From Struggle to Blessing: The Formula for Overcoming

• By candidasullivan
• December 16, 2024
• No Comments

The moment between the hardship and the blessing is crucial. It usually gets harder before it gets better. And it’s in the hard part that we determine whether or not we will get the blessing. 

Things get uncomfortable in challenging times. The desire to quit is the greatest. We just want the trial to be over, so we contemplate quitting. But the enemy disguises it and even reframes it for us. He doesn’t call it quitting but instead tells us that we aren’t ready, it’s not the right time and encourages us to put it off for another time. 

Sometimes, it feels like we don’t have a choice, but we do. 

When faced with adversity, there’s a formula we can use to overcome the enemy. 

1. Pray for guidance and what we need to overcome.
2. Follow the Lord and let Him lead us. 
3. Don’t give up.

God has everything we need to overcome the enemy. He will give it to us as we need it. We have to trust Him.

When I’m writing a book, it feels like I’m in the fire. Things happen to discourage me. The enemy attacks me relentlessly. It hurts. I want to quit. I doubt my ability. I doubt my desire. I feel fear. I can’t sleep. I don’t think about anything else. It consumes me. 

I usually feel like the worst writer in the world. My books start as a jumbled mess. I write all around the topic. I can’t get it. I show up, put words on the paper, and then delete them all. But this is the moment. I can quit or pray, follow the Lord, and vow not to quit. 

If I take quitting off the table, I have no other option but to do it. In the messiness of it all, when I feel broken and unworthy, God steps in. 

Sometimes, we must be certain that we can’t do it ourselves. That’s when I can really pray, and my heart is in the right place to work with God. 

People ask me to teach them how to write a book, and this is the formula. I pray, cry, pray, write, delete, pray, cry, write, etc. The key is to show up with the Lord and hold on until He blesses me. For me, it’s not a pretty process. I resist it, try to do it on my own, get frustrated, throw it in the trash, and do the process repeatedly until the Lord shows up. 

But when He shows up, the words flow. It all comes together so beautifully. Usually, I am the first person who the writing helps. However, this only happens if I decide not to give up. 

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