If you feel the answers you are or are not receiving are insufficient…
STAY in the wrestle anyway!
I heard it described this way once…
Imagine you have 3 shelves…
The top shelf is for all the unanswered questions and concerns… (this one is always loaded for me)
The middle shelf is for those questions you are actively seeking answers for, with faith and patience… (I’ve learned that focusing on one or two at a time helps me stay focused better).
The bottom shelf is for those things you have received answers to… whaa-hoo!
I have experienced one or more of those shelves being extra heavy almost to breaking point…
Often I wanted to give up and just go back to the life I was familiar with…
But then I remembered what that life looked like and that it was the reason I decided to ‘engage in the wrestle’ for this new lifestyle in the first place…
So I gritted my teeth and stayed in the wrestle.
Several YEARS went by, but I stuck with it. Things began to change, I changed!
And my future self is so grateful that my past self decided to stay engaged in the wrestle, because the blessings have been amazing and abundant.
Just learn to take your questions with you (like a puppy following you around) and watch, wait, seek, ponder and pray. The answers will come.
In fact, they often come as fast we are able to receive them, so …
How ready are you for the answers you are seeking?
I’ve noticed the more humble and teachable I am, and willing to change – the faster my answers come. If I am looking to justify what I think and feel, the answers take a lot longer to come and so does the comfort.
Humble, teachable and willing are your best friends in this.
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If you find yourself in a position where you are helping someone who is struggling with their faith and their testimony, here are some helpful tips…
First, and most important, keep working on your testimony – in fact you may need to increase your effort.
As you help them seek answers, you might find you need more answers as well, seek the LORD’s help in this!
If they bring up doubts and fears that cause worry in you, take those to the LORD! Do not nurse them with those who are struggling!
Testify of truth (even if it may seem hard for those you are trying to help). Do it with a calm, confident smile, and wrapped in love.
The Holy Ghost will touch their hearts when they are ready to listen and receive it.
Be kind, no matter what.
And being kind doesn’t mean you have to join them in their questioning. It just means love them as they struggle. Be there and READY when they need you-this will take more effort on your part.
Compliment them on what they are doing right, encourage them as they seek for answers, guide by asking good questions, but let them discover their answers – it will mean more to them.
Manage the disappointment and frustration you are likely to feel as they struggle.
Watching others struggle is also a wrestle, yet we have promised to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.
Pray for them, be patient, meet them where they are and ask for inspiration throughout this process. Sometimes this takes a few weeks and sometimes this takes years…
It is a labor of love and it’s worth it, because they are a child of God also.
Pray for comfort and the ability to be a loving support as long as it takes.
As a life coach, this is my constant prayer! And it requires my continual learning and growth, asking questions, seeking answers, and looking at myself and where I am.
I have to coach myself often, as I’m helping others because it often brings up imperfections I’m still working on.
And it brings up questions I’ve not had to wrestle with yet…
But it’s a wonderful work and I have come to enjoy the wrestle and the constant practice of turning to the Lord over and over again.
