Fear of Man
Sometimes you read a book that just hits home. That settles deep into your being and speaks words of life.
In reading through It's Not Supposed to be This Way by Lysa Terkeurst, I am finding that kind of book, and I'm only in chapter 4. Each chapter has picked up a piece of my life and brushed it off and put it back where it belongs.
Now, in chapter four it is speaking deep into an issue that created some of those pieces. I boil it down to fear of man.
Too often, for the sake of keeping the peace, I walked the easy path, the quiet path, the hidden path.
Lysa stated it beautifully when she said, "The enemy wants us paralyzed and compromised by the whispers and doubts and what-ifs and opinions and accusations and misunderstandings and all the other hissing handcuffs crafted by fear."
I worried (worry) too much about what others will think, and often rationalized it with Scripture (If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, life at peace with everyone).
That doesn't fix anything, and doesn't draw anyone closer to the kingdom, myself included.
We present this artificially pristine image of ourselves while mentally looking down on an acquaintance's equally artificial presentation.
We cover up and accessorize and decoupage and repaint and touch up and bury and season our lives thinking God needs some help to make us palatable.
Next to Christ, we all fall in the "Nailed it" category when going it in our own strength.
But God's Word says I am a, "holy and dearly loved child of [my] heavenly Father."
So thankful that God peels back our attempts to cover up our flaws superficially and loves us through the whole experience. If we need to surrender or repent, we need to do that. If we need to accept a weakness, do it without resisting.
God created me the way I am for a purpose, brought me through the life experiences I have had for a purpose. Completely God-crafted. I can drop the act and follow in confidence, my Lord and Savior. My Father.
In reading through It's Not Supposed to be This Way by Lysa Terkeurst, I am finding that kind of book, and I'm only in chapter 4. Each chapter has picked up a piece of my life and brushed it off and put it back where it belongs.
Now, in chapter four it is speaking deep into an issue that created some of those pieces. I boil it down to fear of man.
Too often, for the sake of keeping the peace, I walked the easy path, the quiet path, the hidden path.
Lysa stated it beautifully when she said, "The enemy wants us paralyzed and compromised by the whispers and doubts and what-ifs and opinions and accusations and misunderstandings and all the other hissing handcuffs crafted by fear."
I worried (worry) too much about what others will think, and often rationalized it with Scripture (If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, life at peace with everyone).
That doesn't fix anything, and doesn't draw anyone closer to the kingdom, myself included.
We present this artificially pristine image of ourselves while mentally looking down on an acquaintance's equally artificial presentation.
We cover up and accessorize and decoupage and repaint and touch up and bury and season our lives thinking God needs some help to make us palatable.
Next to Christ, we all fall in the "Nailed it" category when going it in our own strength.
But God's Word says I am a, "holy and dearly loved child of [my] heavenly Father."
You are wonderfully made.Reminds me of Adam and Eve, trying to cover up when they felt they weren't enough, trying to smooth things over.
You are a treasure,
You are beautiful.
You are fully known by Him and lavishly loved by Him.
You are chosen.
You are special.
You are set apart.
No matter what You've done or what's been done to you, these words of God are true about you.
May we carefully choose what we remember and what we forget. (p. 65)
So thankful that God peels back our attempts to cover up our flaws superficially and loves us through the whole experience. If we need to surrender or repent, we need to do that. If we need to accept a weakness, do it without resisting.
God created me the way I am for a purpose, brought me through the life experiences I have had for a purpose. Completely God-crafted. I can drop the act and follow in confidence, my Lord and Savior. My Father.
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