O God, You are my God,
earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You,
my body longs for You,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
“Thirsty hearts are those whose longings have been wakened by the touch of God within them.” A.W. Tozer
God put a longing for deep relationship with Him inside of me, and He did that for you too. God put in us a longing for real relationship with others. God has given me some friends who are willing to be vulnerable and speak truth about their own struggles and sins, and to share how the Lord is revealing Himself to them in their real life circumstances. This can be scary at times because we must be vulnerable when we open up those dark places we would rather not have exposed. What will this friend think of me if she knows that? Actually, the truth is I would not share those “secret struggles” with friends because I could not even call them what they were to myself. Worse yet, I would not speak them to my God, and that’s just the way the enemy of our souls likes it!
But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts. I John 1:9-10
When I finally found a friend who was willing to speak the truth about herself and her struggles, it freed me to speak the truth about myself too. It helped me to see the power of calling my sins by their true names (you know, like "exaggeration" is a lie, and justifying why it is okay to be angry at my husband is cultivating a root of bitterness, etc.) and to confess them to the ONE who can take them and cleanse me from them. I also learned the power of replacing the sin with the antithesis of it. For example, when I confess having root of bitterness I ask the Lord to replace that with extending grace to my husband in the way that I would want him to extend it to me. But the thing that is the most amazing is that when I am honest about the sin and call it what it really is, it no longer has any power over me!
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
"Eugene Peterson said, 'We live in a narrative, we live in a story. Existence has a story shape to it. We have a beginning and an end, we have a plot, we have characters.' Story is the language of the heart. Our souls speak not in the naked facts of mathematics or the abstract propositions of systemic
theology; they speak in the images and emotions of story."
Chapter 4 “A Story Big Enough To Live In” The Scared Romance –Drawing Closer to the Heart of God by Curtis & Eldridge
This is why God made us to be in relationship with each other, ultimately it points us to relationship with Him. If you understand this, then you realize that your mere existence is a story and it interacts with everyone else’s story in the composition of HIS Story. If we withhold ourselves from one another, we are withholding HIS story from others, and tragically from ourselves. If we dare connect with one another, we are releasing ourselves in to the truth and GLORY of HIS Story. Isn’t that amazing?!! This is the very reason I started this blog. I am compelled to share His story that He is telling through me and I wanted to give other women a place to share what He is doing in you also. It is all His, which is why I end every post with the words, Sole Deo Gloria – “To God Alone Be the Glory.”
What do you have to share with someone else? A kind word, a smile, a skill, a helping hand, a prayer, yourself? Or would He even have you type out part of your story to post here and encourage others? Scary, I know, but so worth being obedient! (and I can even publish you under a fake name)
The next question is, “What keeps us from being vulnerable and sharing the story He is writing in our own life?” Is it pride? Fear? Pain? The messiness of relating to other imperfect, hurting people? Am I content to stagnate where I am? Am I agreeing w/the enemy about something about myself or the people God has in my life? Remember there is a VILLAIN in this story and these are some of his most effective tools. So here’s some truth to battle those lies:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
II Corinthians 1:3-4
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when she is nothing, she deceives herself. Each one should test her own actions.
Galatians 6:2-4
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15
Remember, the enemy wants to keep us from living in freedom and being effective. We don’t always have to have a word of advice. We don’t always have to DO something. Just be AVAILABLE!
Sole Deo Gloria,
WP Stacey
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be OVERJOYED when HIS GLORY IS REVEALED. I Peter 4:12-13
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