Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh start. A new day to rise up and move ahead. A new day to begin your ascending climb up out of the valley. The thing about the valley is it’s part of the up and down rhythm of life. There will be pain in this world. There will be disappointments, regrets, sin, loss, trauma, and sadness. No one leaves unscathed because of the fallen world we live in. But that’s NOT the end of the story! Right after the fall of Adam and Eve, the Lord set a plan into motion to redeem all that was lost. He is still in the process of restoring His people back into relationship with Him, and He will continue to restore all that was lost.

The verse of the day in the bible app is:

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalms 30:5

Even when we are in the pit of the valley, we will not stay there. We will rise back up and move forward ahead. Even in the darkest of nights, the sun faithfully rises again. You can’t stay in perpetual winter, the seasons change. Spring comes and the newness of life breaks through the ground and springs forth. Your breakthrough will come as you continue to look to the Lord for His help.. He will never leave you or forsake you. As you turn to Him, He will restore you. He continues to amaze me with how He can redeem the most painful, broken situation and weave beauty amidst the pain.

A few takeaways if you are struggling with something today. A trusted counselor of mine begins each new client session by teaching her clients this truth: Our feelings come and go and you will not feel this way forever. Whether you are a 5 year old client in her office or 95, she first makes sure you understand that the very nature of feelings is that they change. All feelings are important, there are no bad or good feelings, and they all COME and they GO.

In the midst of a bad day, bad week, bad month, bad year, or even bad decade, we start to believe the lie that we are going to feel like this for the rest of our lives. Well, no feeling lasts forever and as you invite God into the battlefield, He promises to work things out for the good of those who love Him. You will feel joy again. You will feel sunshine on your cheeks again. You will rise and climb the mountain again. When I am struggling, I stop and remind myself that this feeling will pass. Feelings come and go.

And, another lie we believe is that the way it has been is just the way it always will be. Wrong…. if we turn to God, invite Him in, and truly lean into where He calls us, we will NOT stay in winter forever. He will begin to work out the patterns of dysfunction. He will bring healing to hurt. He will make beautiful things from the dusty ashes of your broken pieces. You do not have to accept that, “Its been like this for so long that this is just how it’s meant to be.” Hand it ALL over to God and stay in conversation with Him. You will experience breakthrough.

Remember our weapons of praise and prayer. As we praise God in the winter, declaring His goodness no matter the weather, our eyes shift OFF of the storm and onto HIM. Before you even realized a shift was happening, the season begins to change. New life and breakthroughs spring forth. God will not let you stay in the dark of night, nor will He let you stay in Winter. As you serve Him, He will lead you to the morning sunshine.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your goodness and Your mercy. You are gooooood. You never leave us alone to work it out. Lord, continue to enter our seasons of winter and move us into spring. I pray for breakthrough for each person reading today. I pray for a new well of strength to continue praising and praying even in the dark of night. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Blessings and Breakthroughs,

Vanessa Lynn