Surviving Isn’t the Same as Living

• By candidasullivan
• May 21, 2026
• No Comments

If nothing changes in our lives, nothing will change. We will remain in the same places of stagnation and pain that we so badly want to escape. But the enemy tells us we don’t know how to improve our lives. 

It starts with the desire for things to get better. And then to pray about how we can work towards it. 

For the last little while, my days off have been completely unproductive. One thing or another has stolen my focus and my productivity. At the end of my day, I have felt drained and sad. Not because my day was hard, but because I drifted along without any structure. I spent all day reacting instead of focusing. 

I let other people and things control my days. I spent time and energy on things beyond my control. And it made me feel as if my life was out of control. As it turns out, I don’t need to control others or things in the world; I just need to control my thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

The enemy is so sneaky that way. He loves to delay, distract, and discourage us. If he can get us to procrastinate by wasting our time, then he will use it to discourage us. 

Have you ever noticed that cycle? He tells us to waste time and distracts us constantly, then he makes us feel bad about wasting our time and day. Satan is a master manipulator. 

The only way to defeat him and this cycle is to notice our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Then we can pray about the specific ways he is attacking us. God wants to help us, but we won’t ask for help if we don’t even recognize that we have a problem. 

Shedding light on something overcomes the darkness. 

Sometimes the greatest thing we can do is observe. When we pay attention to our thoughts, feelings, and actions, we can see his handiwork in our lives. Especially if we ask God to reveal the enemy in our lives. 

Merely surviving our days is not the same as intentionally living them. In survival mode, we just focus on what absolutely has to be done to survive. Every day feels like a chore that we don’t want to do. But when we sit with God and ask Him what’s wrong in our lives, He will reveal the enemy and show us how to overcome his attacks.

Today, I started with my journal. I asked God what I needed to do today. As I made a list, I blocked it off in my calendar. I decided when I would do each thing. I even blocked off some time today for porch sitting. 

Honestly, I am not someone who likes a schedule. My mind rebels against it. But I know it helps me. So I am choosing to do a little experiment and try it consistently for five days. Then, at the end of five days, I will reevaluate it and see if it made me more productive and how I feel at the end of my day. 

I don’t want to come to the end of this year or my life and realize I wasted it all trying to survive a life I was supposed to enjoy.  

1 Peter 5:8 KJV

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Will you join me on this five-day experiment?