Zeal. | A Weekly Word 2022

Our healing is not linear. An often cyclical journey moving us between trauma, progress, triggers, regression and back around again. Certain seasons will bring ease and flow, while others will bring resistance and challenge. And often, it will take for us to break-down before we can break-through.

All of these experiences are valid, and all are okay.

Healing is work – good work. And as we see in today’s passage, we should approach our healing with zeal. We are called to be zealous for good works, pursuing them with energy, enthusiasm, and endurance. 

Energy

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!" - 1 Chronicles 16:11

Learning, relearning, processing and practicing self-compassion, while healthy acts, can be exhausting. The exhaustion can cause feelings of overwhelm and discouragement leading us to stall in our healing journeys. This stalling, however, is often an indicator that our energy needs to be renewed – either through nourishment or conservation. Spiritual nourishment comes by pouring into ourselves through seeking the strength of the Lord continually. While the conservation of our energy comes through rest. Throughout the Bible there are passages about the importance of rest, beginning with God resting on the seventh day of creation [Genesis 2:2], modeling for us the importance and divinity of renewing our energy.

Enthusiasm

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” - Colossians 3:23

Just as we learned to rest through God’s divine example, we are also taught how to love through God’s example. God’s love for us is unconditional, relentless and complete.  As such, we should  do the work required on our healing journey, as though we were doing it unto the Lord — with all our heart. And we should love ourselves in a manner that is unconditional, relentless and complete.

Endurance

"Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." - Galatians 6:9

Life is challenging. We can expect to experience difficulties, some short-lived with quick rebounds while other seasons can seem to go on and on. Most of us will find our prayers centered around a request for God to remove said challenge, yet the Bible describes long-suffering as something that we should be grateful for. Romans 5:3-5 says this, “we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces endurance; endurance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”This is a reminder of the benefits of enduring through challenging seasons. As the fruit of our endurance is a refined character and the hope that our tender hearts so desperately yearn for.

Love, Maaden

Passage

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:14

Prayer

God, thank you for giving your life so that we may live freely. Thank you for cleansing us from sin. Thank you, Lord, for making us your very own so that we might be zealous for good works. Help me to pursue healing and wholeness with the right energy. Help me to sustain enthusiasm for doing good work. Help me to maintain the endurance required to navigate life’s challenges. In Jesus' name. Amen

Practice

This week, I will commit to taking a week of emotional rest so that I may come back from that time with the energy, enthusiasm, and endurance required to continue on my healing journey.