The following devotion is written by EEW founder Dianna Hobbs and used by permission from her Daily Cup of Inspiration blog. For more encouragement like this, visit Dianna’s official blog.

“Talk about it.”

That’s the command God gave me related to my brain trauma that resulted from last year’s ICU stay thanks to a ministroke and seizures. I didn’t want to talk about it. I just wanted the side effects to go away, so I could move forward like none of it ever happened. But that wasn’t the will of the Lord for my life.

So, I’ve been opening up about it all lately.

All. Of. It.

All of what I’m going through mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I opened up through the 14-day “Unedited” podcast series. But the openness and transparency won’t stop there. I will continue to share, because that is what the Lord has led me to do.

***

You know, today I was thinking, brain trauma is a beast. A big, mean, untamable beast that I have been living with for the past year, since a bad reaction to an antibiotic, Bactrim, damaged some of my precious brain cells. The aftermath has been pretty tricky. There are certain feelings, behaviors, and personality changes that I can’t control and often feel like a stranger to myself.

One of the toughest battles for me lately is the one in my emotions. It’s a real roller coaster ride. Up and down. Up and down. The weirdest thing for me is that the emotional shift isn’t necessarily caused by something major happening. It can be the simplest thing that will throw me off balance. You see, brain trauma makes my feelings all loopy, so I can feel downtrodden without there being a known cause. The only explanation is, it’s just one of those days or one of those moments. I simply have to wait for those feelings to pass.

***

These days, a favorite go-to verse for me is Psalm 43:5, which says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?”

This passage asks two questions that may have varying answers for different people. However, no matter the cause of the disruption, disturbance, or discouragement of the soul, the solution is the same: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Maybe there are some disruptive and discouraging things going on in your life, and they are threatening to steal your joy and feelings of contentment. Do what the psalm prescribes, and place your hope in God. Choose to praise Him through the storm. Worship in the rain. Thank Him through the tears. And whatever you do, keep the faith.

Hebrews 11:35-38 tells us that believers in Bible days endured some awful, difficult things but still kept the faith. They were tortured. Beaten. Imprisoned. Chained. Stoned to death. Sawed in half. Killed by the sword. Persecuted. Destitute. Living in caves and in holes in the ground. Talk about hard, right? And yet, they believed.

“Stand firmly on God’s word in every season. Even when it’s hard, don’t give up. Know that God is faithful. He can be trusted to keep His promises!”

— Dianna Hobbs

Fair-weather faith is not faith at all. Faith that requires perfect circumstances is not faith at all. Genuine faith is tried in the fire and still comes out as pure gold. And that’s why God told me to talk about my struggle. It is a reminder that we all must go through tribulations and hardships. Jesus promised we would (John 16:33), but we must never let those struggles rob us of faith.

As I go through my personal battle, one thing I always remember about my feelings is this: they are just feelings. Feelings are not facts. And when I’m feeling bad, God is still good. Feelings change, but God’s word is unchanging. So then, no matter how I feel or how many times my mood shifts, I will stand on the unshifting foundation of the Gospel. I will trust in our unchanging God.

James 1:17 NIV, which is what I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration, says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, remember, circumstances change, but God doesn’t. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. He is good all the time. He is faithful every day. His mercies are new every morning. And feelings – whether they be yours or mine – can never change that truth.