If you think I’ve got it all together… I’ll be the first to tell you that I don’t. The majority of the day-to-day situations that I’m in demand that I appear that way. Can we just be real for a minute? We all have needs in a big way. All of us need the Lord to step in and reign over our lives. When we attempt to do it ourselves… it’s a complete mess. Just face it: there is absolutely nothing we can do outside of sweet Jesus! I, just like many others, do not like walking in to a room where I may not know anyone. And no one likes being the “new kid” in town, or standing by yourself with no one to talk to. The first reaction is to run away or avoid those types of situations. But the reality is that almost everyday I walk into a location that I don’t know anyone, or realize that I am the “new” one, or have to be the one to initiate a conversation with a complete stranger. Two words come to mind: Dislike and awkward! Be that as it may, it still doesn’t take away the fact that this is life. How do we react to those situations?
How many days do you go through, that it just feels like you’re doing all you can to get to the end of the day… only to “lather, rinse, and repeat”? Call me crazy… but I don’t think that’s exactly the definition of Freedom. How often are we transparent about that? Do we take the time to have space and time to seek the Lord while allowing Him to press in and expose areas of our hearts that need an extreme heart makeover? Do we give the appearance that we’ve got it all together, when in reality that’s just a big, fat lie? Let’s face it. We all have needs. We all must acknowledge the areas that the Lord is trying to press in and expose. Sometimes He uses the most odd times and ways to do so, but nonetheless take time to recognize why you’re reacting the way you are, why your heart is responding in the way it is, and what is going on in your heart. How often do we take time to realize what is going on in our heart… and allow time to process? Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
As a single female, the past and present years of my life basically demand that I be extremely independent. This can be good, and this can be bad. Good in a sense that I at least have some knowledge of how to run a home. Bad in that it’s extremely lonely, and to everyone else you appear to be self-sufficient when nothing feels further from the truth. I pay the bills, I file the taxes, I pay the doctor, I put gas in the car, I do all the shopping, I cook or eat out, I do all the traveling… and usually 97% of the time all this is done alone. Believe me, it gets old. But it’s a constant reminder that our Lord is constant… always near and present in my life. He’s always ready to spend time. How often do we take that time… and invite Him into the “mundane” details, including our Walmart trips?
You may be wondering how on earth these things are related? Well, in my mind they are connected. No matter where we are in life, what our season encompasses… we’re all in need of a Saviour. Each one of us have needs, we all have hurts, we all have good days and bad days… and in this society, heaven knows that we’re busy. But in the midst of all that, we have a Father who wants to be a intricate part of each of those moments. He wants to give us HIS strength to step into difficult situations. He wants to USE us as a reflection of His light. He wants us to RECOGNIZE that we don’t have it all together, and that every breath is a gift from Him. He wants us to take TIME to step away and listen to His quiet whispers to our heart.
The heart of the matter is just that. We don’t have it all together. So let’s just face it, and let Him do what He needs to do in our lives. Let us shine for you, Jesus! Amidst it all!
