Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

WHEN I GO THROUGH HELL, I DO THESE 4 THINGS.

‘For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.’ Psalms 30:5

Everyone has tough days, especially in these times. Just before all of this Covid-19 started up, I had one of my toughest days. I lost all of my savings in the stock market. Gone — in an instant. That was a tough day. That was a REALLY f’n tough day.

Another tough day or couple of tough months came a few years back, we moved to Australia. The tough days went on for almost a year or so as I was trying to land a job. It — was — tough. Much more difficult than I could have planned. It sucked. I can remember during this time first attending Hillsong Church.

Every time I went to church, I cried. I asked God for help, for mercy. All the jobs I applied for seemed to disintegrate right before my eyes. I felt totally defeated. I didn’t know what else to do. Similar to David in Psalms 30.

I’ve also had those moments where I ask myself, “what the f are you doing with your life? What are you creating?” You know those thoughts that come into your head that undermine anything you are doing. Maybe your turning 30, 40 or 50 and you start looking back at your life and you’re like — “I’ve accomplished nothing.” Those can feel like the worst days.

However, joy eventually does come to visit.

If you’re going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill

Here is 4 things I do when going through Hell 🔥

1. Dont’ Stop. Giving up is never an option. Take each day at a time. This is part of the process. Learn to love the process more than the goal at the end. The process is what forms your future.
2. Meditate More. I don’t mean just sit outside and stare at the beautiful green grasses. Although that may help, get your mind on what God says about you. Get those thoughts of greatness in your brain at all times. Remind yourself that God is for you. Just like Psalms 30:5, “Joy comes in the morning.” Remind yourself, “Joy is just around the corner, it’s coming my way.” (Deuteronomy 28 is a good one)
3. Get Some Sleep. Whenever I have really 💩 days, sometimes I just go to bed early. There was a season where I was having some really bad days. I ended up going to bed around 7pm every night. I was so exhausted from the pressure and anxiousness, I just slept. And you know what, it gave me the energy to face the morning. (Psalms 127:2 is a good one)
4. Ask God For What’s Next. When I lost all my money, my world seemed to completely implode. I was crushed. But then, I asked God, “what can I do to help make more money? Where can I put my energy and focus now that this money is gone?” And, I felt like for me, it was to put this energy into writing. To develop this gift I have and practice. (James 1:5 is a good one)

I’ll finish with this quick story. Yesterday, I asked Roscoe (my son, age 10) to play me in Madden on PS4. He declined. I asked him, “how come you don’t want to play me?” He said, “because you’re too good, I don’t want to lose.” I then said to him, “you’re never losing when you lose. You only lose when you decide NOT to learn.” I call these “Madden Teaching Moments,” the true power of video games.

He looked at me perplexed. So I said it a bit differently, “Roscoe, we all may lose or take a loss in something. The difference is how you VIEW that loss. I view the loss as learning, therefore, it becomes a win for me.”

He still didn’t want to play me in Madden — but maybe you get the point. Every day is a lesson — so work out a way to smile and enjoy it. Which reminds me of this Tony Robbins quote,

“Life happens for you, not to you.” — Tony Robbins

Let’s pray:
Jesus, help me to see that you are for me. Give me the courage to face today. Give me the joy that you describe in Psalms 30. I need that and want that. Speak to me in a way that I know it’s you. If you got me here, help me get the f through this. Amen.