Life is Messy
Yesterday I was driving through, yet another coating of snow. The roads were thick with slush and salt and it wasn't long before I had a nasty, smeary residue of salt dust on my windshield. My problem was that no washer fluid was coming out to wash it clean! My visibility was quickly waning and I thought I may soon need to take desperate measures...perhaps pulling to the side of the road and throwing a layer of clean white snow would do the trick? Then I had a fleeting thought, "You know, maybe I should ask God first. Alright, God, I'm kind of in a dirty situation here...would it be possible for you to miraculously get the washer fluid working again?" I try again and WHOOSH! I felt like a blind person receiving sight. Crisp cleanness flooded my windshield; thank you, Jesus! Wow, God does care enough to get involved in the dirtiness of life!
A few hours later, I was hurriedly baking a batch of cookies. In my haste, I grabbed a container of chocolate chips from my pantry, accidentally bumping a homemade, canned jar of pasta sauce perched on the edge of the shelf. (I had told myself countless times that I better use it or move it, knowing that if it fell on my tile floor, I would have quite the mess!) As it was freefalling, the only thing I could think was to break the fall with my foot. Well, I ended up with a saucy foot and a kitchen covered in sauce and glass. I stared for a full minute at my mess, wondering where, on earth, I even begin the clean-up!
Do you ever find that your life is filled with a dirtiness that you can barely see through? Your future looks blurry and unclear and you wonder if you can keep going? Do you ever look at the messiness of your life and wonder where to even start? You wonder if it's even possible to put the broken pieces back together?
I am here to remind you that God wants to use your brokenness and weaknesses, as well as your strengths and gifts for His glory! I truly believe that when we weave the weak strands of our lives together, a rope of great strength is created. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." God has never been impressed with strong or self-sufficient people. In fact, He is drawn to people who are weak and admit it. Moses' weakness was his temper and God made him the humblest man on earth. Gideon's weakness was low self-esteem and God transformed him into a mighty warrior. Abraham's weakness was fear and God changed him into the "father of faith." The adulterer David became a man who sought after God's heart. Jesus lineage is filled with many people who had issues and yet, Jesus came from their dirtiness, messiness, and brokenness.
I challenge you with this question: Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? Am I putting on a mask to cover up my brokenness? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?
Our culture wants us to cover up our blemishes with make-up. Our culture wants us to paint a perfect picture of our lives through social media. Our culture was us to be fake.
But, God, He wants us to be REAL. Real with Him and real with others. A lot of freedom comes when we are real with others about our struggles. But vulnerability is emotionally liberating, it relieves stress, diminishes fears, and leads to true freedom. We find that we are not alone. Our strengths create competition, but our weaknesses create community.
Will you join me in this REAL REVOLUTION? Will you take off your mask of perfection and reveal your innermost struggles today? Will you be honest with yourself and with God?
Invite God...invite others into the messy, dirty, broken trenches of your life. He wants to restore, replant, rebuild your life for HIS glory.
A few hours later, I was hurriedly baking a batch of cookies. In my haste, I grabbed a container of chocolate chips from my pantry, accidentally bumping a homemade, canned jar of pasta sauce perched on the edge of the shelf. (I had told myself countless times that I better use it or move it, knowing that if it fell on my tile floor, I would have quite the mess!) As it was freefalling, the only thing I could think was to break the fall with my foot. Well, I ended up with a saucy foot and a kitchen covered in sauce and glass. I stared for a full minute at my mess, wondering where, on earth, I even begin the clean-up!
Do you ever find that your life is filled with a dirtiness that you can barely see through? Your future looks blurry and unclear and you wonder if you can keep going? Do you ever look at the messiness of your life and wonder where to even start? You wonder if it's even possible to put the broken pieces back together?
I am here to remind you that God wants to use your brokenness and weaknesses, as well as your strengths and gifts for His glory! I truly believe that when we weave the weak strands of our lives together, a rope of great strength is created. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." God has never been impressed with strong or self-sufficient people. In fact, He is drawn to people who are weak and admit it. Moses' weakness was his temper and God made him the humblest man on earth. Gideon's weakness was low self-esteem and God transformed him into a mighty warrior. Abraham's weakness was fear and God changed him into the "father of faith." The adulterer David became a man who sought after God's heart. Jesus lineage is filled with many people who had issues and yet, Jesus came from their dirtiness, messiness, and brokenness.
I challenge you with this question: Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? Am I putting on a mask to cover up my brokenness? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?
Our culture wants us to cover up our blemishes with make-up. Our culture wants us to paint a perfect picture of our lives through social media. Our culture was us to be fake.
But, God, He wants us to be REAL. Real with Him and real with others. A lot of freedom comes when we are real with others about our struggles. But vulnerability is emotionally liberating, it relieves stress, diminishes fears, and leads to true freedom. We find that we are not alone. Our strengths create competition, but our weaknesses create community.
Will you join me in this REAL REVOLUTION? Will you take off your mask of perfection and reveal your innermost struggles today? Will you be honest with yourself and with God?
Invite God...invite others into the messy, dirty, broken trenches of your life. He wants to restore, replant, rebuild your life for HIS glory.
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