Yesterday morning I woke and the shadow of the craft I made last month caught my eye on my dresser, as the sun was gleaming through it.
(I recreated it with a flashlight for this photo because I didn’t catch it in time.)
So anyway-
See how the light is shining through the glass part?
God drew my eyes to it and said to my heart:
“Authenticity.
THIS is why authenticity (transparency) is important.”
Because the places where we allow transparency in our lives, sharing our sometimes beautiful and sometimes messy feelings and stories is exactly where His light shines through!
Other people need to know that they’re normal and that just because they become Christian doesn’t mean that their life on earth is all rainbows and roses, nor does it mean that their feelings are always going to be good.
Faith is a decision, not an emotion.
It’s choosing to believe God is good and has a plan and a purpose (even when we can’t see it yet, and even when we don’t feel good.)
Authenticity allows people to see- you can love Jesus and still have some messy feelings. That’s one reason why He wants to walk in real relationship with us through Holy Spirit- to help us through those!
In my craft in the photo, all the pieces were actually originally clear glass. But some parts I painted black for the look of it.
And I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with that, craftwise, but this is what God spoke to my heart as He used this illustration to speak to me.
“See the parts that you painted over?
No light is getting through that.
People don’t see the true Me as much-
the God that comforts t.h.r.o.u.g.h messy feelings, instead of promising that you’ll never have challenging situations again;
the God that is good-
even when life doesn’t always f.e.e.l like the Facebook filtered perfection you w.a.n.t it to feel like;
the God whose love is p.u.r.e
and who somehow shines Joy and peace into souls – when people come to Him for it-
even when it makes no physical sense that they’d be able to find joy or find peace in the situations they find themselves in.”
So many friends on my heart today.
Going through some very hard things.
And authentically I can share that I experience hard feelings too, often.
The flesh doesn’t like being challenged,
or going through change,
or experiencing any sort of struggle.
And yet- in all of it- we can still see and seek to look upon and focus on His goodness! The light, amongst the dark!
I see my friends seeking Him
even as one has lost her husband,
and even as one is headed back to her war-torn country to help mend some hearts by sharing Jesus’s love.
Those a just a few.
There are so many others.
And I deeply appreciate their authenticity-
and the ways they demonstrate
that GOD IS GOOD
even when life is hard. ✝️
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