Patience.
Time.
Work.
Three things that many of us need, but don't have.
Sometimes we're stuck in a rut. A rut that is so deep that you don't feel like you're ever getting out. Maybe you feel like you're trying to accomplish something or be in a specific place in your life but you're not there yet. Maybe you've been trying for years to get somewhere and you don't seem to be making any progress. You look back on the past years and you haven't moved but an inch. Then you start thinking you are NEVER getting there. Not today, not tomorrow, not 10 years from now. PATIENCE MY CHILD.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes I face doubt. Sometimes I face fear of the unknown. or fear of what the future holds. I am a planner. I need to have a plan right in front of me, otherwise I feel overwhelmed. And if I miss something or I don't have a definite plan, I doubt if I'm ever going to accomplish anything. There seems to be so much unknown in front of me that I don't believe that I will ever reach my goal.
“Anybody can quit. Only a real champion and a person of character and strength can keep going and refuse to give up.”
― Sadie Robertson, Live Original: How the Duck Commander Teen Keeps It Real and Stays True to Her Values
Sometimes you face criticism that sets you back. Maybe someone told you that you can't do something. Let me tell you now that you can do anything you want to do. Dreams come true. There will always be naysayers. There will always be haters. But you are strong. You are brilliant. You are bigger than the lies they say about you.
Maybe you're doubting that you will ever get married. You think you'll be single forever and own 100 dogs. I don't see anything wrong with that scenario. Relationships are complicated. Dogs are great. Maybe being a single dog owner is your calling. Don't doubt your worth based upon that. Just because you're single doesn't mean you aren't loved and appreciated. Sometimes God calls people to be single. Don't think of that as a bad thing.
Maybe you're doubting that you'll ever accomplish your career goals. Maybe you want to be the biggest artist the world has ever known; the doctor who cures brain cancer; the next Beyoncé. I'll bet Beyoncé doubts herself every day. Some of the world's biggest stars and doctors and mathematicians doubt themselves. They could be on the verge of a great breakthrough, but they still doubt whether or not they will be accepted and welcomed.
You are not alone.
There are millions of people who doubt themselves.
Maybe you are doubting that you will ever be discovered. Maybe oblivion scares you. If that's the case, I encourage you to never stop improving. Never stop going the extra mile, even if that means the extra mile is just one step towards the right direction. Keep up the fight.
"I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.” -Augustus Waters, The Fault in Our Stars.
Maybe you doubt that you will make it through college or you will never get an "A" on a paper and that you will never see what it feels like to have your voice be heard. Keep trying. Get feedback from your professors. Continue to research and get better at whatever you're trying to write, compute or understand. You can never do too much work. The first step in seeing is believing that you can do something. Believing that you CAN and you WILL.
Maybe you're doubting yourself because you think that you'll never be good enough. You are good enough. Why? Because God put you on this earth for a purpose. You don't have to be good enough because Christ was good enough. He already paid your debt. You don't owe the world anything. You owe your Creator everything because He paid the ultimate price for YOU. He died for YOU. He died for you and me and President Donald Trump. He died and said YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH. You in all of your messy life and your tangled hair has a Creator and a Savior who loves you unconditionally because you're worth it.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
Maybe your issue is with timing. Everything is great but it's happening in all the wrong times. You are talking to an amazing person you could see yourself marrying one day, you have a great job opportunity lined up, you might even have an incredible salary but you just aren't ready for it. You might not be, but God is ready for you to be there and He put it all here for you RIGHT NOW. His timing is always perfect, I promise you. You might not see it now but you will see looking back on it that you needed everything that is happening to happen to you in this exact moment.
Be fearless.
"Fearless is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again. Even if every time you've tried before, you've lost." -Taylor Swift
Be confident in who you are.
God didn't make a mistake when He formed you. You are who you are for a reason and a purpose and YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY.
I doubt myself. Sometimes I think I'm never going to make it in this world. Because, let's face it, the world is a scary place. It's full of unknowns and guessing where our final destination will be. Sometimes, I second guess where God has called me because I can't see but two steps ahead. I can't see His full purpose and plan for my life. I can't see where in the world he's taking me, so I freak out and I doubt God. That is a whole different subject in and of itself. But honestly, when we doubt ourselves and where we're going in life, we are doubting Godbecause God has a plan. He knows where you're going. We aren't doubting ourselves, we're doubting God. A God who is strong and mighty and who can take care of you and your problems. So what is the big problem? Why are we continuing to complain and wonder why we're going through what we're going through? Why do we constantly lie to ourselves and tell ourselves we can't do something. I don't need to wonder, because "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13 NIV).
You are your own person. You don't need to doubt yourself or feel alone, because you're not alone. You are so not alone.
You can get through this season of doubt.
Just trust that you can get out of your mess... that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to.
Here's a little Mandisa encouragement for you ;)
