The struggle is real…and that’s okay. Just in case you’ve never been acknowledged in your struggle, I wanted you to hear it from me. Now that I have your attention, I’d like to talk to you for a bit. This may touch a very tender part of your heart, but I promise it’s worth it to stick with me until the end. This post is a call to action of sorts and is meant to encourage your heart and motivate you to move your feet toward meaningful action. To take some pressure off of you, I’ll start.
What happens when God releases you but you’re too afraid to walk in freedom?
Over the last few months, God has been making it clear to me that He has released me in certain areas of my life to walk in territory that I was once kept from due to His pruning hand of protection. He had been doing a work in me that needed to be completed before I could safely walk in true freedom. It has been a journey that has taken me down many roads I never saw coming and revealed parts of myself I never knew existed. To sum it up in one word, it was cleansing.
Now, as beautiful as the moment when God showed me His invitation to freedom was, I had a hard time trying to walk in it. I found myself paralyzed with apprehension. I was unable to comprehend how to take the next step confidently. Some of this has a connection to my history of running ahead of God and needing to be humbled. Other parts of it had to do with doubtful thoughts that questioned whether the signs God gave me were really from Him or just connections I made to satisfy my own desires. Still, deep down, I knew God freed me. It wasn’t a figment of my imagination.
In my recent exploration of the word discernment, I came to best understand it as a sure “knowing” that is beyond any doubt or reasoning. It is rooted in truth. Truth is truth, no matter how we try to explain or conceptualize it in other ways to suit other preferences. This is the kind of sureness, discernment, that I was standing in. That should have been enough for me. Somehow, I still struggled to press forward. It is now clear as day to me that this hesitance was rooted in a lack of sincere faith in God. Sincere faith is really a genuine, wholehearted trust and belief in God, mainly His character. It’s hard to say, and live in a way that shows, that I have faith in God when my attachment to Him is insecure.
In a recent post, I wrote about the importance of recognizing that your little faith can still move mountains. Peter, though he wavered, called out to the Lord and asked for help. That was the best thing he could have done for himself. Still, Jesus waited until after he guided Peter back into the boat to address the issue that caused him to begin to sink in the first place: His insecurity in his relationship with Jesus. Today, I would like to continue that conversation and further explore the other factors that potentially hinder our ability to move forward with sincere faith.
Insecurity. Anxiety. Depression. Pride. Perversion. Anger. Bitterness.
Insincere faith is rooted in an insecure attachment to God. Insecure attachment is present when the bond we have with God is contaminated by one of the experiences mentioned above. It is difficult to move in step with God when we are experiencing these issues because they create a distorted image of the truth.
Although this list is not exhaustive, it generally captures the experiences that many people have when trying to obey God. Each of these pervasive spirits of oppression must be addressed in order to experience the fullness of God’s blessings. We cannot truly enjoy the freedom that God offers us until we get a handle on these internal issues. For the purposes of this post, we will focus on exploration of insecurity. However, you should know that each of the other issues listed have a connective root to insecurity. Insecure, in it’s most basic definition, means not secure or unstable.
What insecure foundation are you standing on?
At its core, insecurity is an issue of identity (belief about who we are) and faith (belief about who God is). It tries to define us with lies and inaccuracies and it causes us to harbor distrust in our hearts for God. No matter how much progress we think we’re making, we miss the mark if we allow insecurity to remain the lens with which we choose to see God as well as the world around us.
The world is waiting for you to show up.
There is something waiting to be produced on the other side of your breakthrough. This past year was a rough one to say the least. Still, there is hope for the future if you choose to grab a hold of it. There is no doubt that you came into this year expecting some good things, even if your faith was too small to really believe God for it.
What instructions has God given you during this season?
Sometimes, you will need to break out of the norms of your family, your schedule, and any form of comfort that you have made yourself accustomed to in order to achieve the successful outcome you desire. Dare I say that this past year is merely a representation of your world being shaken up so that God can get you to wake up from your slumber (your comfort) in order to get you to think a little differently about what your life is supposed to look like. Our expectations will not always match the reality of what God has for us. He uses the difficulty that we face in life in order to help us mature in some way. This maturity should accompany wisdom and a lesson. The lesson may not appear clear at first, but give God time. He will reveal Himself and help you to understand it.
Are you forgoing an opportunity to enjoy the reward God gave you?
Insecurity renders you immobile. It paralyzes your faith, causing you not to act on it.
In whatever state your life and your heart are currently in, you need to make a very important decision. Either you will believe God for the complete breakthrough He has promised you or you will stop, just shy of realizing the fullness of it. If you choose the first option, which I truly hope you do, then I invite you to speak this declaration over yourself:
“I am a beloved child of the Most High God. I believe what His word says about me and I believe that He is who He says He is. With my seed of faith, I believe God for my complete breakthrough and entrust the Holy Spirit to help me course correct along the way so that I remain in step with Jesus. Amen.”
Scripture talks about running our race with the intention to win. Look at this year of your life as one determined step in that direction.
‘Til next time,
Be well.
Song Selections: Free by Riley Clemmons and Obvious? by Hollyn
Words For The Temple 