Hey friends! Wasn’t yesterday just beautiful? And I mean beautiful for so many reasons! I know Easter is once a year but it is so important to remember ALL YEAR what He did for us and our salvation. Which is an awesome segway into our motivation this week…
Have you ever gone through something and felt alone? Of course, you have family and friends all around you but you feel…isolated. You feel as though no one understands what you are going through. You are stuck in your head. OR, you have been isolated from friends and/or family and it’s devastating. And you asked, “Why me? Why now?” Well, let’s talk about it.
As you all know, I am a talker. An overall extrovert. But when something is wrong in my life, I retreat. And when I say retreat, I am a turtle that you just came up on from behind. I ain’t coming out of that shell until I am safe. To be fair, my “safe” is usually working things out in my head. This can last a day to months. Which is why I am involved in church as much as I am. Church doesn’t allow me to be in my shell long because I have people who call and text to say, “Where have you been? We’ve missed you.” I have a sense of accountability to those people and I don’t want to let them down.
But in the seasons where I have retreated and I was isolated, they were not good times in my life. Something was wrong. So, it was hard on me mentally. I guess because I did isolate myself, I talked to God a lot. I can remember times trying to make deals with Him. I know that’s not how it works (and I knew it then), I just wanted Him to intervene and make things better. I wanted to know why this was happening. Why is God isolating me?
Well, first, He wants your focus on Him. Listen. I know I say this every week on Mondays and Pastor Scott says it every week in church and in his midweek messages but God loves you. He really does. You are here on this Earth, because He put you here. He wants you to choose Him like He chose you. Maybe this season of isolation is to get your attention. We all have a to-do list and we are all crazy busy. Sometimes we push Him to the back because we know He will be there always. Well, maybe this is His way of saying, “Um ma’am. Hi. I need you to focus on me and not that list.”
During these times, God is protecting you. We all come to God at different places in our life and because of this, we all have unique testimonies. However, God may ask us to let go of certain people, environments, vices, ungodly habits, etc. You can’t hold onto those things because God has bigger plans for you. And there are LOTS of times, you don’t understand why. And that’s ok. It’s your job to know the whys behind everything. It’s your job to trust and obey Him. Jeremiah 29:11 and Hebrews 11:6 are great verses to back this up. 🙂
From personal experience, these isolations have a lasting impact on me. I can honestly say, I am a better person because of them. God uses this time to grow His people…to develop our character that helps shape us to carry out His divine assignments for us. Maybe you are going through this because you are meant to help one person on this Earth. Or maybe 10. 100. 1000s. You just don’t know who and how many you are meant to impact with your testimony and fulfilling God’s purpose. John 16:33
Lastly, He is trying to realign your heart. I am so guilty fighting with God because I want to do something and it ain’t happening. Because I want it and God says, “No ma’am. Not today.” He uses these times of isolation to realign our hearts to be in line with His desires and not our own. Sometimes, we have to be taken all the way down so we depend on Him. And this should be somewhat familiar because this is how my parents disciplined me as a child. They took away things I liked so I would see the error of my ways. My parents did this because they love me. God is no different here. He disciplines those He loves. Hebrews 12:6
I say this all the time. I am not someone who is the most studious christian. I make mistakes every.single.day. I even make mistakes when I write these. I sin every day! And these sins are things I know not to do! But I like to think I am called to write these motivations week after week because God believes in me. Sometimes, I think these are more for me and y’all are just my cheerleaders (who doesn’t love an entourage?!). But every week, I pray that He speaks through me to help one of you. And because I sin daily, these are just a way to stay close to Him. 1 Corinthians 1:27
Seasons come and go for a reason and every season is beautiful. Sometimes it’s hard to see when you’re in the middle of it. If you are in a season of isolation, just know this is an opportunity for you. This is the BEST time for you to grow. Lean into Him. He is there waiting to hug you. And for those who are not in that season, look around at those who are. Check on them. Stop right now, and send them a quick text. Let them know you love them and you are there if and when they need you.
Love you all,
Jennifer
