loving God of yours? What will you do with your problems today? Oh there are many options.

You can pile up your problems and take inventory.You can talk about them.You can wallow in them.You can focus on them.You can work yourself into a full blown anxiety attack.

Those are always popular options.

Or maybe you’re more like me and you tend to do the opposite. You ignore your problems. You try your best to pretend they’re not there, as if your avoidance of the truth will somehow change it. And so the problem grows bigger as we bury our head in the sand and life spirals out of control.

Life is not perfect … let us not live in la la land.Nor is it hopeless … let us not live in doom and gloom.

Within you is creativity, wisdom and strength and it’s EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TODAY. You can do ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU. Whatever it is you need to do today, you CAN do it.

I have a theme song for you, it’s called “She Is a Warrior” by Alita. We stood on the beach together at Retreat this weekend and God sure moved a lot of hearts with this one. It says

Ready to battle, gonna take that enemy downShe fears no evil, in holding her groundShe is a warriorAin’t nothin’ gonna slow her downShe is a warriorShe’s taking this battleground

The enemy has been trying to take something from you. He’s been trying to take your joy, your passion, your future. It’s time to hold your ground!!!!!

In Judges chapter 6 we read about Gideon. He was a man who felt defeated. A man who’s circumstances caused him to lack faith in himself and in God. He was discouraged and fearful. Then in verse 12 it says “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.’

God called him a mighty warrior not because he had been winning, not even because of his great faith, but instead because of what was in him. There was a warrior inside of him because that is exactly who he was created to be. He had just forgotten.

You too were created to be a warrior, but perhaps your circumstances have you feeling defeated. It’s time to remember who you are through Christ Jesus, and rise up, sister.

Within Jeremiah 33:3 is a sweet promise from God for you today “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

The threat may be pressing in, but there are unseen boundaries protecting your life. God has determined where these waves can touch, and where they cannot. He has established protections over you which absolutely nothing can break through. You are safe in his arms, you just can’t see his arms.

God has clearly defined how far this can go, and while you cannot see that line, it is an impassable line which always holds strong. Oh, Sis, the waves may build in this raging storm, but there’s an eternal boundary which God holds on your behalf.

Jeremiah 5:22, The Lord says, “I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.”

I may not know what your roaring waves are, but I know the one who has declared a boundary of protection for you, and an everlasting barrier those waves cannot cross. God has said, “this may be loud and overwhelming now, but I’ve already created a barrier for these waves and they will be held back. You, my girl, are divinely protected.”

What he has asked of you is to trust him as the waves roll. Trust him as calm waters are stirred. Trust him as you feel tossed in the ups and downs. Trust there is a barrier for these waves, a barrier which you cannot see now, but it was determined by your loving Creator since the beginning of time. There is a point which God has said, “here, and absolutely NO FURTHER.”

Here at our New Year Retreat in Pensacola, Florida, I’ve spent most days on a beautiful white sandy beach, watching the gentle waves roll in on turquoise waters. Last week, a storm completely changed our blissful beach into a wild raging threat of dark gray. The waves were massive, making the roar of the waters a constant reminder of how things had changed.

But even then, the waves were declared they could come so far, and then they must return to the boundary God has set for them. Don’t you see, the same is true in your life? These waves can only come so far. The boundary has been predetermined and what you’re experiencing now will not consume you. You will not be overwhelmed in this. That is not your destiny. You’re forever protected by a barrier set by an everlasting God who has eternally good plans for you.

The biggest waves aren’t born that way. Naturally, winds at sea average 10 feet high. Storms can stir those waves to 30 feet. However, the biggest waves can be over 5 stories high. These waves aren’t created by storms. What creates them?

Land.

A wave approaching a shoreline meets shallower water, slowing the waves edge. Now all of the energy which has been propelling it forward has no where to go in this shallow water, and forward momentum turns to upward momentum, and the wave grows taller. Honey, the tallest of waves are near the shore which God has declared as the boundary for these waters.

If the wave in your life is big, it’s not because you’re stranded in the deep, it’s because you’re nearing the barrier God has set to slow this wave down and send it back. Now isn’t the time to give up. Now is the time to look for shore. The water is shallower here. God is bringing you through to the safe space he has declared would always be protected for you.

These waves are just waves. With Jesus, we dance on these waves.

At Retreat, we’ve heard a song on repeat called “Dancing On the Waves” by We the Kingdom. Listen to these words like a love letter from your God:

I’m reaching out,

Smells Like Hell

You are on a mission, yet you’re battling distractions sent by the enemy. God has called you to live different, yet you’re being taunted by the same ol’ things. Check the source of the things stealing your attention and occupying your mind space. Honey, if it smells like Hell, recognize that’s likely where it came from.

The devil can’t steal your destiny, but he can most certainly distract you from it. He can keep you so wrapped up in chaos that you miss your calling. He can keep you so busy with negativity that you overlook the opportunity. Your mind is the battleground, and if you’re always bombarded by the next squirrel to chase, the next pot to stir, or the next person to talk about, YOU ARE LOSING THE BATTLE.

I’ve noticed when I’m stepping in alignment with God’s good plans for my life, suddenly there are distractions popping up everywhere. Drama to the left. Chaos to the right. Regret chasing me down. Overwhelm up ahead. But when I stop reacting to everything around me, and take an intentional pause with a big deep breath, I get a whiff of what’s really happening. What I smell is Hell!

That drama, that chaos, that regret, and that overwhelm, they’re all distractions from the pits of Hell, directed by the enemy of God’s good plans. And every time you stop your forward progress toward the life you were created for, to entertain the drama or be pulled in by the chaos, the enemy wins! It’s another day you don’t live up to your full potential because you’re dealing with nonsense.

Honey, you could be living up to your destiny already, but you’ve been distracted. You’ve been over here talking about her, worrying about them, stirring up crap in this circle, assuming the worst of these people, overwhelmingly too busy to change a darn thing, and digging ruts of mindless habits doing it over and over again. Smells kinda like Hell, to be honest.

That all comes from the pits of Hell where there are plans to kill, steal, and destroy every ounce of goodness in your life. Take a whiff and see, Sis, that’s not from God!

When I’m on the edge of breakthrough, just on the cusp of stepping into divinely aligned, purpose filled destinations, that’s the time the distractions hit. Drama and difficulties. Craziness and chaos. Tempting invitations to derail and dabble in the distractions. But then, I smell it. I smell the residue of where it came from. I smell the source, and that source is Hell. Handcrafted attempts of the evil one sent to distract me from what I’m here to do.

But I haven’t always stopped to smell it. I haven’t always resisted the invitation to detour into the drama. I’ve been sucked in by the chaos before and missed my exit. I’ve failed at this enough times to know, I don’t want to go down that road again!

How about you? Are you noticing just when you start getting on the right track, the arrows start flying? Have you made the connection between your next step towards destiny and the drama erupting to detour you?

Exit from those conversations now. Bow out of that conflict and let them accept the crown of victory. You don’t want to win in a Hell orchestrated contest anyway. Evict that same story from playing in your head, and reclaim your mental space. If someone is bringing drama, close the curtain. If someone is constantly stirring the pot and creating chaos, give them the pot.

You steer into whatever you’re looking at. It’s why cars run into the crash on the side of the road. They were looking at the accident and steered right into it.

Sometimes you’re straight up not going to see it, or feel it, you will have to just believe it. Sometimes the mess you have on your hands today is in the beginning process of becoming something greater than you could have ever imagined, but first you will deal with the mess. God has this worked out, but what he is working on hasn’t been revealed to you yet.

As you await the reveal, will you trust the process? As you handle the mess, will you believe in his promise? When it feels like every single thing is stacked against you, will you remember God is for you?

When God has a plan for your life, circumstances will not change that plan. God is bigger than your circumstances. He is greater than the problem you face. He has already prepared a path right through this to the other side, now he’s asking you to go through it with him.

Yes, go through it. Not avoid it. Not hide from it. Face this harsh reality and circumstances as they are, and grab God’s hand as he leads you through it. You can’t get through this on your own, but with God, you will!

Think of the Hebrew mother who had a baby boy at the worst possible time. A time when the Egyptian King had ordered all Hebrew baby boys to be killed. What terrible circumstances. For the first 3 months, the mother hid the baby, but how many of us know you can’t keep a 3 month old baby quiet for very long?

In complete desperation, she made a basket that would float, she put her baby boy in the basket, and knowing the King’s daughter bathed in this river, she set her baby floating down the river, and sent her daughter Miriam to watch closely.

Exodus 2: 5-9 “Then King Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female servant to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then Miriam, the baby’s sister, (remember she’s strategically watching from the river bank) asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.”

Would you look at this? Not only did God protect this Hebrew woman’s baby, but she ended up getting PAID to nurse him. This was her own baby! This scenario went from ‘I’m going to lose my child’, to, ‘We are being fully provided for!’

You have a situation that seems absolutely hopeless, but in God’s hands he can radically change it. He can give you back what you feared losing, and make it better than ever before.

I spent the past 5 days with a beautiful woman named Katy at Retreat who had lost her marriage to her husband’s addiction. They had been divorced for 2 years and she felt like she had lost everything. But, this wasn’t too big for God. This wasn’t impossible in the hands of the Almighty. Her ex-husband got sober, they began dating each other, and now they are engaged to be remarried. She never imagined it could be this good. Better than ever before.

Oh what a mess it had become, but this mess was in the process of becoming something greater. She still had to go through the mess. She still had to deal with the problem. And through it all, God led her down a redeeming path of renewed hope.

So, let’s talk about your mess. Your unwanted situation that all you really want to do is avoid.

What if that uncomfortable situation in your life is exactly where Jesus wants to release his power? You’ve been running from discomfort for so long, avoiding any hint of awkward and unknown scenarios, that you now find yourself in a wilderness God never intended for you. You’re lonely, you’re bored, you’re unfulfilled, and honestly all this comfort is sucking the life out of you.

GOD WORKS IN THE UNCOMFORTABLE!

He will lead you to the smack dab middle of the most awkward situation where every alarm in your body is screaming ‘run’, and He will ask you to stay. He will allow the very thing you avoid to unfold, then ask you to wait for him here instead of run from it.

Where are you uncomfortable? What have you been desperately seeking to avoid, yet here it is in your face? Stay and let God do his work here.

It never fails, in the days leading up to one of our BIG Life Retreats, I start having nightmares of forgetting to feed people. It’s always the same crazy scenario, everyone is gathered in the retreat house, it’s meal time, and suddenly I realize I forgot to buy food. I wake up from my nightmare and add more food to my shopping list.

The disciples faced this uncomfortable scenario in real life. A crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children, had gathered to see Jesus. They stayed all day as Jesus taught them and healed their sick.

Matthew 14: 15-17 “As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

Awkward! It’s my nightmare in real life. A hungry crowd with no food. I avoid this scenario like the plague with my continual obsession of providing twice as much food as any group could ever eat.

If you read the account of John, another disciple who was there, he is clearly uncomfortable and not only counts the supply, but expresses those loaves of bread and fish were SMALL too. He’s freaking out, just like I would do. The need is way too big and the supply is way too small.

Are you facing an uncomfortable situation like this in your life right now? You have a need that is way too big for the way too little supply you have. You feel grossly insufficient. Way under-qualified. So ridiculously outside of your comfort zone your anxiety is through the roof and the fight or flight is kicking in, and all systems say FLIGHT. RUN. AVOID THIS. GET OUT OF HERE!

You are convinced you’re not enough. What you have is not enough. What you can do is not enough. And you’ve had enough.

But Jesus says, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

And what this means to you today, in your uncomfortable situation on your anxiety overload, is, you don’t need to run away from this! Jesus will work here if you will just use what you think isn’t enough.

What, you think Jesus was surprised by this uncomfortable situation? Do you honestly think he didn’t know in advance of this need that far outweighed the supply?

Honey, he not only allowed it to unfold, he led them head on into the discomfort! Why? So they could witness for themselves his power when things are uncomfortable.

So, you’re uncomfortable right now, huh? This is way outside of your comfort zone and what you really want to do is run away. IF GOD BROUGHT YOU HERE,