I will never forget the session an elegant gentleman confessed to me: I think constantly about what I will eat next. I’m appalled at how much I look forward to my next meal and how disappointed I am when it isn’t what I hoped for. As he humbly spoke, inside I thought, oh – me too. I hadn’t recognized it until he said it, but as soon as he did, I saw the same of kind thoughts swirling around on the periphery of my own mind and I too, was appalled.
Believe it or not, a moment like I just described is one of the perks of being a therapist. I get so much out of other people’s processing: insight, clarity, depth of understanding AND conviction.
Such a regular dose of humbling self awareness would be utter misery if I wasn’t so confident in the grace of God in the midst of my own sin. I know, despite a lot of change over the past 3 decades, that I still have plenty to work on. I also know that grace abounds while I take my baby steps toward who I’m meant to be. That is why I love being with people who know how messed up they are, who know that their sin patterns run deep, but who also know, or at least yearn to know, how wonderful, profound and thorough is the salvation of Jesus Christ. The more confidence I have in the cross, the freer I feel.
It is our enemy who says with a sneer, in the midst of our failure, How disgusting! UNEXCEPTABLE!!!! Nobody is going to love you! Words like that shame us. Shame is that awful feeling of wanting to hide or withdraw from others. It’s a miserable experience of being seen as unworthy. I lived with it for years and oh, how I hated it.
God never speaks to His children that way. He never uses that tone of voice. His conviction comes clear and straight forward and always includes an invitation to come and talk it though, confess and be relieved of our burden. Jesus said that He came to set captives free (Luke 14:18) and He really meant it. So, when you see your sin, look up at your Father who loves you, approach His throne of grace with confidence and say, Thank you, Abba, for showing me this. I want to be free of it.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Happening on September 15, 2018
REGISTER: https://lsccphxaz.infellowship.com/Forms/398693