Getting Gritty with God: 5 Mindsets That Matter
When you are faced with difficulty and challenges, what is your mindset? How do you move from fear to freedom? In the last decade I have found myself faced with the decision to either give up and escape or persevere and put my hope in God. I found myself wondering if things would change, would life get better, was there a light at the end of the tunnel. My life did not look like I thought it would. I want to share with you how I have persevered during the most challenging time of my life. Walk through these 5 mindsets that matter when saying YES to GOD & GRIT and NO to FEAR & FAILURE. I believe this could help shape your life too.
Lamentations 3:24 declares “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him”. Another way I like to say that is “my hope is in my Lord because of who he is”. He is my portion because he is enough, he is the source of everything I could ever need, there is no more portion than him, he is it for me… because of that, I will hope in him.
When you find yourself challenged or desperate, fear-stricken or discouraged, focus on these 5 mindsets. Here is the key to each of them before you start: God is the subject and center. When we establish GOD as the subject, and not ourselves, everything shifts, and God is glorified, worthy of all praise.
Mindset #1: Motivation – the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.
Mindset #2: Momentum – the strength or force that something has when it is moving.
Mindset #3: Memorization – the process of committing to memory or learning something by heart.
Mindset #4: Mighty – possessing great and impressive power or strength
Mindset #5: Maturity – to evolve toward or reach full development
I had lost my way quickly. A marriage in its first year marred with infidelity, addiction, sickness, toxic relationships, and a new baby ended in divorce. But God. My motivation after that extremely difficult timewas to find myself again, being a new mom, I desperately wanted out of the way I felt and desired to look to something positive so I could be a good role model. I met Jesus after I heard the gospel shared at a church service.
I gained momentum and had the strength to secure a great job and establish myself in a new career. Each day/week/month that passed I was building a new foundation IN HIM. The fear that was gripping me about custody, or the pain and sadness that was surrounding me about losing my husband to divorce was shifting.
I looked to His word, memorizing His truths, and cementing verses onto my heart. I began believing The Bible and understanding I was made new in Christ, that I am a child of God. My situation and circumstances had not changed, I was still divorced and sharing custody of my young daughter, but a mighty transformation occurred in me by his Holy Spirit. I was connected to God Almighty through his Holy Spirit, and his power and strength helped me keep the first commandment first, my joy was
in the Lord.
Throughout the last decade I have matured in many ways, failing, and falling forward, facing rejection, seeking forgiveness, and working through real fear that continued to paralyze me because of my doubts. I now know looking back over more than a decade that he was maturing me in this time of suffering and establishing in me space to evolve and develop for His purposes.
His word says in Romans 5:2-4 And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
So now write your story, with God as the subject, giving him all the glory; and go get gritty with God – put your hope in him!