Working as I do as a church secretary, I have access to a great deal of resources. One of those came in the mail in the form of a Lenten Studies booklet that is a compilation of Henri Nouwen's work. I LOOOOVE him!
Anyway, one of the day's studies focused on how we fall into traps & the greatest of these, the one that most certainly holds us down, holds us back, or out-&-out will defeat us, is that of "self-rejection". Think about it. Self rejection comes from that place inside us where negativity screams, "you're no good", "you're fat", "you're ugly", "you have scars", "who would ever love you", "you're worthless", "you're weak", "you'll never amount to anything", "you're a failure".....you get the idea!
And these feelings of inadequacies are what drive us to seek our worth in unworthy places....success, popularity, power....to the point that we don't even see our true worth, but a worldly worth. It's not about what we can achieve for the Lord, but more of what we can prove to ourselves & the world. But really, we're still that same little insecure child within when you get down to brass tacks! THAT doesn't just go away because you get/achieve/accomplish more, more, more. It's superficial. It's the thumb in the dike to hold back the water dripping out of the hole. But it's not fixing the problem that caused the hole to begin with!
But those are all lies of the tempter, the Father of Lies. He WANTS us to stay defeated in the trap of self-loathing, self-rejection. Otherwise, we would stand firm in who we are in Christ & accomplish great things for His Kingdom. Trusting in God means stepping out of our comfort zone. Yes, that's right, you heard me.....it's "comfortable" to stay in the place where you don't think so highly of yourself. Not "comfortING", but "comfortable" in the sense that it's what you know....where you're used to being. Perhaps you were led there by others' views of you and thus, have limited yourself because of it.
This Lenten Season, break these negative bonds Satan holds over you. Prayerfully ask God to come live in that black hole space within you that is sucking away the light of His love & what HE has in store of you. It's easy to stay in defeat, the real work comes in trusting. Trust Him until it hurts, and God shows you (& the world!) what He can do!
Remember: Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of the plans HE has for us, not on our own plans. Do as I've been told by the Holy Spirit....(ok, smacked upside the head to listen, admittedly!)...."stop getting in the way of the plans I have for you, quit interfering!"
Hugs my bb's ~ Merana
Visit Spiritual Sundays for encouragement & love!
I agree with you, the real work is trusting. It is hard work and yet it is the easiest thing to do when we come to think of it. After all, we are being asked to trust the One in whom we live, move and have our being. We are asked to trust the One who created the world in which we live and the solid ground on which our feet rests.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post titled Please trust me, which also speaks to the issue of trust. Our challenges usually commence when the rubber meets the road but we can conquer our fears if we are willing to trust even when "it hurts". Thank you for the post.
You do have many resources as a church secretary! Thanks for sharing one about Lent. So true that we need self-worth,etc
ReplyDeletekim
Well said, Merana.
ReplyDeleteHow I hate the deceiver, the father of lies - and how frustrated I am that I all too often listen to him!
Yes, may I be in God's way - and stay out of the way when He leads!!
GOD BLESS!
It is a constant standing on the Word of God. When I am down in spirit I speak out as Jesus did when he defeated the devil in His 40days in the wilderness.
ReplyDeleteHe always said, "It is written:
Then one thing He said after that was, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the Father."Matthew 4:4
So a Word of God I use is, "For God has not given me a Spirit of Fear, But of Power, Love and a sound mind." 2Timothy 1:7.
It is wonderful to have the power of Gods Word.
God Bless you dear sister and your love in sharing beatiful truths.
To many people live for the world and what other people think,and not for our Lord. This is a great lesson,thank-you.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Ginger
I couldn't agree more. We shouldn't think more highly of ourselves than we ought but we also should not think more low of ourselves than we ought. Being a child of the King should make anyone feel pretty important but sadly sometimes it doesn't. Thank you for this thoughtful post.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Charlotte
Hi Merana,
ReplyDeleteI'm praising God for this post! I was praying about being in an unfamiliar place, and confessing that no matter what happens, I am trusting in the Lord.
In the past, I would have, scrambled and tried to implement my own solution, but I've come to realize that this time I am hearing the words, "trust in the Lord with your whole heart."
I may not be in a place of familiarity, but I am in the place of faith, trust and hope; the Lord is my Shepherd.
Blessings and peace.
MTJ
Great post!!!! Stopping in from Spiritual Sunday. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteI share your love of Henri Nouwen. His deep interspective life is a constant challenge to me. This subject of self-hate is important with so many messages in the media that support it.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a thought filled post worth meditating on to keep ourselves armed against those self-rejection lies of the enemy.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Janis