I Should Be Over This: When the Storm Passes but You're Still SpinningSample

Oftentimes, the trial is just the half of it. What comes after can be just as traumatic and taxing. It's normal to feel ungrounded, dysregulated, foggy, and disoriented. We must remind ourselves how far we've already come, who God is and what He's done, and not give up.

Resist quitting. Protect yourself by taking your soul care seriously.

Healing isn't instant. It’s slow. Even if a patient successfully comes out of a complicated surgery, a long road of recovery still awaits.

For Noah, the days must have been touch and go at times, while lasting three times longer than the initial trial. Our healing can be touch and go too, and it is up to us to care for ourselves in a way that renews our soul.

One effective way to build our hope is to recall how God has brought us through past trials. God understands the pull toward discouragement. Even more so, He knows the power in reminding His children of what great things He has done as a means of reestablishing encouragement, hope, and trust.

God often reminded the Israelites to recall who He was and what He had done for them in the past. Two phrases are repeated throughout Scripture: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt" (Exodus 20:2, NIV) and “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:15, NIV)

What might God want to say to you right now? How would you fill this in? "I am the LORD your God who has brought you through _______. I have not abandoned you. I will not leave you now."

Peter writes: "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV)

As we come to an end, here’s a list of things to help slow the spinning, move toward more healing, and experience a sense of grounding:

• Acknowledge the weightiness of feeling disoriented and the free-floating sensations that come with it.
• Be kind with yourself—taking one day, one hour at a time.
• Match your care in a manner and intensity that validates your circumstance.
• Spend whatever energy you have on finding healthy sources of strength.
• If you’re still telling yourself "I should be over this," it's time to release that unrealistic expectation.
• Radically adjust your life to mirror your capacity.
• Grieve.
• Rest.
• Make a list of how God has brought you through other challenging times.
• Anchor your hope in God's promises, even if they remain veiled or seem at a distance right now—it doesn’t make them untrue!

Take hope in this: God's pace for your healing is perfect, even when it feels painfully slow. Every small step you take will help build new ground from the free-floating.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9, NIV)

You've already come so far. Disorientation is real, but it won't last forever.

Noah eventually landed on solid ground after free-floating. And you will too. The boat will stop swaying. Your equilibrium will return. Until then, practice intense soul care and anchor your hope in the God who sees you, knows exactly where you are, supplies what you need, and will never leave you.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, increase my faith. Increase my hope. I put my trust in you to lead me to solid ground again. I give you my lingering discouragement in exchange for a greater outpouring of your presence. Thank you for never leaving me through all this. Amen.

Remember, there is no race to get "over this." Just keep moving forward, one day, one hour, one step at a time.

[We just covered one of the ten phases of a trial. If you’d like to see a summary of all ten phases, I’ve created a one-page overview for you. Find it here.]