Today’s Quote: “God still has a vision for you. No matter where you’ve been, God’s full intent is for you to live effectively (see John 15:8) and abundantly (see John 10:10). He loves you dearly, and the fact that you’ve been foolish doesn’t diminish His love one single ounce. This time, instead of giving yourself a good talking to, use your mouth to talk to God.”- Beth Moore
You have probably noticed that I’ve been saying a lot of things like:
“Give your issues to God.”
“Drop it at his feet.”
“Release it to Him!”
I realize this must sound very cliché, or even downright dumb to a lot of you. But please stick with me.
We talked on day one about the importance of being honest with ourselves. Today let's take it one step further. I want to show you something that changed my life, and could really change yours too.
What I am after for myself, and what I am after for you is that we would become mature women who are able to calm those compulsions that make us do all sorts of unwise things in order to be noticed, or loved, or proven right.
I want serenity for us! A wisdom that rests deep inside our souls that enables us to be calm, confident women who make good healthy decisions for ourselves and those around us.
Do you know how rare that is these days?
It’s not that women don’t want it. We want balance, we want peace, and we want wisdom, but it is always those simple virtues that seem to elude us most.
Why is that?
I’m going to paint the simplest picture I know how:
We are forgetting to take out the trash.
We are constantly doing so much, learning so much and watching so much, that there is SO MUCH going on inside of us.
We’re like a cluttered up old house, where when you really need to get to something, you can’t seem to find it!
That’s our minds and our hearts in a nutshell.
We’re hoarders!
And most of us can’t see past our own stuff.
We’ve lost good discernment, and we’ve lost connection and care for the bigger picture, God help us.
But girls, the truly good things(like peace, balance and wisdom) won’t come until we learn to release.
We women especially need release.
Because, again, there’s a lot going on here. And the more we keep throwing on top of that, the more we are going to be emotionally and spiritually weighed down.
We need to learn to release.
So what exactly does this look like?
For me,
it’s about just letting it all out. All of the hurt, all of the pain, anything
and everything that has build up inside. I literally get down in child’s pose (the
yoga move) and imagine that everything is pouring out of me at the feet of God.
I cry, I yell sometimes, I swear sometimes, I just let it fly!
And what begins to happen is that once everything on the surface comes out, like whatever I’m dealing with at that time, deeper things start to come out.
Past hurts,
deep wounds,
things that I didn’t even realize were still affecting me.
Girls, everything is affecting us that we have never properly dealt with.
And release is the beginning of your healing. It is where God begins to deal with you on a personal level, because now you’ve gotten personal with him.
Wow, what a lesson this was for me to learn. It changed everything. It was where everything started to come together in my personal life.
When I
first started releasing and letting myself cry to God, it was like a volcano I
had so much built up hurt and anger, and it was hard letting it all out. But
once I finished, I immediately felt different. I seemed to have a heightened
sense of insight and good judgment. I would get up and walk away feeling
stronger, clear-headed, and more composed. It made me feel more like myself. It
gave me a sense of peace and calmness that I had not known in years. My baggage
began to fade away, and my life took on a new purpose and meaning. Things made
more sense.
I knew
God was close. Like I wasn’t just by myself anymore trying to figure everything
out on my own.
I could
feel He was there for me the instant
that I came before him. Immediately present and alert. Like He was just waiting
to be there for me. Waiting for me to come to Him and say the things that I
could never say to anyone.
He’s like
that for all of us, you know. Always right there just waiting for us to drop
the act and fall right into his loving and comforting arms.
“Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”~ Psalm 62:8
It is so backward from what we’re use to, trying to keep it all in and hold it together. And most of need this more than we even know. Especially with everything that we have been through in our relationship.
So my hope today is that you would release.
And that as we move forward in this journey, if I hit on any tender spots where you find yourself saying
“Oh, ouch, that’s me,”
that you would use those opportunities to release that area or specific pain to God, and just allow him to take it off of your shoulders. You will be so glad that you did!
Release equals peace and comfort, clarity and rest.
Release is what stands between knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge is the golden calf our culture worships
“Wisdom is the ability to use the best means at the best time to accomplish the best ends. It is not merely a matter of information or knowledge, but of skillful and practical application of the truth to ordinary facets of life.” – Elizabeth George
Girls, this is what we need more of! Wisdom.
It's what we're all lacking these days. And we have got to stop seeing “getting more” as our solution. Whatever more may be: more knowledge, more therapy, more friendships.
Needing more is not our problem- knowing how to use it is.
 |
| Old presumptions, thoughts, feelings, blahness, everything |
The same way that HGTV comes in and cleans all of the junk out of a room before they start updating and redecorating....
 |
| New start, clarity, freshness |
You need to get ready for your upgrade!
Because God has a lot of great new qualities to fill you up with; discernment, maturity, clarity, excitement for life, purpose, love, just to name a few.
But the first step is cleaning out the old, nasty stuff, and making space for the new!
Release.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
Today’s Dare: Remember that “child’s pose” I mentioned before? I dare you to put yourself in a position that allows you to release some things to God. I dare you to lay your thoughts, worries and emotions at His feet. Imagine yourself “cleaning out” your heart. All of the junk and confusion just pouring out of you. Don’t be scared or intimidated by it. God meets weakness and vulnerability with compassion and healing.
