Girl, Stop Waiting on People. Encourage Yourself!

March 28, 2021.

To all of my girlfriends, sistas, mothers, and wives—listen up. God has a plan for your life. His plan is bigger and better than what you can see with the naked eye. His plan is extraordinaire! And it requires you to do something that not everyone can do.

The enemy does not want you to fulfill the plan God has for your life. He strategically uses things like divorce, illness, abuse, abandonment, betrayal, infidelity, secrets, lies, death, hate, loneliness, and all kinds of hardships to distract you from your purpose. When you become consumed and focused on these things, you can easily find yourself distracted and discouraged. But God uses the same hardships, not to break us, but to grow us, and to help us to focus on His power and His amazing love.

As a woman who wears many hats, it is only natural that you find yourself depleted at times. Just like the Energizer Bunny, you simply keep going and going. You love with a love that is not always reciprocated. You give unselfishly. You serve wholeheartedly.

Every once in a while, you glance over your shoulder waiting for someone to notice. You wait for someone to ask if you’re okay. You want someone to tell you to breathe, to offer a word of relief, to hand you a motivational lift. You become absorbed by the silence. Then it happens. Discouragement sets in.

But did you forget who you are? You are stronger than you could ever imagine. You are essential even in those times when you think you are not. Look how far you have come. Look at the wonderful things you have accomplished, even after all that you have been through.

Girl, stop waiting on people. Encourage yourself! Stop your weeping. Stop your crying. Dry those tears. Tell the worrying to cease. Silence the torment with God’s peace. Arise from your place of discouragement. Put on your best clothes. Get out your celebratory shoes and put that faith to work.

You may stumble at times. You may fall apart on any given day. You may still be crying over past hurts and that’s okay. What matters is that you’re here, and that you’ve made it this far. But don’t stay where you are. Encourage yourself and get up.

Here’s my definition of Encourage: Find hope where you least expect it; gain strength from those who God placed in your life for such a time as this; stimulate your mind with spiritual things; push forward even when you don’t feel like it.

1 Samuel 30:5,6 says And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. But David [encouraged] himself by trusting in his God.

Sometimes we are looking for people to encourage us while they themselves are merely holding on and in need of the same strength and support we want them to give. We must not get distracted.

There is a plan and a purpose on your life that only you can fulfill. Girl, stop waiting on people. Encourage yourself and go and do what God has called you to do!