Climbing Out Of The Clutches Of Sorrow

Date: 12-13-2024

Today my assignment from the Lord, during the Christmas season, is to break off every chain keeping you locked in the clutches of torment and torture of what USED TO BE. 

It’s time to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. It’s time to really celebrate. It's time to get excited about the Christmas season like you did before you were hurt… before your pain… before you were grieving…

Today is a bittersweet day for our family. Twenty-two years ago, our family was presented with an opportunity to find a NEW NORMAL. We didn’t want a new normal. The old normal was working just fine, but we were given the opportunity anyway. My father, Travis Bryan, would have said something like this:

“Now Missy, don’t you dare go out to that cemetery crying and carrying on over me when I’m gone. Don’t bring me nuttin’.  No flowers. Nuttin’, you hear me. I’ll be gone and I won’t know anything about it anyway. Promise me you’ll live your life.”

Words you think are just words…UNTIL.

My father was a man of few words. If he could have chosen a bible scripture to match his instructions, it would have been Phil 4:8 (NLT). 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

There’s an old country saying that goes something like this… If it ain’t BROKE, don’t FIX it. 

Life tries to break us. When we are BROKEN, it’s up to us to FIX OUR THOUGHTS. We choose how we think. We choose what we think about. We choose happiness instead of sadness. We choose joy instead of sorrow. We choose praise instead of condemnation. We choose. God will fix everything else, but we choose to operate with the mind of Christ. 

Look at it this way… The Book of Philippians was written from a prison cell. A place that should have been filled with brokenness, anguish, and defeat, became a healing hub of encouragement and wholeness illuminating vision, clarity, and strength in the Lord.  

Today, the Lord is saying, “It’s time. You’ve been here long enough. It’s time to be set free. You’re coming out of depression and despair. My light has shown through the darkness to heal you, and I’m putting you back together. You’re coming out of this better and stronger than you’ve ever been.”

Some things to consider as you FIX YOUR THOUGHTS:

• Are You A Wallow-er Or A Follower Of Christ? 

The grief process is brutal. It takes time. The mental strain can be intensely debilitating, but there comes a time when you feel a shift. You know from this moment on if I stay HERE, I am WALLOWING in my emotions. I’m wallowing in grief and sorrow, and I’m becoming BITTER. 

The root of bitterness grows deep when you’re wallowing and looking for who you’ve lost. You’re so focused on who you don’t have anymore, that you can’t see the blessing of NOW. No matter what you’ve been through, and no matter who you’ve lost, you have blessings in YOUR NOW. 

As Christ-followers, we are called to be set apart. We are a chosen generation, and we’re a part of a royal priesthood. We are called to stand out… to act differently than the world... We praise our way out of darkness into His marvelous light. The way we live our lives is a testimony of how Christ has changed us for the better. People should see His joy even in our sorrow. 

• Are you celebrating life or death? 

Christmas is about celebrating Christ’s love for us. It’s a time to cherish all of our many blessings. It’s about family and the traditions established long ago. Although as the day gets closer, the anxiety begins to build and the grief gets more intense. The closer it gets, the harder it is to breathe. You start to panic. You start to fear the inevitable - the empty seat at the dinner table. 

It’s like there’s a huge gaping hole in your heart and you don’t know how to repair it. You begin looking at the calendar and that same anxiety builds for every birthday, anniversary, and holiday throughout the year. Every month, you celebrate the date.  Every week, you celebrate the day. You even  celebrate the exact time of day the last breath was taken. Every. Single. Day. Before you know it, all you’re doing is celebrating death. You’re no longer living. You’re just going through the motions wishing it would break.

You want to live again, but you just don’t know how. If this sounds like where you’re at right now, please stop and pray. Lord, help me live again. Show me how to stop fixating over a number on a calendar and over a time on a clock. Don’t let me live in fear and regret for the rest of my life. I want to live. It stops TODAY. Take me THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death. Amen! 

When you reach this place, then you’re ready to begin holding yourself accountable to your thoughts and actions. You make the decision to want peace of mind more than anything else. Instead of staying on the emotional rollercoaster, you dwell on how marvelous and worthy the Lord is. He deserves all our praise. Even in your NOW. He’s worthy. 

•  Are you counting your blessings? 

There are blessings even in the pain. Sometimes they’re a little more difficult to notice right away, but they’re definitely there. Hindsight gives you the biggest vantage point to see how the Lord has moved mightily even in the darkest of moments. Counting your blessings will give you even greater peace of mind because you’ll see the Lord’s provision all around you. Our Lord is a Wonderful Father and Faithful Friend. 

Our personal testimony as a family is about reclaiming December 13th as a day to celebrate LIFE. At the 5-year anniversary of my dad’s traffic accident, I was still struggling with the anxiety of the day, but bold enough to ask the Lord for help. I never expected how He would answer my prayer. Still reeling from grief, I couldn’t imagine being restored in a way that we could rejoice on December 13th; but still I trusted God.  

The next year my niece, Stephenie, became pregnant and the due date was later in December. Imagine my surprise when the phone rang in the early morning hours on December 13th. She had just given birth to this beautiful dark haired little boy who was named after his great-grandfather. Instantly, the pain and sorrow of that day gave us a reason to rejoice. A complete turnaround. A suddenly. 

Today is Travis’ 16th birthday. Happy birthday, buddy! You will always be the sweetest part of December 13th. I am so proud of you and I love you so very much. You’re one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world and don’t you ever forget it or question it.  

If you’re struggling with grief, let’s pray together:

Today, I thank you, Lord, for breakthrough. Today is a day of supernatural change and deliverance. We thank you for the turnaround. We thank you for health, wholeness, and victory. We thank you! We thank you that you are restoring joy and returning the love of the Christmas season. We will celebrate you again. We will rejoice! Suddenly! It is done TODAY.

I break off everything that has kept them stuck and spinning their wheels in depression and regret. They will no longer celebrate death, but they will live. I break off every bit of grief right now. I send it back to the enemy and I say they can no longer be tormented by a day on a calendar. Their minds can no longer be tormented with anxiety…with fear… with dread because of a number on a calendar. It is a number. That is it. It is only a number.  

Lord, I ask that you mend the brokenness. Heal them. Put them back together better than they were BEFORE. Remember them. I declare that what the enemy sent to make them bitter is making them better. I break off every thought of despair, depression, worry, anxiety, fear, and grief. I cast it back into the pit of hell from where it came. I ask you to retrain their brain to think on YOU and YOUR MANY BLESSINGS. 

Lord, come and fill every hole in their heart. May your perfect love wash over them like a tidal wave, a holy tsunami, coming to right every wrong and fill every void. Give them back their dreams, visions, and their sleep. May they rest in You. May your grace, mercy, and peace abundantly overflow in their lives. Let them feel your love like they’ve never known before.  

I speak with all authority and power by the Name that is higher than any other name… The Name of Jesus. I declare and decree that every word is coming to pass quickly. This is a NOW word bringing about your deliverance and victory TODAY in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen! 

Ecc 3:1-4 (ESV)

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Many Blessings To You 

Throughout The Christmas Season! 

Stacey Bryan