The best part of my life has been and will continue to be God’s awesome faithfulness. One of the biggest roadblocks I run into again and again is my inability to remember God’s awesome faithfulness as soon as I begin to spot a wave coming towards me. [for a few words and a personal story on this check out the previously blog CLICK HERE]
Below are a few thoughts I’ve had on remembering to remember that I picked up along he way, hopefully something of it will be helpful to you as well!
1) We make signposts
Sometimes when we feel attacked with fear or anxiety repetitively we can start to see patterns. There was a season where every night I would wake up under attack – this had gone on for at least a month. As I was praying about it , I realized it was always at 3am. So I made a huge mental note and reinforced it by sharing with a few people what had been going on every night at 3am.
Part of the mental note, and one of the most important parts, was to remember that night when I woke up to look at the clock. If it said 3 A.M. , I would know it was an attack – and I could just roll over and go back to sleep.
That night when I woke up at 3 A.M. , it was the last time I ever did because I took note of the attack, recognized a signifier, and created a signpost there to remember to trust the Lord.
2) We engage with activators
When we’re under attack, even though we know everyone else experiences attacks, we tend to isolate. We need to engage with the activators in our lives. It is the activators that know us, love us and call us to remember God’s consistency in our lives when we feel like we can only see the wave barreling towards us.
Now, I need to make clear that there are people who you have fun with, people you feel safe with, and activators that will call you to the truth and activate you to remember. (That’s not an exhaustive list by any means of friendship types, but you get the point.)
When you’re fearful or anxious, activators are the people you need to be sure to be in contact with. They will remind you of what’s on the other side of the wave you can’t see past and help you see signposts you’ve missed.
3) We make it plain
Write it out & get it out of your head. This is a new one for me that I discovered during the story I shared in the previous blog. As I finally started sharing with my activators, I found myself drawing out as literally as I could what was in my head.
For me this looked more like a ball of yarn that had been through a blender than any diagram. But I drew out with pen & paper and talked through it – I wanted to explain it to them as confusing, complicated and overwhelming as it was to me, almost dramatic so they could see how it felt to me.
I was amazed. Each time I drew it out just like it was in my head, I felt a weight lift. Not only that, but the activators I spoke with could point out signposts that I couldn’t see because of my tunnel vision with the wave.
4) We embrace our weakness
Admit to yourself and others your weakness and struggle. Again, not an awesome feeling to admit that you’re struggling, but an awesome thing happens when you do. God knows how desperately we need Him and knows intimately our weakness. That’s why He meets us there!
He shows His strength in some of the greatest ways when we own up to how weak we actually are.
As we practice embracing our weakness in and out of difficult seasons, we learn a rhythm of experiencing His strength. As soon as we start to feel weak again, a signpost pops up screaming that we’re weak, embrace it and be strengthened.
Take some steps!
1) Practice making a signpost. Think of a repeating agitation – it doesn’t have to be a huge thing, just something that has come up a few times. Consider and pray – is there anything consistent in this? Now ask the Lord what He would like you to acknowledge or truth to embrace as you see this signpost. Share this with a few activators and watch to see if the signpost pops up next time and changes your perspective.
2) Practice reaching out. Identify the activators in your life whether you are currently in need or not. These people will be like a bedrock for you. Go ahead and contact them this week thanking them for how they’ve already helped you and how you see them as a strength to you. [side note: activators are typically activators with lots of people and sometimes get tired. Check in on them from time to time when you don’t have something going on just to see how they’re doing and encourage them.]
3) Practice getting it out of your head. For some it may be words on paper, a diagram, a list – but for me it was an indiscernible sketch by the end. Whatever the mode is for you – think of something that’s been swirling in your brain that hasn’t gotten out yet, and get it out with good ol’fashion pen and paper.
4) Practice admitting you are weak. I did this again today in an area I hadn’t thought to do it before. This can be with anything and everything you deal with in any aspect of your life. Pinpoint an area you feel weak in, pray and ask the Lord to meet you in your weakness, really invite Him in. Be confident as we invite Him into our weakness that He comes. Observe how He moves over the next few days or weeks.
