A few weeks ago I had a really hard week. Circumstances made life feel truly heavy and I was challenged all week to not be dragged back into survival. I fought against it, doing all the things.
It was a fight though!
However, in the midst of all of that I needed a hug so badly from another adult. I cried. I wrote about it in my journal. I told Father.
Then the thought came to me that part of self care is asking for what I need. The old insecurities started flooding in, everyone is busy, they will think less of me because of the struggles I am dealing with, I shouldn't bother them they are busy, I should be able to deal with this on my own. All lies, all meant to keep me in isolation. I didn't allow them to continue, I stopped them in their tracks and made my move to get the support I needed.
I had to decide who to ask for a hug, once I decided on the friend to ask I text her and said "I need a hug, can I come over?"
Her response was, "I need one, too, come over." That hug made all the difference in my day and week. Knowing that another human loved me enough to be willing to hug me through the pain, even though she doesn't know what I was dealing with that day or week, she was willing to share in it by giving me a hug and letting me know I wasn't alone no matter what it is I was dealing with.
That is the kind of people to have as friends and as part of your support system. They don't ask questions, are ready to listen when you are ready to share and just love you no matter what. YET, they will also speak truth into you. Kindly with love.
Find these kinds of people for your support system, people that will be there for you.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit.
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
How good are you at asking for what you need?
What prevents you from asking for what you need?
What do you do when you feel good, life is good but then life. Life happens. Something happens that takes the wind out of your sails.
How do you respond? By buying ice cream and watching movies? By going back to the basics and doing self care?
If you said number 2, you are correct! Get your head back in the game and take the wind out of living in survival again!
Journal. Write down the feelings, thoughts and emotions that are dragging you down.
Find gratitude in the midst of feeling as though you are being forced back into survival.
Reach out to your support system. Talk to them about what is going on, ask for prayer, ask for advice.
Do some self care. Rest and read. Get out in nature. Play a game with your children. Meet a friend for coffee. Use essential oils. Move your body. Cry. Take a bath. Take a nap.
Recently, I was in this place. So I did these things. Not in this order but I did them. I contacted a couple of people in my support system, talked about the situation, got advice, cried and prayed. I found gratefulness and thankfulness that things weren't worse, they are bad and I am concerned but it could be a lot worse than it is. I got out in nature and played croquet with my children barefoot in the grass. I felt myself grounding and releasing as we played, laughing and having fun. It felt so good. I also used essential oils to ground myself. My day got so much better I was able to think again, I was able to function and deal with life. I rested and took a nap, sleep always makes things look better! Most importantly, I didn't let a bad few minutes derail me, I got back to thriving instead of surviving.
What do you do to get out of survival and back to thriving?
What more can you do to ensure that you can not be pushed back into survival?
The Lord is exalted, indeed, he lives in heaven; he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him. Isaiah 33:5-6
Why did I call this a revolutionary indication of thriving?
When we have been sexually betrayed, whether we knew all along or it is a one time discovery, it has the potential to destroy our self confidence. The betrayal makes us question our worth. Our worth as a wife. Our worth as a human being.
The man that vowed to love me, exclusively on our wedding day, didn't see or value my worth as a woman and wife, does anyone else?
I know I am not the only one who has struggled with this. In my experience talking with women who have been sexually betrayed, the majority of us struggle with questioning our worth.
worth - the value of something measured by its qualities or by the esteem in which it is held
The esteem in which it is held. It seems like if we were held in esteem they would not have this problem, however we have to remember that they have choice in looking at pornography or having an affair and ultimately it has nothing to do with us.
I have had to fight my way back to knowing and believing my worth. Not just my worth as a human being in the eyes of other humans but also my worth as a child of Yahweh.
It has been a hard fight, often I felt like it was two steps forward and ten back. I would start to believe that I have worth, then something would happen and I would go back to questioning it.
Having friends who speak life into you, is invaluable in this fight to believe in your worth. Friends who will speak scripture over you, pray with and for you, who list out the reasons you have worth and how much you are needed in this world with your particular gifts. I am so blessed with friends who do and did these things.
A friend recently said this to me when I shared that I have struggled with my worth.
"You have value. It's not based on being a mother or someone's wife. It's that you are made in the image of our heavenly Father. That Yeshua chose to die for you. Your value comes from our Creator."
Do you have any idea how often I have said pretty much the exact same thing to others? To have someone else say it back to me, brought me to tears, even though this isn't a battle I am currently in. I am pretty settled in knowing my worth at the moment but you can believe I will be coming back to these words, if and when they are needed.
Maybe you need those words, too. Write them down, put them where you will see them daily. Take them from your head to your heart.
That was another challenge, getting them from my head to my heart. There are some several things that helped me do that. One of the things that helped me do this was the following scriptures.
Each of us were created very intentionally. See what David has to say in Psalm 139.
For the music director, a psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you examine me and know me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. 3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. 4 Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. 5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me. 6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. 7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee to escape your presence? 8 If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there. If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. 9 If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the other side of the sea, 10 even there your hand would guide me, your right hand would grab hold of me. 11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, and the light will turn to night all around me,” 12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, and the night is as bright as day; darkness and light are the same to you. 13 Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. You knew me thoroughly; 15 my bones were not hidden from you, when I was made in secret and sewed together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence. 17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! How vast is their sum total. 18 If I tried to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. Even if I finished counting them, I would still have to contend with you. 19 If only you would kill the wicked, O God! Get away from me, you violent men! 20 They rebel against you and act deceitfully; your enemies lie. 21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you and despise those who oppose you? 22 I absolutely hate them; they have become my enemies. 23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts. Test me, and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any idolatrous way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
See the intentionality there? You have worth. You are valuable. Still struggle to see it?
Read what Yeshua says in Matthew 6:25-34. Go read it, highlight it, put it deep within your heart, down in your bones. You are valuable. You are worthy. Simply because Yeshua said so.
Once you get this truth into your being, it revolutionizes the way you see yourself, the way you carry yourself and how you speak to and about yourself. Your life changes.
What other scriptures tell you how valuable and worthy you are?
How will you continue to get it into your being?
What does it mean to live life abundantly? Are you talking about money, Beth?
No, no I am not talking about money. I am talking about so much more than money!
I am talking about:
- having energy to go through your day without dragging
- being able to take thoughts captive without a lot of effort
- being present with whoever you are with not escaping into your phone or thoughts
- recognizing your worth and value, no need for outside validation
- the ability to see and hear others thriving, without jealousy
- wanting to go on adventures to adventure not escape life
- self care coming easily
- the feeling of being incredibly grateful wells up within you
- you're able to sincerely pray for your spouse or former spouse
- forgiving yourself, former spouse and others comes easier
- you being in control of your thoughts and feelings
- setting boundaries and holding is easier and happens without much thought
- being interested in hobbies and actually doing them again
- being alone is fine and you enjoy being by yourself because you like yourself
- enjoying talking with friends and sharing their struggles, because you can hold space for them and their challenges without feeling exhausted
This list is by no means exhaustive. I would love to know what you would add to it. How do or will you know you are thriving?
Living a thriving abundant life is so much more than money. There is more to life than money, money is needed but it is not the end all be all.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. John 10:10
I was listening to my Bible app the other morning, Psalm 56 was the chapter being read. It got my attention quickly!
Do you feel as though your tears are in vain? Maybe you are so tired of crying but the tears still come. In my experience tears only caused more heartache. So I learned not to cry. Until I couldn't hold it in any longer, then it became something I couldn't control.
Do you know what David wrote in Psalms 56 about tears? I think this is beautiful.
"You keep track of my misery.
Put my tears in your leather container.
Are they not recorded in your scroll?"
Psalm 56: 8 NET
We know that when we take Yeshua as our Savior that our name is recorded in the Book of Life, I picture there being a column in there beside our name with a recording of our tears. Along with the tally of our tears, is the reason for those tears.
"For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed.
He did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded." Psalm 22:24
He hears us when we cry out to him with our pain, hurt, shame and He responds.
That is why David said that "In God—I boast in his promise— in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can mere men do to me?" Psalm 56:4
Man can only kill the body, not the soul.
“Do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:26-28 (emphasis mine)
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!" Luke 12:4-5 (emphasis mine)
"But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14
Know Who and what you are boasting in and about. Yahweh will NOT let you down.
"The Lord strengthens and protects me; I trust in him with all my heart. I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to him in gratitude." Psalm 28:7
Put your trust in Yahweh. He wants what is best for you so much that He works things intended for evil to your good. (Romans 8:28) Remember, Balaam and Balak? (Numbers 22,23) Balaam couldn't curse Israel as Balak wanted, he could only speak blessings over them. No matter how hard he tried to curse, only blessings came out! That is how Yahweh works. THIS is our GOD!
"Commit your future to the Lord. Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf." Psalm 37:5
I find the definition of commit in the hebrew to be fascinating. It is to roll. Let's think about this a minute, roll. Roll your future to the Lord. What happens when we roll something? It can roll back. The "thing" can keep rolling forward or roll in another direction, depending on what gets in it's way. To roll is an action. Rolling our future to the Lord, is an action we choose to take each day. Knowing that it can roll back to us, we actively hold it in place before Him, we actively roll our future towards Him.
I am a little mind blown right now! You, too?!
"In God—I boast in his promise— in the Lord—I boast in his promise— in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can mere men do to me?" Psalm 56: 10-11
David reiterates again Who he trusts in. What he boast in. That he is not afraid. He knows where to put his fear and it is not in man.
My heart is encouraged by these verses, I trust yours is as well!
Where do you put your trust?
What are you afraid of?
I am still thinking about integrity.
What does the Bible have to say about integrity?
My favorite version (The New English Translation) uses integrity in the text.
Proverbs 10:9 NET The one who conducts himself in integrity will live securely, but the one who behaves perversely will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9 KJV He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
When we take the word uprightly back to the hebrew the definition is integrity, completeness, fulness, innocence, simplicity.
Another verse
Proverbs 11:3 NET The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Proverbs 11:3 KJV The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
When we start to thrive instead of just surviving, we will feel more complete, life will be more simple and we will feel sound. We will have soundness of mind, no more fog, no more feeling crazy, no more intrusive thoughts. We are in more control of our thoughts taking them captive and not allowing them to just take control of our mind.
When we are able to live in our integrity we are more likely to know our value to Yahweh and those around us. We are able to truly forgive and leave the past in the past.
When we are thriving and living in our integrity we are able to make good judgement calls. There is no second guessing ourselves or Yahweh. It is easier to trust Yahweh and His plan for us and our family.
To live in our integrity is freedom to live life abundantly.
What is freedom for you?
How do you live life in your integrity?
Not there yet? Or have no idea how to get there? Contact me and I will support you as you are healing, to thrive and find your freedom!
Let's start this one with a trigger warning. Be sure to read this with a friend or not at all if you have had the experience of sexual abuse within your marriage.
The next one we are going to talk about is sexual abuse. As I decided to write on this one, a feeling of bone marrow deep weariness came over me. This is not a fun one to write about, think about or heal from.
First let me say, if you have experienced sexual abuse in the form of marital rape, I am so sorry. You are worth more than that. You are loved. You are beautiful, just as you are. You are not to blame for the rape, even if you said NO to sex. He didn't honor your no as he should have.
I don't have a number of times that he raped me. I do have memories of several times, but know those aren't the only times.
Rape is horrible no matter how it happens. Yet, when it is done within a marriage there is a pain, a cutting that is so deep it cuts to the core of your being. This person that chose you, this person that professes to love you, this person that said they would protect you, this person that said they wanted to take care of you, this person that said you would be their person forsaking all others until death parted you ... did this horrific thing to you.
I didn't even realize that marital rape was something that actually happened, rather had a name, until a few years ago, I quickly realized that was what had happened to me.
Then it hit me that maybe that was what had happened on our wedding night. He came to bed, did his thing rolled over and went to sleep. I lay awake for quite a while trying to figure out what had just happened. There was no exploration. There was no foreplay. There was no making out. Just insert, ejaculate and roll over to sleep. The next morning I could hardly eat breakfast for the lump in my throat and tears that threatened to spill over.
The next time was because I told him no. He then raped me. I was a new bride/wife staying in his parents house with his brothers going in out and of the bathroom right on the other side of wall to where we were, I was uncomfortable having sex right there, right then. However, my comfort and feelings didn't matter to him. He wanted what he wanted and took it.
This set me up to not want to have sex with him. There was no pleasure in it for me, it was only for him because he didn't try to give me pleasure or learn about my body, he was only interested in getting it for himself. It took years for me to orgasm and only then it was with help from a toy.
At one point we went to a minister for help, this is the minister he told that he looked at pornography because I wouldn't have sex with him. See full story here.
This minister told him that he believed we should have sex every day. HA, no that doesn't work. Sex everyday will never work with a sex addict. That will not help them. It will only hurt you and your relationship more, because you may start to feel used, if you didn't already, resentful, angry and bitter.
At one point he told me that I didn't have control over my body, he did. Based on 1 Corinthians 7:4-5 It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife. 5 Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
So if I wasn't going to give it, he could take it based on that verse. That is NOT what this verse means. Paul would be appalled, I believe, at how out of context that verse has been taken and how many women have been abused because of his words being taken out of context. I know this is NOT how Yahweh wants HIS daughters treated.
This is what pornography does, it teaches consumers to view other humans as object. Objects just for their viewing and physical pleasure. Not humans with feelings, needs and unique traits. No man of Yahweh would treat a woman this way. He would only treat her as Yahweh intended. With respect, love, honor, compassion, empathy, gentleness ... the attributes of Yahweh and the fruits of the spirit. No man is perfect but also no man that is a true man will treat woman this way, ever.
Read Psalm 139. He created you with purpose. He wanted you with all of your unique talents, gifts and attributes.
How did I heal from this trauma? I worked with an EMDR practitioner who specializes in sexual abuse. I have done Cognitive Processing Therapy. I have done Splankna. I have worked with a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (cSAT) therapist, they work with the sex addict as well as with the spouse, since they understand what we have gone through. I have done a lot of crying, journaling and praying. I know healing is available for all of us, we have to do the work to heal and Father is faithful to meet us there.
I pray that if you have an experience like mine, you to have worked to heal or are working to heal.
The moral of this story is that you can heal from being sexually abused. It will always be with you, however it doesn't have to haunt you. It doesn't have to be the focus of your thoughts all the time. It doesn't have to control your life.
Psalm 62:11-12 God has declared one principle: two principles I have heard: God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. For you repay men for what they do.
What, if any, part of this did you relate, too?
How have you pursued healing?
This week I am going to share about gaslighting as a form of abuse related to pornography addiction. Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse.
Maybe it is just a feeling (wives have those don't they) we just know something isn't right, though we can't put our finger on it.
Maybe it is something you saw or THOUGHT you saw.
Maybe it is something that was said, that raised a question.
And when it was brought up to discuss or ask clarification, all you got in return was, "that isn't what you saw."
"I don't know why you would feel that way, I am not doing anything." Yet it keeps on nagging at you."
Or maybe in passing he said something that just sounded a little off so you asked for clarification and he said "That isn't what I said, you misheard."
Notice how it is always turned on you? You didn't see what you know you saw, hear what you know you heard or feel what you know you feel or felt.
That is gaslighting and it is crazy making. It causes the questioning of everything. To question if you actually did hear that thing, or see that picture, video, website, etc, or if you are just making up what you are feeling.
It was happening to me by both my former spouse and his family. The feeling of going crazy was very real. The knowing what was said, then being told it wasn't what was said caused me to question my reality over and over.
I remember thinking that I was the problem. As I wandered around the house that day in a daze not knowing what to do about the suitation, not getting anything done, barely functioning.
Finally, I decided I was the problem and if I left they could be happy. So I got out my suitcase and packed it to leave.
I remember those feelings like they were yesterday. THEN, Father broke through to me. And woke me up from that nightmare, I wasn't the problem. I wasn't crazy. I put the suitcase away and thanked Him.
I had at least one other time of this happening before I realized that I wasn't really the problem they were and I learned to ignore it and not let it get to me like it did those two times.
Years later I learned it had a name and I knew exactly what gaslighting was, I had experienced it.
The Bible has a way of dealing with gaslighting or the people that use it, that I adopted and found freedom in using.
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you yourself also be like him.
Proverbs 26:4
When you recognize gaslighting is being used on you, stop responding. Just don't answer, let them think they have 'won' or that they are correct. It doesn't matter. You know what you have saw, heard or feel and you do not need their validation. Nor do you need to argue about it, prove anything or continue to dwell on it. Let it go. They will never validate you. The story may change again, it often did in my experience. Just recognize who and what you are dealing with and stop arguing.
Book recommendations regarding gaslighting.
The First Will be Last: A Biblical Perspective on Gaslighting, DC Robertson
Why is it Always About YOU? Sandy Hotchkiss
The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook: Healing from Emotional Abuse, Amy Marlow-MaCoy
How have you experienced gaslighting?
How have you dealt with gaslighting when it was done to you?
There are many types of abuse related to pornography addiction. Sexual abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, verbal abuse, emotional abuse.
A lot of times the abuse that goes along with pornography consumption is just that, abuse driven by addiction. We will talk about the differences in abuse driven by addiction vs narcissism in another blog post.
The one I want to discuss right now is manipulation.
ma·nip·u·la·tion
/məˌnipyəˈlāSHən/
noun
the action of manipulating something in a skillful manner.
"the format allows fast picture manipulation"
2. the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way.
"there was no deliberate manipulation of visitors' emotions"
Those with an addiction to pornography are well versed in this skill. They have to be in order to continue to hide their activities. Often those being manipulated don't even know it is happening. Unless it is pointed out to them or revealed to them Divinely.
I remember a couple of different instances of being manipulated though I didn't know at the time that was what was going on, I just knew how it made me feel.
When we were dating, my former spouse and I, one time he told me, "If something happened to you or you broke up with me, I would kill myself." The feeling I had hearing that was yucky, sinking and stuck with me.
It worked though, I didn't break up with him even when things felt weird. I tried to talk to my mother about what I was feeling but didn't have words for it, so couldn't describe it to her.
This next example could also fall under emotional abuse.
Another way he manipulated me and a minister is by saying that his pornography addiction was my fault. I didn't want to have sex with him so he turned to pornography, never mind that I didn't want to have sex with him because he had raped me several times, but that is a story for another blog post. I carried that for so long until one day a light bulb went off in my head (I believe that Yahweh revealed it to me). At one point he had said that he had looked at porn since he was 12, yet here we were years after that and he was saying that his porn use was my fault. We didn't meet until we were 18, got married at 20. WHOA, hold on! His pornography use had nothing to do with me!
The weight I felt fall off of me was huge. And I never picked that belief up again!
Being aware can be so freeing and empowering, it doesn't stop them trying to manipulate you. What it does do is make it so that you recognize it and are harder to manipulate.
Being empowered when in relationship, no matter what kind of relationship it is, with a pornography addict is important for emotional and mental health!
What caused you to recognize when you were being manipulated?
What did you do about it?
How ready are you to abandon survival and start thriving? Truly living an abundant life. The life you were created to live. The life you dream of living. The life Yahweh has planned for you, and has had planned for you since the beginning of time. Does that blow your mind? It does mine. Even when He was creating the earth, He was thinking of me. Little, tiny speck me. Anyway, I digress.
So how do we live an abundant THRIVING life? Is there anything in the Bible about it? Is it even Biblical to live an abundant life? I submit to you, that it is Biblical. Totally and completely Biblical.
Let's look at some examples to see how Biblical it is!
First off, Abraham comes to mind. He was wealthy. He was living His best life until Sarah convinced Him to lay with Hagar for their promised child. One way the Bible is comforting to me, is that is shows real people, with real problems. Abraham's life wasn't without problems, we will have those, we're human.
We read about Abraham making mistakes, even sinning. Yet, we also read about His blessings. Large herds and flocks. Many servants.
What was the difference between Abraham and his nephew Lot? Abraham continually came back to Yahweh. Lot did not. He chose to go his own way, time after time. Abraham CHOSE to trust Yahweh time after time.
I have wondered, do you think that Abraham grumbled to his friends? Do you think he complained and talked about getting even with Lot? Do you think he WANTED to get even? OR do you think he chose to bless Lot and release him? I think he chose to bless Lot and release him. He chose to not dwell on what Lot had done, or what his herdsmen had done. He chose to not dwell on Lot taking the best land, he blessed and released him to live his life.
Lesson #1, bless and release.
Lesson #2 do not dwell on the wrong done to you.
Lesson #3 continually turn to Yahweh, and trust Him.
The next example is from Yeshua.
A life that is thriving is a life that is not worrying. A life that is thriving is a life that is trusting in Yahweh for everything, always, taking no thought for tomorrow and tomorrows troubles.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:25-34 emphasis mine
Yeshua talks about eating, drinking and clothing basic needs for life, right? He doesn't mention anything beyond that. Why do you suppose that is? I submit to you it is because, if He will take care of the basic needs, He will take care of any needs beyond those. Also, if you are pursuing His kingdom and righteousness, then all these things will be given to you. When you are pursuing relationship with Him, building His kingdom and living righteously, you have nothing to worry about. He will give these things to you.
That is true, isn't it?
I mean, let's look at Romans 8:28 ... And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose ...
All things work together for good for those who love God, look at that, He will take care of everything for us. If there is someone or something trying to work against us, He is there working it for our good. If circumstances are not in our favor whatever they may be, He is there working things out for our good.
Is your mind a little blown again?! Mine is. He is always looking out for us and making sure things are working in our favor. The enemy can not do anything to us, that He is not aware of.
These may seem like big steps to take to start thriving, however, from experience I can say they work.
Remember that saying, Let go and let God? It still applies. Always has and always will.
Lesson #4 believe Yahweh will work in your life and provide for you
Lesson #5 He cares for the lily's of the field, you are more valuable to Him than they are. He will care for you. Trust Him.
Lesson #6 do not worry, take your thoughts captive so that you are not worrying!
How will you implement these into your life?
How will you start thriving?