DESIRING DARK CLOUDS TO DISSIPATE

Posted on by juniperjen4jesus

BATTLING DISCOURAGEMENT & A LACK OF MOTIVATION

For many, 2026 has started off on a rocky note. The depressing news reminds us of the extreme depravity of this world we live in. And personally, many have already had financial, interpersonal, or emotional crises. 

These varying circumstances and unknowns can feel like they’re all around you, threatening to close in. You may feel paralyzed & as though you’re drowning. In fact, your mood might put Eeyore to shame.

For the sake of your sanity and emotional well-being, it’s important, in times like these, to literally MAKE yourself do and think certain things. Here are just a few ideas to help those dark clouds dissipate…

MAKE yourself:

  • Read & meditate on God’s Word – absorb its life-giving truths
  • Pray – if you feel like you’re drowning, tell God. If you feel happy, sad, mad, or overwhelmed…tell God! He should be your closest friend. Don’t forget to praise Him for His goodness. 
  • Switch on some worship music – they say worry and worship cannot coexist – so worship Jesus despite how you feel
  • Go outside, take a small walk – dark rooms can be our enemies – let that God-given Vitamin D do its thing
  • Take a bath or shower – there’s something about this that feels so refreshing 
  • Get something accomplished on your to-do list – maybe organize a drawer or clean the kitchen. Being productive can be so nice!
  • Encourage someone else – via text, gift, taking them for coffee, etc.
  • Literally reject negative thoughts – do not allow yourself to dwell on something that doesn’t pass the Philippians 4:8 mind filter
  • Tell yourself the truth, without embellishing. Examples: 
  • You may have made a mistake, but you and your whole life are not a mistake 
    • Some may be upset at you, but the whole world isn’t against you 
    • You may have regrets, but today is a new day to grow closer to Jesus and be who He wants you to be 
    • You DO have friends – even if you feel alone at the moment
    • You DO have people who love you – even if you don’t feel like it right now 
    • Your overly-honest toddlers and your hormone-imbalanced teens really do love you, even when they don’t show it well
    • “Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more.” – God offers us His grace and mercy despite our depravity
    • “There is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still” (quote by Corrie ten Boom’s sister, Bep)
  • Do what you might not feel like doing – i.e., go to church and be around people when you’d rather hide away at home, turn off the depressing news, stop “doomscrolling”, text a friend to encourage them, etc. 

What doesn’t help? Hiding away from loved ones while nursing and rehearsing past sins, regrets, lies, and wounds. 

This is exactly what Satan desires us to do. It paralyzes us into a state of uselessness. 

Our life is way too short to waste time that we could be using to serve Jesus!

Friend, you are loved by your Creator and many others. You have a God-given purpose. Reject the lies and dwell on this liberating truth. 

So today, MAKE yourself do hard things. Take an idea or two from the list above and, with God’s help, watch the dark clouds above your head start to dissipate. 

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – Romans 12:2

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