I'm Not Okay, but I Want to BeSample

Not being okay when you want to be can really drag you down and steal your hope. The enemy would love for us to believe that it’s never going to be okay and that our trial will never end. That’s why it is so important to stop believing that lie and instead do as Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13 – we set all our hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring us when He is revealed. We position ourselves with confident expectation that God has good things in store for us. To set our hope is to live in such a way that through the good and bad, we know that God’s goodness and unfailing love will pursue us all the days of our lives (see Psalm 23:6). When we keep the reality of heaven in mind, we can boldly walk with confidence through any trial knowing that no matter the outcome, we win. We are not victims; we are victors.    

I used to work as an elementary school teacher. In math, one of the practices that I continuously reminded my students of was showing their work when solving math problems. By showing their work, I could see the process they used to solve the problems. Even if they didn’t come up with the correct final answer, I would still give them credit for showing me how they arrived at an incorrect answer instead of guessing or not attempting the problem at all. I could see where mistakes were made so that we could fix them before the next graded assignment. My students needed to feel successful even if they made mistakes. That’s how grace works for us as believers in Jesus Christ. We may respond to our tests and trials in the way that the world responds, or we may not respond at all, but thank God for His kindness and unmerited favor! We learn to not rely on our own strength and to look at our trials through God’s Word, His promises, and His purposes. When we are not okay but we want to be, God gives us hope and grace. 

When I’m not okay, I choose to live every day in confident expectation of God’s goodness through Jesus Christ by closing my morning prayer with, “Lord, help me to remember that nothing can happen today that You and I together can’t handle.” It’s my daily reminder that come what may, God will take care of me. 

Let me encourage you to live each day in confident expectation that better is coming. Your testimony is being developed. Healing is coming. Joy is ahead. Wholeness is being restored. Keep going! It’s going to be okay.