Resumes and Health Clubs

Resumes and health clubs

To walk with God is difficult.

Should be difficult.

It is a dangerous journey that threatens to upend everything you have so neatly woven together. For this God is very concerned about your authenticity. He demands that we drop the mask, stop pretending we are something other than what he originally thought of when he thought of us.

For he knows that we will never be happier than when we live out of who we really are.

He will lead us into rooms in our minds that we would rather leave locked up.

Painful memories.

Shaming times.

We would prefer these rooms stay dark and hidden from everyone, including God. But this is much like a child playing peek a boo. The child believes that if he shields her eyes, she can no longer be seen.

We know God sees it all.

And yet like our parents of long ago, we are much adept at hiding.

We place our own fig leaves over our areas where we feel vulnerable and declare to all that will listen that "we are fine".

And we all use more than words to communicate this.

For it is essential that people believe we have it together.

How often do you find yourself giving your resume, as it were, to impress people?

I did this just the other day at the health club.

I ran into a guy I went to high school with.

He was popular. I was not.

He was on the football team. I was very much not.

I hung out with kids that played D & D. (but I didn't play because of how evil it is- but that's another story)

There I was, talking to him, slipping things into the conversation (subtly, I thought) that I hoped would impress him.

Why would I care?

Why did I need and still want his approval?

This God will take away your fig leaf.

But he will not leave you naked and shamed. He has something else he wants to cover you with. The permission to be...you.

But I'm afraid you must do some hard work before you can achieve that.

You must enter those dark, dusty rooms. And to do that you will have to talk to someone else about them. What is in these rooms and what it is you did, or what happened to you.

You can not go into these rooms alone.

They are more than you can bear, which is why you locked them up in the first place, yes?

And please stop the nonsense that you will go in there with God alone. Just you and God.

Stop it.

You need to do this with a trusted and beloved friend AND God.

Trust me, God will be there.

For quite often these rooms are not really empty.

Our enemy knows of these rooms.

He loves to operate out of them.

He knows the messages they contain.

For each shaming, difficult time in our life certainly carried a message with it as well.

Do you know the message given from your wounds?

Just a hint- it isn't warm and fuzzy.

No. These are the messages that cause you to erect a false self.

That feed those things that you hate about yourself.

And it is vitally important to the enemy of your soul that you continue to believe these messages. Did you know that the message from your wound was crafted just for you? It was designed to shut you down. For your enemy can not have you connected with all that you really are. He fears that. He fears YOU. For as you connect with truth about you, when you discover what God decided long ago about you, you will threaten the enemy’s kingdom. And this he can not have. So he designs ways to take you out.

And yes, God allows it at times.

Obviously, or these shitty things would not have happened to you. But he knew that as you worked your way through these things, with his help, you would be able to have more compassion, would become stronger for having gone through this. He actually TRUSTED you with these experiences. For true growth only come through struggle. No matter how dark. God will help you and strengthen you if you will enter the rooms.

You have to go into those rooms. Light must be brought to the darkness.

For if you don't, you will continue to let that hurt control you.

Stop playing peek a boo.

Will it hurt?

Yup.

Will there be tears?

Most likely.

Don't be afraid my friend.

Go there.

Do this.

And if no one else will go there with you, I will.

For reals.

But you dare not go there.

You must.

For the sake of those that you love and that love you.

Do it.