Feeling Stuck or Trapped

 

       Do you ever wonder if God is watching you go through a tough time while eating a bag of chips and laughing every time you fall? It can feel like He is watching you go through these hard times just for His entertainment. He has all the answers, so why doesn't He help you out and bring a little more clarity to your situation? You know He cares about you, so why does He let you go through hard seasons where you feel stuck? Growth.

    What do I mean by that? Think about it, where do you find the most vegetation on a mountain range? The valley. Life is full of so many mountains that require that "size of a mustard seed" faith. Mountains can look different for everyone, no one has the same exact story as someone else. There may be similarities, but no two people have the same story. It's really easy to look at everyone around you and start to feel insignificant; you start comparing your life to theirs and you say to yourself, "my life doesn't look like that, I must be doing something wrong". When life starts to feel like that, it's a slippery slope into some sort of existential crisis! Suddenly you need a new car, a new apartment, a new friend group, a new zip code, a name change and maybe a piercing or tattoo. You start looking for the things in your life you can immediately change, but nothing seems to fill that void. You have to remember that everyone has a different story and journey in life. "Comparison is the thief of joy" comes to mind as I write this. Life is full of challenging seasons, a lot of them may make you feel stuck. So what do you do when this happens?

    For one, you need to tell your loved ones how you feel! People who care about you and genuinely want you to succeed. Even if that means the only person you tell is your closest family member, you need to get it out to another person. "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" Galatians 6:2. Another thing you should do, is get out of your own head! You can go to the gym, turn on a movie, go for a drive to Target, get some coffee, literally anything that gets you focused on something else. You should most definitely pray to God about it and ask Him to guide you through this season and help you to give yourself grace during this hard time. NEVER keep the way you feel to yourself, though! It's important you get these emotions out. I know I always feel better after getting it out with God and having a good cry to some worship music lol.

    Never be afraid to share how you feel with someone! It does yourself a disservice and it could be someone else's opportunity to be used by God to help you by giving you advice and becoming aware that you need prayer.

Galatians 6:2

Romans 12:15

1 Thessalonians 5:11

James 5:16