::a couple weeks back now i did an activity with my women's cell group that has stuck with me. i truly believe it is something everyone can relate to and struggles with.::
we all have struggles, things we deal with on daily basis. they are the things we fear, the things we think, the things we feel. we all deal with our faults everyday, many of us multiple times a day. i am guilty of judging and i know i do it without thinking at least 3 times a day. we have struggles. we struggle with relationships with others, we struggle with ourselves and we struggle with God. we are human and we struggle.
the problem with so many of us and our struggle is we don't deal with them. we don't face them. we let them rule over our lives. we walk around dealing with these battles, some of us feeling ashamed of them, others being angry. we feel like we are the only ones that deal with such things- that the person next to us at church, bible study or in school is so put together they could never deal with such things- FALSE. that is lie #1. the truth of the matter is that so many of the people around you deal with the same struggles/battles/fears. we live in a society where you are taught to show your good side, the facade that is all put together, but underneath it all i believe we are all very similar. many of us struggle with the same things everyday and we do not realize it because so many of us are also afraid to talk about them.
the saddest part about all of these struggles we deal with is the control they have over our lives. by living in our struggles- intentionally or not- we let them define us. along with judging i struggle with acceptance. my entire life i have strived for acceptance, always trying to please by parents to win their acceptance- getting straight A's to feel like i was the daughter they wanted. even with friends i always wanted to be the person everyone liked. this struggle and fear of acceptance has rolled over into my relationship with Jesus. I find myself striving for his acceptance over and over again when deep down i know it isn't necessary. but this is what i mean by control. our struggles become our 'truth' or what we believe to be our 'truth'/what defines us. this is lie #2. our struggles are not what defines us. the lies we believe are not the way we are meant to think or act. we are not called to be sinners or unrighteous people, we are called to be beloved, perfect children. we are not defined in God's eyes by what we struggle with.
but then why do we believe them? why do we let them control who we think we are?
what we forget is we are not in this alone.
we all deal with many of the same struggles on some level. we are not alone. we are connected more than we ever thought. if we were to physically connect our struggles to the ones others have that we deal with as well, we would find it makes a messy spiderweb.
{'What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider web. They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.' Job 8:14-15}
we all have struggles, things we deal with on daily basis. they are the things we fear, the things we think, the things we feel. we all deal with our faults everyday, many of us multiple times a day. i am guilty of judging and i know i do it without thinking at least 3 times a day. we have struggles. we struggle with relationships with others, we struggle with ourselves and we struggle with God. we are human and we struggle.
the problem with so many of us and our struggle is we don't deal with them. we don't face them. we let them rule over our lives. we walk around dealing with these battles, some of us feeling ashamed of them, others being angry. we feel like we are the only ones that deal with such things- that the person next to us at church, bible study or in school is so put together they could never deal with such things- FALSE. that is lie #1. the truth of the matter is that so many of the people around you deal with the same struggles/battles/fears. we live in a society where you are taught to show your good side, the facade that is all put together, but underneath it all i believe we are all very similar. many of us struggle with the same things everyday and we do not realize it because so many of us are also afraid to talk about them.
the saddest part about all of these struggles we deal with is the control they have over our lives. by living in our struggles- intentionally or not- we let them define us. along with judging i struggle with acceptance. my entire life i have strived for acceptance, always trying to please by parents to win their acceptance- getting straight A's to feel like i was the daughter they wanted. even with friends i always wanted to be the person everyone liked. this struggle and fear of acceptance has rolled over into my relationship with Jesus. I find myself striving for his acceptance over and over again when deep down i know it isn't necessary. but this is what i mean by control. our struggles become our 'truth' or what we believe to be our 'truth'/what defines us. this is lie #2. our struggles are not what defines us. the lies we believe are not the way we are meant to think or act. we are not called to be sinners or unrighteous people, we are called to be beloved, perfect children. we are not defined in God's eyes by what we struggle with.
but then why do we believe them? why do we let them control who we think we are?
what we forget is we are not in this alone.
we all deal with many of the same struggles on some level. we are not alone. we are connected more than we ever thought. if we were to physically connect our struggles to the ones others have that we deal with as well, we would find it makes a messy spiderweb.
{'What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider web. They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.' Job 8:14-15}
we believe in our faults, our
doubts, our fears. they become our truth. like a spiderweb
is strong
and catches things. we get caught in the mess of it all, in letting it
rule our lives and define who we are. alone we can try to defeat it but we do
not have much luck.
a spiderweb is strong. those
strings that connect one person's struggle to the next is strong. together with
other we can break the web of doubts. if we were more open about our faults and
fears with the people around us who we love we could find the real truth of who
we are meant to be. we cannot do it alone and nor are we called to. these
things we trust in are not what we are meant to rely on. we may revert back to
them just as i fall back into striving for acceptance but time and time again
it gives way, because what i let define me is a spiderweb of lies.
i believe many of us believe
in a similar messy spiderweb of lies. we forget how strong it can be, both in
it's hold on us and how strong it can connect us to each other. if we let it become a bond between us we could break
through the chains that weight us down, that hold us back from our true
potential.
what holds you back? what do
you struggle with? what do you let define you? is it acceptance, judgement,
jealousy,perfectionism, loving others, loving yourself, failure, mercy...?
none of those are your 'truths'. the truth is
you are BELOVED.
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