Entry 5: You were made for more than Survival Mode
God has more in store than survival mode…
It is His promise!
It common AND easy to sink into a never-ending treadmill of Survival Mode. Many of the clients I work with are on a healing journey and they are ready to live life from a place of peace, calm, and wholeness. But most people have never known what that feels, looks or sounds like. If our childhood homes were mostly survival mode, it may not even seem like it’s possible to step out of survival mode. But the closer we walk with Jesus and letting Him heal us and give us new life, it becomes very clear that it’s more than possible ~ It is God’s plan and purpose to give us so much more!
What is Survival Mode? According to Collins Dictionary, the definition of survival mode is:
“survival mode is a default mode that keeps people stagnant , meaning they manage to continue or exist in spite of difficult circumstances.”
Eventhough we know there is something more to life, it is common to get lulled into a familiar stagnation, a heavy belief that life is only full of struggle and hardship, one chaos after another. Looking at life from this standpoint, it seems like life is a list of daily things to tend to, and that we will never be able to keep up with it, or live any other way. Hope dries up.
This can put us into overstimulation, overwhelm, and exhaustion. A perpetual mode of survival, chaos and overcoming daily difficulty. This is not how God wants us to live.
God is calling us to step out of survival mode. And we absolutely need Him to do it. Don’t think you can do it on your own, because you can’t. Our relationship with our Creator is essential.
He wants us out of the negativity, out of the fear, out of the doubt, out of the burn-out. We need to claim our identity, authority, and dominion in Christ in order to cast out the spirits that are not of Him so we can thrive in His Kingdom.
As it states in 2 Timothy 1:7 ~ God did not give us a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind. Imagine if we lived God’s real plan and purpose for our life from that home base: Love, Power and Sound Mind.
It is possible to step out of survival mind-set, AND we don’t have to do this big faith step by ourselves. We have a God who really wants to hold our hand and give us the strength to do so, preparing us every step of the way to live outside of this familiar way of surviving and instead surrendering to His plan and trusting He will equip us with what is needed, every step of the way.
Therefore on the healing journey,
as core wounds are tended to and God helps us mend the brokenness of the past,
we are lovingly invited to live life from the Wholeness that God gifts us,
fully equip with every part of the gospel and the Word of God.
Do not become satisfied with or stuck in survival mode;
instead let the Lord love you and mentor you OUT OF SURVIVAL.
Scripture teaches:
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
The abundant life (John 10:10) in Christ is much more than survival mode.
As you relate fully and authentically with Jesus,
you will find that He has all the next steps for you.
He will guide you and prepare you for each next step out of survival mode
and into your full living and loving of the precious life He has given you!
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 61:1
The Year of the LORD’s Favor
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
The way that I see it now: when we are living in survival mode we are perpetually living in the flesh, always trying and striving to do things, figure things out, make plans, and constantly busy and worried about the next thing. But outside of survival mode we are guided fully and completely by God Himself. And because God is not the author of confusion or doubt ~ but of clarity and trust ~ here we are mentored by Jesus to walk in FAITH.
He wants to move us out of fleshly motivated living, into supernatural spiritually motivated living. The Blood of Jesus washes us clean of the fleshly survival, and although it may take time for us to let go and surrender, with patience and over time, it gets easier and easier because we learn to depend of God for the anointing, for the transformations, and for the strength to fight the supernatural battle that is taking place.
Because satan would love nothing more than to keep us looping and exhausted in a survival mode mentality! But…NOT TODAY or EVER, satan! Jesus is much more powerful and He has defeated the enemy at the cross already.
So the next time you are feeling pulled into many directions, tempted to fall into and stay stuck in the pits of survival mode, I offer a pep talk right now ~ You are meant to live a life of excellence in Christ and to thrive in His plan and purpose ~ in the Kingdom of God. It is written: 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
FROM SURVIVAL MODE to SUPERNATURAL LIVING
Survival mode
is full of reactivity, stickiness, feeling stuck, looping in same same everyday.
Supernatural mode
is full of life-giving surprise, edification, trust, surrender, patience, humility and perseverance fueled by the strength of our Living God.
TIPS TO WALK FOM SURVIVAL to SUPERNATURAL
Daily Prayer and Conversation with Jesus: Pray with all your heart to God. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need whether it is support, encouragement, love, guidance or edification. Ask Him for what you need. Conversate with Him. Share vulnerably with God. Open your heart with Him and share the fears, doubts, insecurity and exhaustion. Ask Him to enter the space with you and show you from His perspective.
Ask for a friend to intercede for you: Ask for a trusted believing friend to pray for you. Ask them to intercede and help you overcome this battle in the supernatural realm, because where 2 or more come together in prayer for something specific, the prayers are amplified! Don’t be shy to ask your trusted friends. Reach and out and receive fellowship that is essential.
Ask God how He sees your next steps: Let God lead you. Let God walk before you. In survival mode, we are often operating out of self-sufficiency, but this is NOT how God intends it to be. He wants to walk before us, show us, guide us, teach us, mentor us, every step of the way. Step aside your plan and will, and give the steering wheel to JESUS!
A PRAYER FOR YOU
Lord Jesus! I ask for a supernatural perspective on life and living.
I pray to see life and living through your lens, in every moment.
I pray for supernatural strength and courage, to live and love within your Kingdom.
I surrender my entire life to you, Jesus.
I am yours.
In your mighty name,
Amen.