If you can relate to some or maybe all of these symptoms, it’s time to go backward before you can move forward. God is longing to bring healing to your heart from the inside out, and help you move forward in freedom. In order to forget what is behind, as Philippians 3:13, calls us to do, we have to deal with it.

It’s time to get intentional about dealing with the pain of this past year and a half, the things it may have triggered inside of you, the changes it brought, and the ways it has emotionally impacted your life.

The first step to getting unstuck is to acknowledge how we feel. Putting words to your experience and pain allows you to face it. Writing it out, saying it out loud, and sharing your feelings with Jesus is an important step. The worst thing we can do is continue to pretend we’re okay, and just try to push through. Affirming what you’ve been through and how it’s impacted your life brings it to the light where it can be healed.

The next step is expressing it to others. When you feel stuck, you need the help of trusted friends and community to move you in the direction of healing. Express what you’re going through to a friend, and ask for prayer and support. There’s no shame in being honest with how you’re really doing. In fact, there’s freedom there. That’s what the body of Christ is for. And when you do, you’ll realize you’re not alone in your struggle. Everyone is going through something hard. We’re all in this together

The third step is simply this: take the next step. For some of you, that means connecting with a licensed professional counselor to work through your feelings and get to the root of what’s causing you to feel stuck. It could be working through pain from your past, hurts from your present, or worries about the future. Taking control of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors is such an important step in getting unstuck. You give God what you can’t control, but then you take ownership of what you can control. You choose to become better rather than choosing to become bitter.