What to do when you’re not Okay…

 In my last blog post i wrote a post titled: ‘Is it okay not to be okay?. In the post, I concluded that it is absolutely okay not to be okay, however, it’s not okay to do nothing about it. Today we will be talking about what to do when our answer to to the question: ‘Are you okay?’ is no, I am not okay.

I remember a story in the Bible about the man of God called Prophet Elijah which is documented in the first book of Kings chapter 19 from verse 1. Prophet Elijah had just performed one of his most famous miracles by defeating the prophets of Baal. One would think that should have set him up for so much euphoria but soon after the supernatural demonstration of God’s power, his life was put on a literal hit list by Queen Jezebel. Elijah then had to run for his life for days and soon felt dejected to the point where he felt suicidal.

“It is enough! Now, Lord , take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

I Kings 19:4 NKJV

Elijah really felt so defeated that even death felt like a much more favourable outcome. A lot of us are not brave enough to openly say so but suicidal thoughts are quite prevelant amongst today’s youth. We all know that we are living in unprecedented times which are nothing like what we are accustomed to: many of us have been struggling with negative thoughts due to what the media and news channels have been feeding us about the state of the world. Yes… We are not okay: it is perfectly fine for us to admit that to ourselves and to God.

I love the word of God because it is timeless and remains as relevant yesterday as it is today. When Elijah was overwhelmed with all those suicidal thoughts and was feeling dejected: an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him to get up and eat. This is an indicator that self-care is very important when we are not feeling okay: we should never get to a point that we are starved of the nourishment that our body and minds need to survive. Nourishment can be the actual food we consume which should be wholesome and healthy. It can also be what we feed our minds through what we read, watch and listen to. Dietitians across the world agree that a balanced diet is essential for healthy living. The same can be said about what we consume mentally.

So when you’re not okay – eat!!! Eat God’s word, eat your favourite casserole, eat your favourite worship playlist… EAT! I am in no way condoning gluttony here however it’s important that we restore the correct balance.

When a car is producing dark fumes of smoke and sounds faulty, we always refer it to its maker for service. Same with us, when everything around us becomes too overwhelming, let us seek our Maker above everything else. It’s so easy to be caught up in what is happening in the world that we forget to refer to our Maker for guidance.

A good indicator that a car is not okay usually comes in the form of inclines. A car which is struggling will usually struggle to get up inclines because of lag. That could mean it’s turbocharger is faulty or its engine needs rejuvenation. Sometimes we meet inclines in life which expose our state of being: inclines come in the form of loss, illnesses, challenging situations and stress. If we are not well fed up spiritually, mentally and physically… we will always struggle with life’s inclines.

Another thing worth noting about Elijah is that he allowed himself to rest between his meals. He gave himself ample time to rest through sleep. Jesus famously said these words:

“Come all ye who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11: 28

In Christ there is rest. Rest doesn’t always signify actually sleeping but it also signifies having peace of mind. When our minds are at peace, our bodies and state of being automatically is at rest. How do I get this peace of mind? Well a good place to start is by believing God’s word over your life. Many of us read and know God’s word but very few of us believe and affirm it in our daily lives.

Another way to be at rest is to continually pray. When our prayer lives become stagnant, everything else starts being problematic. Jesus was God Himself in the body of a man but He never discounted prayer in His walk on earth. Prayer means actually talking to God about your problems and not tweeting them: prayer means actually seeking God’s move in your life above that of man. There is power in prayer!

I always try to keep my blog posts short but this one is probably my longest in a long time because it’s one that I’m probably going to need to read in the future. If you have been reading until this far, I want you to know that God sees and cares for you in your distress. Seek Him above all things, rest in Him, feed on His word and watch Him turn your situation around.