A non-comprehensive list of things working for your good:
Rejection
Denial
False narratives
Terminated offers
Delays
Missteps
Mistakes
Mishaps
Missed shots
Missed exits
Ineffective leadership
Carrying more than your fair share
Returning to the office
Heartache
Heartbreak
Long ways
Layoffs
Wrong ways
Spilled milk
Spoiled milk
Isolation
Lies
Truths that hurt
So often, we think that because it is painful, God must not want us to go through it. Because it must say somewhere in the Bible, “Thou shalt not be uncomfortable” in red letters.
I am sorry to break it to you, my friend, but it is not in there.
But I can give you a non-exhaustive list of what is:
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”
Proverbs 24:10 (ESV)
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
1 Peter 4:12 (ESV)
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (ESV) (This one is in red letters)
The year 2025 was transformational, and I began it with two words: Fight Back. That was my motto for the season. Whatever came at me, I came at it harder. I killed it if it needed killing. I overdid anything that tried to do it to me.
I am talking David, not just slaying Goliath with a slingshot, but cutting off his head to let the world know you could be next. Do not play me, God’s plans, or his people. I fight back.
I was pumped! I was going to kill it, but over the course of 2025, I found that the only thing that needed killing was my own flesh, my own thought processes, and my own ego. “ It’s no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun.”
I was in the way of God’s plan for my life. I trusted my fear more than I trusted my faith because, whether we want to admit it or not, fear is comfortable. It is close. It is familiar. So, we let it get a pass when we should be giving it a boot.
The issue with trusting our hands over God’s is that ours get tired, and eventually, we will need help holding them up.
So, the battle you thought needed a sword requires a scalpel. Power traded for precision. Strength laid down for stillness.
This work necessitates a sure hand and intentional eyes. Now you begin the painstaking work of carving back pieces of yourself that once served you well. You start where God tells you to start.
For me, I started around my stomach. If I must feel it, at least I can exit this process with a six pack.
Those gossiping lips and itching ears, take them off like Mr. Potato Head.
Prideful heart, get rid of it. God already has a new one for you.
Eyes that cause you to fall into temptation, pluck.
The pride that prevents you from apologizing. You do not need that. You protect it better than you protect your purpose. Let it go.
Enough with the Scripture-adjacent analogies.
How do I tangibly Fight Back? In short, friend, you need to talk about it.
Talk about it with God.
Talk about it in therapy.
Talk about it with trusted confidants, not just friends.
Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and its sharper than any two-edged sword. I bet when you heard that Scripture last, you did not think of death as a good thing.
Well, if the thing needs to die, it is fantastic. Conversely, you can speak life into situationships that need to perish. You know it looks like roadkill, and you keep reviving it with words in vanishing chats. Nobody else may see it, but God did.
Also, do not just talk about it. Speak directly to your situation and call it an uncircumcised Philistine.
Okay, do not do that. Especially if it is a coworker. You will end up in HR. But you get what I am saying. God has given you authority to speak to your mountain. The qualifier: a little bit of faith.
At the end of the day, your healing will probably begin with a conversation, followed by reflection, and then practice. Practice, as in getting better every time you encounter the same issue.
The renewing of our minds is not a one-and-done.
Renewing is a continuous process, just like how one shower will not do you for the week. You need to get in that water every day because outside is dirty, and now you are too. Just like it takes intention to get clean again, your mind needs the same refreshing.
So, what is the motto for 2026? Courage. Confidence. Creativity.
If you do not see a solution, make one. DIY.
Thanks for reading. Fight back.
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