'Get Real'

Part of the herd mentality is that we don’t want to stick out or look different. However, this creates its own set of problems – isolation, endless shame, beating ourselves up, the negative loop we play in our heads, and damaged relationships. We have to stop projecting an image and let down our masks. Then we can find healing and freedom in our lives.

There are a few ways in which choosing to ‘get real’ with someone enables a better life. First, you don’t bear the burden by yourself. There is someone else who helps you carry the emotional load. Second, you discover that you are not the only one who is dealing with a particular problem or hurt; usually the other person has dealt with something similar. It’s nice to know you aren’t the only person who is dealing with an issue. Third, you get insight. We tend to get in the weeds in our own struggles. An outside observer can give a better perspective to help reframe your problem. That leads to four: when you understand your problem better, you can create a plan, a prayer, a scripture reading, and accountability tailored to change your thinking and/or actions. Finally, you have a prayer partner who can ask God to work on your behalf. When someone is praying for you, God brings wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to bear on your situation.

The Apostle Paul was willing to get real about himself. Not only did he write about the terrible things he had done, he also wrote about his present struggles. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing…” (Rom 7:15, 18-19) He didn’t stay on the surface. He let down his mask to say, “I’m struggling. My life isn’t all together. I need help.” The inner struggle Paul describes defeats most people. However, Paul knew that his internal turmoil did not have the last say. “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:15-19, 24-25)

We are all dealing with stuff in our lives - all of us. Don’t bear that burden alone. Ask God to show you who you can trust and confide in. Then get real, take off your mask, and begin to find the healing and freedom God wants you to have. As Paul says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1)

Jonathan