No one has to teach us how to hide, lie, or to be ashamed

These are things we innately do in order to protect ourselves from pain

I wanted to write about this today because I feel like this is something we ALL struggle with. It’s true that no one teaches us how to hide from our sin. Ultimately, we do that all on our own because we are our biggest critic, the first one to “should” ourselves and the last one to give ourselves grace. We try our best to do the “right” thing and many times we fall short.  So we hide at work, in our unhealthy relationships, we even hide in the church. Sometimes we lie, just a small white lie here, and another one there, whatever we have to do to feel okay. The worst part is, we are already judging ourselves long before anyone else does, and we do it ruthlessly, as if the harder we are on ourself, the less angry God will be with us. 

God does not want this for his daughters. He wants to set us free.

I can promise you that God is not up there “should-ing” you, shaming you, or shaking His head at you. God grieves with us when we are in pain – no matter if the pain is external, internal, or pain we cause through our own decisions. He tells us to come to Him with all of our heartache, pain, and disappointment because only God can can give us true rest and peace, if we let Him in.

So ask yourself these questions:

How long are you spending between sin and repentance?

What do you run to when life gets hard?

So let’s talk about this the quicker we decide to turn away from the things that separate us from God the quicker we can get back on track to wholeness and on the path to sanctification.  

So what is sanctification?

Sanctification is the continual process of becoming more like who you were created to be. We will never be “fully” sanctified, but we are constantly improving and growing with Jesus. There is not much room for a stagnant relationship. You are either growing in Christ, or you are growing apart from Him.

With that said, God is more than ready to deal with your doubt, your sin, and your insecurity.  So this is the time to dig in and bring your guilt and shame to the Lord. He does not want you to sit in this place, but come to Him with all of it and start again. I hope this encourages you to have this conversation. I pray that the conversation is healing and creates amazing friendship in the process. 

Spiritual Growth: The mark of a woman who is close to the Lord is seen in the time she spends between sin and repentance