The definition of fickle is as follows:
[Keep in mind...I am a licensed English teacher, so vocabulary is near and dear to my heart.]
Fickle (adj): changing frequently; especially as it pertains to one's interests, loyalties, and/or affections.
Fickle. Changing frequently. Changing INTERESTS. Changing PASSIONS. Changing...LOYALTIES! This is a huge deal, people.
Humans, by nature, are fickle. That's just how we are; this is a fallen and broken world. You can try to argue with me and demand that there is no fickle bone in your strong, beautiful body, but I would place a bet that at some point in your life, there was once a time when you changed interests, changed passions, changed affections, changed goals, changed food preferences, something, anything. I promise.
Fickle.
I wake up in the morning, complete a workout, eat a healthy breakfast and am genuinely excited about my body, my life, my goals, and where I'm headed. I feel AWESOME and ENERGIZED.
I arrive at work, the tasks start to pile up, I begin to get hungry, the vending machine is staring at me, my coworkers are complaining, and I'm now feeling moody, unappreciated, and tired.
Fickle.
Y'all. You can't tell me this only happens to me. One minute I feel like the most beautiful person that has ever stepped foot on this planet, and a few hours later, due to one thing or another, I feel so ugly and insecure that I don't even want to stop by Target to pick up a new bottle of mascara and a tub of Ben & Jerry's.
Hear me right now: Feelings are fickle.
We will always struggle with feeling depressed, feeling anxious, feeling hungry, feeling tired, feeling ugly, feeling inadequate, feeling guilty, feeling [insert bad, awful, terrible adjective here.] We may not all feel every single one of these; some of us with struggle with guilt and shame while other struggle with anger and moodiness. Some of us feel inadequate and some of us constantly live in a state of fearfulness. Emotions attack us all differently, but the results are always the same--we end up giving less of our true selves and more of the person we're trying not to be.
This will not go away. Emotions will not go away, but they can and will hinder you from reaching any and all goals you have set for yourself if you let them. And, worst of all, they WILL hinder your personal walk with Jesus, and that is the real downfall of believing every single fickle feeling that comes across our minds.
It's normal to have these feelings; you probably always will. Actually, sometimes, for the sake of personal reflection and developing a deeper relationship with those around you, it can be a good thing. It's really just about how you walk yourself through those feelings...better yet...how you allow Jesus to walk you through those feelings. This is something that is so hard for me, too, trust me! I have so many goals for myself (too many, honestly), and I am so gung-ho about achieving them, until somewhere throughout the day fear creeps in on me and tells me I can't do it. I can't be all of these things that I aspire to be. One hour of the day will be spent with so much positive energy toward working on my projects, goals, etc. and then, later on in the day, I will feel like I am unqualified for any job I could ever be offered--I will feel scared of the potential failure. I begin to become anxious about what others will say if I fail...or what they will say if I succeed. I wonder how reaching one of my goals might affect another one of my goals. Can I have both? Surely I'm not fortunate enough to have everything I want? I'm not that good.
Fickle.
How does anyone achieve anything worthwhile these days with so much fickleness? Seriously?
Jesus.
No, seriously. Through Jesus.
When our hearts are set on God, Jesus keeps us going. When our hearts are aligned with our Creator, we can rest easy knowing that He is going to work all things together for our good, even when we can't see how things are ever going to come together.
The only true way that I have been able to overcome the daily fear of failure that I face is through Jesus and the promises in the Bible. Joshua 1:9 says to "be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or troubled. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Remembering key verses in the Bible can help you overcome whatever it is that is keeping you from running your race, from reaching your goals, and from motivating those around you to do the same.
I have so many BIG ideas, but, right now, I have so many things going against me--and, on the outside looking in, my life looks like a mess. However, God tells me that this is not the case. As hard as it is some days, I have to trust that He will provide for me no matter what, because He has in the past and He will continue to.
Whatever your situation may be, whatever your hindrances are, whenever those fickle, get-you-down feelings come around to hang out for a while, combat them with scripture. Combat them with Jesus. Combat them with friends who encourage you, lift you up, and share positive feelings. The Holy Spirit will remind you that all of your feelings (good or bad) are fickle unless they are truths from His word.
