Epic Sadness

I recently discovered the secret to my random sad thoughts, fears and discouragement: something epic is about to happen.

The other night was just one of those nights. Nothing was wrong, but I felt emotionally drained. Is there a sort of jet-lag for major life changes?! Some days I am on top of the world, and by evening I am overcome by sudden discouragement and sadness. It comes like the weather in Michigan: sporadic. One day it is 75 and sunny and the next day there is a foot of snow. But I noticed that pattern: the negative usually comes right after a positive…

The next morning I got up extra early and made my way to the gym. Some people drink wine or take a nap to relax…I like to workout. Something about the sweat and pain mixed with accomplishment clears my mind. Weird? Maybe. But it worked because on my way home I realized something.

God has a plan for me here in Nashville – just like he has a plan for you wherever you are reading this. I have been actively trying to discover the details of his plan and my next step. The devil isn’t all-knowing like God is, but he is extremely smart. He may not know our moves before they happen, but he has had quite a long time to study humans. He knows our patterns, our fears, our weaknesses. Did you know we are born with only 2 fears – loud noises and falling? These are called innate fears. All other fears are learned.

When sadness or fear comes out of nowhere – get excited. Get ready. God is about to do something amazing and it is causing the enemy to panic. See, when you follow God’s plan he shows you favor and reaches others through you. This makes the enemy’s work that much more difficult. The Bible says he only comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). So you can imagine how he feels when we act as a vessel for God’s love, compassion and hope. He will do any and everything he can to either ruin our plans or to distract us from our potential.

I think sometimes we imagine God sitting in the sky on a huge, elaborate golden throne (which is awesome, so I secretly hope he does have one) waiting for us to “find” or approach him. We are on our own, trying to dodge the devil’s tactics as we try desperately to find God. Have you heard of the expression “beer goggles”? Well this outlook is like having “earth goggles” on. When you look around you all you will see are the things of this world. When you look up instead, you will realize the truth. Did you know God actively pursues you and I?

Psalm 18:16-19
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.”

The next time you feel sad randomly or have a discouraging thought – pause. Thank God for what he is about to do.

Instead of feeling discouraged, I suppose I now feel flattered in a way. To think that the prince of darkness is that intimidated by me? Game on.

By Emily Meadows
https://medium.com/@ByBreadcrumbs