4 Positive Affirmations for Hard Times
Are you facing a difficult situation right now? I invite you to join me as we uncover four positive affirmations for hard times and difficult circumstances. Speak these words when life is tough and you feel discouraged.
4 Positive Affirmations for Hard Times
This week, the robins returned to our wilted lawn. I envisioned the coming days with emerald grass and sapphire skies overhead. I turned the calendar to March two days early because I just couldn’t wait. Perhaps I was wishing my life away, but I wasn’t overly concerned.
I wanted to wish away the long, cold months of winter and welcome sunny afternoons in the backyard with little ones running circles through the grass.
Wishing Your Life Away
Most of us know a thing or two about wishing our lives away.
We’ve navigated long winters and even longer valleys of grief. Disappointment, rejection, and uncertainty have been our companions, and we’ve prayed for the season to pass.
If you’re in a tough season right now, I invite you to adopt at least one of these four positive affirmations. Speak it to yourself when you feel discouraged and keep speaking it until you begin to believe it.
Affirmations for Hard Times
1. “This, too, shall pass.”
More than a dozen years ago, I vividly remember sitting on the gymnasium floor of the high school where I was a teacher. I was feeling incapacitated by pregnancy sickness while my students played kickball. A colleague saw me slumped against the wall in my misery. She knelt beside me, put her hand on my knee, and gently said, “This, too, shall pass.”
I remember that moment every time life gets hard.
When that first baby was born and wouldn’t sleep for more than an hour without wailing, I thought of my colleague and whispered the words, “This, too, shall pass.”
When her brothers came along, and all three kids got sick at the same time, I whispered the words.
And when worry, heartbreak, stress, and fear threatened to derail me, I whispered the words.
It probably feels like your difficult season will last forever. It will probably last longer than you prefer—maybe much longer. But it will not last forever. This, too, shall pass.
2. God, thank you for . . .
Currently, part of my morning quiet time includes naming five gifts in my life. I give thanks for a specific moment from the past day, a person, a surprise, something beautiful, and an act of kindness from the Lord. This practice is especially helpful when life is hard, when my kids are in the other room bickering, and when I don’t feel like facing the day ahead of me.
Most of us tend to focus on our biggest problem at any given moment. When I catch myself ruminating on my problems, I redirect my mind by pausing to give thanks for one blessing.
I look out the window and give thanks for the poplar tree for the hundredth time—because today is a new day, and I’m still thankful for this tree with its outstretched limbs and the shade it provides in the summer. I give thanks for my blue-eyed children and their smiles and the joy they bring to our home.
Appreciation calms the nervous system and enables us to connect with God and others. The next time you catch yourself wishing your life away, pause and thank God for three gifts in your life. This will help lift your head.
3. I refuse to compare my average moments to other people’s best moments.
Most of us feel the temptation to compare ourselves to others. We look at our social media feeds and feel sorry for ourselves as we admire our friends having fun on beaches.
When we compare ourselves to others, we’re overlooking this: We aren’t seeing their full stories from our vantage points.
Resist the urge to compare your humble home to the new home of your wealthiest friend. Remind yourself that the pictures people post on social media are their best moments, and don’t try to compare their best moments to your average moments.
Ask God to help you be content with what you have. Every time you feel tempted to compare, stop yourself and give thanks for a gift in your life.
Ask God to help you be content with what you have. Every time you feel tempted to compare, stop yourself and give thanks for a gift in your life. #gratitude #thankful #contentment Click To Tweet4. Today is going to be a good day!
Our words are powerful. If you speak negativity over your day before even getting out of bed, you aren’t setting yourself up for success.
Instead, when worry, fear, or discouragement creep in, lift your head and declare, “Today is going to be a good day!”
As soon as my alarm sounds each morning, I try to remember to speak these words: “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Speak positive affirmations to yourself, and your mindset will shift.
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As for me, I’m aware that March in Pennsylvania generally feels like yet another winter month. Nevertheless, I’m finding reasons to give thanks for these snowy mornings. I’m speaking these affirmations for hard times often. I’m also listening to the song of the robins at dawn because like all the other winters, this, too, shall pass.
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