In this time of global crisis, it is easy to feel unsettled, uncertain, and afraid. Yet, it is in the hardest, scariest seasons, that we can learn and grow the most if we will choose to lean in, be fully present, and open to the wisdom that is available to us.
The fourth of The 4 Life-Changing Lessons I’ve Learned from the COVID-19 Crisis is this:
Breakdown Begets Breakthrough
Let’s be honest. If there ever was a season in our lives that could feel like a breakdown, it is this one. Schools, churches, and most businesses are shut down. We are isolated and quarantined with very limited social outlets. As a nation, we have struggled to contain the virus outbreak despite having the world’s most advanced health system. Over five hundred thousand have fallen ill, and the death rate is in the thirty-thousands.
Many of us are separated from our families and friends, and most who have lost precious loved ones, have not had the opportunity to visit them or even say goodbye. People have been laid off and furloughed in record numbers with no source of income to make house and car payments or even to buy groceries.
Businesses are in major financial crisis, and many will not survive. The stock market had a major meltdown, and our economy is struggling. It may take years to fully heal and recover from the devastation for us individually and as a nation. Most of us feel terrified and completely out of control as a result, and we are all grieving our losses.
However, despite our fear and sadness, we must recognize that breakdowns are part of life, and they are often unavoidable. It is crucial that when a breakdown occurs, we choose wisely how we respond. We can allow it to overwhelm and devastate us and resist it with everything inside, or we can accept and embrace the breakdown, and trust that there is always beauty in its midst.
The truth is that every breakdown in our life, whether we like it or not, is a clear indication that either something needs to shift, or that it’s time to let go of whatever we are clinging to, so, it can be replaced with something better.
Breakdowns feel cruel and mean, especially when it feels like we’ve done nothing to cause it. We make the mistake of getting caught up in the breakdown itself, and we use it as an excuse to play the victim, instead of realizing the wisdom that is available to us in it. We must stop seeing the breakdown as a bad thing, but instead, see it as a catalyst for change that will end up bringing us to a much better place.
We are always growing and evolving, and it is often the most painful events and circumstances in our lives that remove what isn’t working for us and/or usher in what is next. Our job is to surrender to it and let the change happen. Once we sever our dependence on what we were clinging to as our answer, or what wasn’t working in our life, we are free to embrace what is healthier and more fulfilling. Then, we open up space for it to arrive.
The most powerful truth of all is this. We have maxed out our potential when we are in control of our own lives. Yet, when we surrender our control (that we never really had anyway), and we open fully to what God offers us in the breakdown, we experience the greatest breakthroughs.
“You can’t have a breakthrough without some things getting broken.” – Paul Gilmore
Don’t spend another moment resisting this breakdown. Stop trying to hold it all together and trying to control the uncontrollable. Give yourself the time and space to feel the sadness, pain, and grief, then decide that you will surrender. As you do, allow the mental constructs and expectations that are no longer serving you to deteriorate. Release the image you have of yourself and your life, so you are free to discover the right path moving forward. Ask God for His perfect wisdom, supernatural guidance, and provision to lead you through this time and into the next season of more He has for you.
The most incredible opportunity for breakthrough comes when we finally get to the limits of what we can do on our own, and open to what God wants to do for us. Let this time of crisis be a time of re-evaluating, resetting, and restarting.
Probe your heart. Examine your life. Be open to learning and growing. Allow this time to shift your thinking, expand your awareness, and transform your being. There’s always beauty in the pain, lessons in the struggle, and much to be grateful for in all of it.
Times of crisis change us. Let this time transform you from the inside out so that your life is never the same. Let it be better than you can imagine!
