Friends, you know, I’ve got to be honest here… I’ve felt quite defeated lately.
You know, sometimes, life just punches you hard in the gut and you’re simply unable to stand up straight any longer. So instead, you lie in bed and all you can think is that you really don’t want to get out from under those covers.
Not right now. Not today. Not this week.
And the alarm keeps ringing and you keep snoozing it for yet another five minutes and you just keep hoping it won’t actually go off again.
But it does. Every time. And it reminds you that you really have to get out of bed, no matter the screaming voice in your head that says it’s the last thing on earth you want to do.
It seems impossible to be facing yet another day.
Yes, it’s been one of those seasons, and I’m so glad spring is here and the sun is out and it’s a little warmer so going outside seems a little easier and a lot more refreshing.
But going outside is difficult, too.
So, friends, I need your help. Because, honestly, I don’t know how to do this. I can’t seem to find the strength to get out of this rut.
So here I am, defeated.
Defeated. Defeated. Defeated.
It seems that with every heartbeat, this word is being pumped through my body.
Defeat. Defeat. Defeat.
I feel absolutely defeated. And the longer this goes on, the more defeated I feel.
I try to give myself the space I need, but the more I do that, the more I feel defeat taking over said space.
I don’t know what to do, or how I can get myself out of this. I don’t have the strength. But I know Someone that can give me that strength. I know Someone that can get me out of this.
So here I am, breathing prayer after prayer for just a little more strength to make a right choice, a little more strength to stay course, a little strength to turn off that alarm clock and actually get up at the time it goes off.
A little strength to surrender completely.
It’s a tough battle. The enemy wants to keep me in that place of defeat. He wants to see me put down my weapons and crush under the weight of the armor.
But “the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10 ESV)
So today, I run to the Lord. I tell myself that there, I am safe. There, the enemy doesn’t have a foothold.
There, His lies are defeated.
And I am victorious, because Jesus is victorious.
So today, I make the decision to surrender completely, because I won’t ever win this fight.
But I know the One that already has the victory, and I run to Him to be safe.
And the place of defeat shifts. Now, the enemy is defeated.
Defeated. Defeated. Defeated.
Disclaimer: I know there are some people who actually can’t make it out of bed, and there are diagnosable illnesses that keep them there. That’s okay. Stay there. And even if you don’t have one of those, sometimes, it’s okay, or even good, to stay there anyway.
