Faith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6h6rBFW7U8

This month has been rough. It just feels like the hits won’t stop coming. I get knocked down, I stand back up, and before I can even catch my breath, life starts lifing again. It’s been the kind of month that makes me wonder if I’m the main character in a spiritual boxing match I never signed up for. I’m feeling like the odds are stacked - and when I feel like a punching bag instead of me, it’s easy to slip into hopelessness.

But here’s the truth I keep coming back to: God never promised we wouldn’t face battles — He promised we wouldn’t face them alone.

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated." Maya Angelou

That Maya Angelou quote has been hitting differently as I’m living through these defeats in real time. It reminds me that defeat is an experience, not an identity. Feeling crushed doesn’t mean I’m broken. Feeling tired doesn’t mean I’m weak. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean I’m faithless. It simply means I’m human.

There’s a particular kind of heaviness that comes from feeling like I’m doing everything “right”, but still getting knocked around. I pray. I try. I push. I continue to show up. And yet the doors stay closed, the storms keep rolling in, and the people around me seem to be living on easy mode. But they could be like me – suffering quietly.  But lately, I’m learning to stop asking, “Why me?” and start asking, “What is this trying to teach me?”

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Corrie Ten Boom

Not because suffering is some kind of spiritual badge of honor — but because shifting the question shifts the power. Suddenly the situation isn’t something happening to me; it’s something happening through me. And that’s where God does His best work.

Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good, not that all things are good. Some things are hard. Some things are unfair. Some things break your heart. But God has a way of taking the pieces and building something stronger than what existed before.

When life feels like a fight, faith becomes less of a Sunday ritual and more of a survival tool. I’ve had days where my prayers weren’t eloquent — they were exhausted. Days where all I could manage was, “God, please help me and my family.” And somehow, I felt that was enough.

When everything feels uncertain, I’m reminded that God sees the angles I can’t. He knows the purpose behind this tremendous pressure. And even when I feel like I’m losing, He’s still working behind the scenes.

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill

My faith doesn’t remove the struggle, but it gives me the strength to endure it - perspective when my emotions are heavy. It gives me hope when every situation going on doesn’t.

Here are a few things that have helped me breathe through the constant blows instead of getting knocked out.

1. Naming the Emotion Instead of Numbing It Sometimes I just have to admit that “I’m not okay right now.” Pretending that I’m fine doesn’t make the pain go away; it just buries it deeper. Honesty when I'm praying and knowing that God can handle that honesty, has gone a long way.

2. Resting Without Guilt Rest is not weakness. Rest is repair. Even Jesus stepped away from the crowds to recharge. If the Son of God needed rest, why do we act like we don’t?

3. Finding Small Joys My favorite ice coffee. A quiet morning. A walk outside. My favorite show. These aren’t distractions — they’re reminders that life still contains goodness, even when it’s hard. They allow me to focus on something – anything – other than my current battles.

4. Allowing Support from Those Who Care I don’t have to be strong all the time. Nor do I have to carry everything alone. Sometimes God sends help through people — #NewOldBae, my parents, close friends, a co-worker who doesn’t know what you’re personally going through but somehow gets the message to you from God. I’m starting to let them show up for me – and listen to what they're saying.

5. Speaking Life Over Myself When the world feels loud, my own voice matters even more. Moving forward — even if it’s slow and shaky — is still progress because stopping in the middle of the fire won’t save me.

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Nelson Mandela

There’s a moment in every fight where the fighter has to decide whether to stay down or get back up. Not because they’re not hurt, but because they’re unwilling to let the pain be the final word. That’s what resilience looks like in real life. Not perfection. Not constant positivity. Not pretending the blows don’t hurt. Just choosing, again and again, to get back up.

When I feel like I’m being hit from every direction, I remind myself that God sees every fall. He sees every tear. He sees every moment I wanted to give up but didn’t. And He honors that fight.

The enemy wants me to believe I’m powerless. That I’m stuck. That I’m losing. But God says otherwise.

He says I am chosen.

He says I am protected.

He says I am strengthened.

He says I am more than a conqueror.

And you know what? Conquerors don’t quit — they continue to get up.

Even though I’m in this season where the hits feel personal and where the weight sometimes feel unbearable – I hold on and continue to breathe, pray, rest, get up, and repeat.

God is not done with my story. This pressure I feel is not punishment — it’s preparation and I think about how diamonds are made.

Diamonds are made deep underground, where ordinary carbon is pressed under extreme heat and pressure for a long time. Nothing about that process is comfortable, quick, or gentle — but it produces something that can’t be formed any other way. That’s how I’m choosing to see this season: the pressure isn’t here to crush me; it’s here to refine me.

And the same God who brings me through every storm will carry me through this one too.

I may feel like a punching bag today, but I am being shaped into a warrior.

And what do warriors do? They get up.

Until next time…thanks for listening.