One of the qualities of a good life coach is helping clients when they feel stuck. Whether it’s a transition in life or waiting for an answer to prayer, we need to feel we are moving forward.
What is the block? What is holding back the answers? Is it just a matter of timing or something much deeper?
Do some of the micro habits need to be tweaked such as when a writer actually sits down and places fingers on the keyboard?
Or are negative habits contributing to the block such as a pattern of compliance that sometimes keeps women from reaching for their dreams?
Sometimes, it’s just plain old FEAR.
The dark night of the soul can apply to more than religious choices, when God seems to be hiding and we are left to wallow in our frailties.
Especially in these stuck times, we can reach deep and look for hope. God has not disappeared. He may be silent, yet still at work behind the scenes, moving puzzles pieces together.
And our inner creativity may just need a boost of encouragement, an extra chunk of time to rest or a good talking-to. Then the dam breaks, the ideas come pouring out and life moves forward again.
So how do we find that extra dose of hope when we feel stuck in an eternal calendar where nothing flips to the next page?
- Keep believing that God WILL answer — in his timing. That’s the tough part. The waiting.
- Understand that every season, even the season of waiting, will eventually end.
- Believe that even in the stuck place, there is a purpose.
- Remember we cannot see every detail until we use hindsight. For planners, this is tough.
- Believe in the positive ending, not a happily-ever-after fable, but the greater good for the greater number of people.
- Take a chunk of time to get away. Walk. Rest. Reboot. Your answer might be waiting at the end of a nap.
- Talk to the more mature people you trust. We often know the answer to our problems, but we have to talk it out with a good listener.
- Journal about the issue. The energy of writing down your thoughts will often enlighten you.
- Don’t give up. A stuck place is not the end. It’s just a respite before the next season.
- Keep praying because God honors perseverance.
Hope continues to believe, especially when we cannot see how our faith works. As we believe in what we cannot see, we build more faith muscles. Next time, the waiting won’t be so hard.
Stay in hope. Keep believing the answer will come. Start planning now for how you will celebrate.
©2021 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved
Pastor Tanner wasn’t sure if he would survive the tragedy, but then came a surprise answer. Check out his story in The Year of my Redemption.