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Hearing God’s Voice

This past year, I would say a desire of mine has been to hear God’s voice more clearly and frequently. While this desire is sincere, it has its conflicts. For one, I know hearing from Him means a higher call to obedience. If I hear Him say it, I can’t ignore it. If I ignore Him, I will hear from Him less – this much I’ve learned from personal experience. This battle to listen and obey has also really been a process of learning to trust God and to value His desires above my own.

 Secondly, it can feel like hearing from God is a lot of effort. While that is not how it works, I find it easy to think thoughts like: “what do I have to do to hear from Him? Do I do more of this, do less of that? Spend this much time in Scripture, make my prayers sound like this?” Thankfully, God has been teaching me to replace my striving for His favor with relying on His grace and seeking Him out of love. While I can say this has tremendously improved my relationship with Him, my question still remained: what does it take to hear from God?  

Spending time with God recently, I felt Him drawing me toward a certain devotional. It was one that I pick up from time to time, with short Scriptures followed by insights, questions, and spaces for prayer journaling. As it turned out, the section for that week concentrated on hearing God’s voice. Like every other section, there were questions at the end, but as I responded to the prompts, it was like God chose that moment to make His answer known. The answer wasn’t the complicated thing I made it to be – it was actually quite simple. I found that hearing God’s voice really came down to four main things: time, solitude, silence, and a surrendered heart.

What these all have in common: they are accessible to anyone. Anybody could do these things. Most of us could manage these at some point on any given day. At the same time, these few intangible things, ask everything of us.

In American culture, time can be hard to come by and hard to give up. The reality is everyone has same amount of time in a day; it is also easy for that time to get filled up quickly. Even when time is available, there is always something ready to steal that slot. When the time is made for God, the next task is finding solitude.

Seeking solitude isn’t always easy, either. It’s normal to spend more of our day with people than alone. When we are alone, other things will reach for our attention: pastimes, responsibilities, entertainment, our phones. What’s more, if we already have difficulty making time for God, we can also find being alone with Him to be uncomfortable, awkward, and intimidating.

 I find that struggling with silence and struggling with solitude often go hand-in-hand. Silence can be scary. Silence means being alone with our thoughts. Being alone with our thoughts can mean coming face-to-face with our fears, pains, guilts, and realities. Silence can also remove us from the distractions we use to avoid these thoughts.

 However, we could achieve these first three feats – time, solitude, and silence – and still not hear God’s voice. The last ingredient we need is a surrendered heart. A surrendered heart is open to what God has to say. At times, it’s hard to dissect what keeps our hearts closed. Often, it can be tied back to sin, pride, anger, distrust, stubbornness, doubt, fear, worry, or as I stated before, disobedience. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes is obscure. Often times, God wants our time, solitude, and silence so He can reveal what we are not surrendering.

But recognizing these things, we have to ask ourselves this question: will we pursue these four principles to hear from God?

I admit, there can be times my desire for something else is greater than my desire to hear from Him. Sometimes, it’s not that black-and-white – there are times I greatly desire to hear from God and be in His presence, but everything seems to become an obstacle! I am needed by someone, I have to finish a task, my mind is preoccupied, my body feels tired. While these things occur naturally, I also know there is a spiritual realm, and our spiritual enemy is proactive in using these elements. If you think about it, anything God speaks to us is likely an interference to the enemy’s work. The enemy does not want us to hear from God.

But for people in relationship with our Creator, what are we willing to sacrifice to hear from Him? Be in His presence? Know Him? I know it’s not always simple, but this is always our decision. He wants to talk to us, He wants to be known by us; it’s our decision to create the time, space, stillness, and heart posture to allow so. So what is keeping you from hearing Him?

For me, it was the fear of being accountable to Him and the exhaustion of trying to earn God’s favor. It has been those and many other things.  Making the effort to be still before Him is still often difficult for me. Do you struggle with silence? Is there something distancing your relationship with Him? Do you have a hard time believing you’ll hear from Him? Do you have trouble distinguishing between your thoughts and His thoughts?

Whatever the case, bring these all before Him. He is clear that if we seek Him, we will find Him (I Chronicles 28:9, II Chronicles 15:2, Jeremiah 29:13, James 4:8a). He wants to be known by us. This may be a reminder for some, and a new idea for others, but there is nothing greater than the encounter of God’s presence and the excitement of hearing His voice. You could call that an opinion, but I think most people who have experienced God these ways will say the same. The peace in your soul, the clarity of your mind, the joy of His nearness, the stillness in the atmosphere, the rest for your soul: nothing else compares. I will admit, I can love this reality more than anything and look forward to an eternity of it, and still have things compete for it every day. That is the fight of the Spirit and the flesh (Galatians 5:13-26). However, hearing from and being with God is always worth the fight and always the truest prize.

I am not saying that this is the only way God speaks to us. He is not limited. He can speak to us through a song on our playlist. He can place something on our heart in the middle of the day, in the midst of our busyness. He can speak through a pastor, a friend, or a stranger. God is always accessible to us at any time in our days. However, I do believe that personal and intentional time with Him leads to hearing Him more clearly and more intimately, thus opening the door to connection throughout our days.

My prayer is that we may know God more closely and hear His voice more regularly. I encourage you, consider what may be blocking His voice in your life. Whatever it is, whatever the difficulty level, He is and always will be worth the time, solitude, silence, and surrender. Again, we must ask for ourselves, “Is He worth that to me?”

Consider this.

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Destined for Weakness

I spent my New Year’s morning crying with my Bible opened to II Corinthians. Starting the book, I found it challenging to concentrate or receive anything from it; toward the end, I can best describe my response as a bittersweet hope.

To give context: in his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul the Apostle was responding to the criticism and slander circulating about him through a group of false teachers. As I was reading Paul’s defenses, I realized how serious their accusations were. These men were calling his teachings and God-given authority into question, thus attacking his life work and identity. Along with maligning his mission, they were also ridiculing Paul as a person. They dismissed him as feeble and laughable, with no basis for bragging rights. I believe references in Scripture seem to indicate that Paul had some physical setbacks, likely prompting their scorn. The men also credited him as possessing power in the written word, yet lacking power in presence and speech. They felt these deficiencies were a discredit to his letters. All these points had emerged into this main message: Paul is detestable and weak. He’s questionable, he’s embarrassing. Don’t waste your time listening to him.

In a new way, I had compassion for Paul. Reading his letters, I always had the impression he was bold, firm, and strong. I viewed him through the lens of power and authority. I envisioned him as a giant of the faith. All those things I still hold to be true, yet now I realize how the outside world may have perceived him: unimpressive and inferior. Paul had always demonstrated an awareness of his shortcomings, but I do not doubt that his contemporaries’ accusations, both false and somewhat true, affected him.  

Though Paul’s letter was written as a personal defense, his biggest priority was obvious – he did not want the teachers’ misleading words to damage to the Corinthian church. He did not want his work to be uprooted, and he did not want the people to stray from the faith.

In Paul’s list of defenses, he started off stating all of the ways that he and his accusers held the same credentials. Quickly, though, his plea took a different direction: he began highlighting his ministry experiences. He did not highlight his achievements and successes, however, or anything that would traditionally be used in an argument. He emphasized his hardships and difficulties. He described the costs he faced while being on mission for God. He included the things people would not be quick to identify with, like imprisonment, rejection from society, and lack of necessities. He even listed his weaknesses, the very things they doubted him for, as proof of his credibility. Paul took it a step further and said that he would boast of the notable accomplishments and experiences of other Christians, but when it came down to himself, he would only boast in his weaknesses.

At this statement, I began to cry.

Why would Paul only ever call attention to his losses and imperfections, the things that cost him dignity and respect, the things that tainted his reputation?

Paul knew that while his weaknesses and circumstances cost him, it was through these deficits that he most glorified Christ. It was only through his inadequacy that he could advocate the surpassing supremacy of his Savior. Though disadvantaged, he had the advantage of being able to advertise the strength and meaning he had only through leaning on Jesus.  

I have been painfully aware of the ways that I can be seen as “less-than” recently. In fact, I have spent a lot of my life way too preoccupied by this feeling. It comes out at times when I see friends from my childhood or relatives at family gatherings; I sink into a pool of shame when I see how far ahead they’ve gone, and how far behind I feel. I’ll skirt around certain people and conversations because I don’t want to answer the simple question, “How’s life?” I am too honest, and the answer can be too complicated.  

Why do I feel like this? Because, like Paul, I have some weak points on display. When I look at myself in a critical mirror, I see a college drop-out. I see someone who has had potential, but self-sabotaged her success. I see someone who has had debilitating spells of anxiety and depression, and who has been very humbled by how much of a fight it has been at times to function. I see someone who is still recovering from the results of her burnouts and breakdowns. I see someone who wants to help, but still needs help. There have been moments where I feel like the only thing that I have to my name is that I have clung to God – at times roughly – and even that can be a target of disapproval from people.

But Paul’s attitude – “if I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity” – cuts me. Paul was really frustrated with his weakness, too. He called out to God not once, not twice, but three times to rid him of his affliction. He knew that God had the power to heal. He knew that Jesus transformed lives, that He had the power to restore people’s bodies, minds, and spirits. I do not think this desire was completely selfish; I imagine he felt his weakness was a hindrance to effectively preaching the Gospel and ministering to others. But this was God’s response: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” (quick note: God did not only say His strength was shown in Paul’s weakness, or that it was made obvious through his weakness; He said His strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Through weakness, God’s perfect strength is shown. I love that!)

I am not saying all our struggles are good, or that God won’t give us freedom from our difficulties or oppressions. I am so grateful that I can testify to His goodness in giving me freedom and healing in different ways. He does give healing and freedom. He does lift us up and move us forward. However, one of God’s patterns that I love is that He likes to use simple and broken things. The people who can’t stand up firmly on their own without needing His assistance (or at least recognize it – no one truly stands firmly on their own) are often the ones who fully know and fully admit their absolute need for Him; therefore, they are fully dependent upon and fully submissive to God in any way He wants to work through them.

This truth enriches me with hope, and yet it can still bother me. It’s a blow to my pride and my desire to be strong enough, to be good enough. I have become humbly aware that any ability to function, to have peace, to have purpose, comes directly from Him. Anything I have to offer others, any real capacity for love, comes from the Holy Spirit. Through experiences, I have been sobered by the direction my life would tumble if I stopped leaning on Jesus. I know that any victories, blessings, positive traits, come from Him. I know that any good that comes out of my life is going to come from Him. I know that hope and relief for my mental and spiritual battles are from Him. Every failing, every flaw, every mistake, He has redeemed and repurposed and will redeem and repurpose for His glory, to point others to hope.

Though I am humbled, I know it is because of these things that I truly know Christ and His grace. The reality is, I am less-than – and I would never have it any other way. Everything that gives others and myself the right to label, disqualify, or look down on me, are the ways that Jesus Christ wants to be known through me. Because of this, I can stop despising these things.  

Are you also all too aware of your weaknesses? Do not forget – or perhaps you are realizing this for the first time – that through our downfalls, He wants to be known in us. He can use our testimonies, He can use our experiences, He can use our trials and losses. Through these He can open a door to love and minister to others with similar situations. Through these He can give us a greater compassion and understanding for humanity. He can use these to give us a greater love and devotion for Him, once we realize and experience that the freedom that He gives cannot be found outside of Him. He can use us to show His redemptive work and undeniable power. Our stories, when we share them, can be a source of hope and connection for others who are struggling.

If we allow Him, God can repurpose our weaknesses and use them for our destinies.

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On Love and Fear

One of the most beautiful things about Jesus Christ is that He is the essence of love. This truth can be seen in several different ways: Jesus claimed that the greatest commandment is to love God completely and to love people as we love ourselves. His death was an act of love – an experience with extreme pain and humility – done so that all those who willingly receive that love will escape eternal pain. Throughout the letters His apostles wrote to the early churches, they all emphasized loving and caring for one another. In fact, one of things that I love most about Jesus is that He emphasizes the unloved and unfortunate – the widows, the orphans, the sick, the destitute, the unreputable, the weak, and anyone else who fits the category of being unwanted. To sum up the entirety of Christ, He is Love. And just as He loves us, He calls those who follow Him to live a life of loving Him and loving others.

This beckon is my life mission, really – I think it is what matters most and what makes the changes that truly matter in this world. Yet, there is a sad reality I have come to see about myself, and it is this – there are times that I do not want to love people. Writing that down feels terrible, but it is the ugly truth about me. I have pondered what keeps me from loving people, and I have been able to narrow it down to selfishness… indifference… people who are difficult to love. These are all points that could make great topics for a blog entry – but today, I am focusing on the one that has preoccupied my mind the most, and that is fear.

Fear. What do fear and love have to do with each other? Well, that is just the thing – they don’t. They are actually complete opposites. Often when we think of the opposite of love, we think of hate – and I am not refuting that, this is still very true – but recently, I have realized that fear can also be contrary to love. And here is how.

There are times I will think of reaching out and showing love in some way – but then something refrains me. It is fear. This fear takes different forms – I fear if I put myself out there, I will be rejected. I may be judged, whether by the one receiving or those onlooking. I may not be taken seriously. There may only be indifference given in return. Or – a rather legitimate excuse at times – it may be taken the wrong way. Or, God forbid, it is received well, and even a friendship forms– then I fear that once they really know me, will they really love me? Will they stop loving me?

When it comes down to it, we fear loving because we want to protect ourselves from getting hurt. This is very reasonable; no one wants to be hurt, rejected, or misunderstood. No one wants a one-way relationship. We have all probably experienced these things to know it is something that we want to avoid. But if you have noticed, there is a word that I used a lot in the paragraph above – I. The focus was on me, not them. That is the difference between love and fear in this case – love is being concerned about what others may gain, fear is being consumed with what I may lose.

 In the past month, I have brought this internal conflict before God; in the midst of asking for His guidance, the phrase “perfect love casts out fear” came to my mind. I held on to this reminder and decided I wanted to use it in this post – but to get the full context of the verse, I researched it and found that the Bible reference is I John 4:18. As I read the chapter, I began to read around the other chapters and see that the main theme, really, is love. I found the truth in this book so convicting and relevant to what I am writing, that I cannot help but encourage everyone seeking to love more to read this book.

The entire verse says “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” I was a little confused by the last sentence. Does this mean if we have any kind of fear, we are not made perfect in love? What does “being made perfect in love” mean?

Throughout the book, John lists statements of what should be present and absent in the lives of those claiming to be God’s followers, according to if God is “abiding” in us – living in us, a part of us. Examples of these statements include: “He who abides in Him (Jesus) ought to also walk just He walked (live the way He did)”; “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous”; “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”; “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him”; and finally, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”

God is love; and if He is in us, we should demonstrate John’s words. There may be some of you, like me, who are convicted by this. These can seem like really high standards – but put simply, if we love God and continuously make the choice to love Him, we do these things out of love for Him. He loves people, and because we love Him, we love what He loves. If we love Him, we “abide” in Him; and if we abide in Him, He abides in us.

Seeing how these fears have held me back magnifies how it really comes down to living in Him. Loving God is what allows us to love others – and that love is a choice. Initially, there may still be fears associated with making the effort to live a life of love; but we can choose to rely on God for this love and for His values, or we can choose to give into that fear. The more we choose God and live in Him, the more natural His love becomes.

In some ways, I have already seen how this makes such a difference. Before, I was really saddened when I had recognized that my fear can hold me back from loving others, especially upon reading how this is evidence that His love is not perfected in me. I had been asking God to put the desire to love without the fear within me, despite what it would cost me or how it would be received – and through the book of I John, He showed me His answer is to love Him and love what He loves. And when I think about it, I see the truth of that throughout my journey with Him – the closer I am with Him, the more natural it is to love others; the further I am from Him, the harder it is to truly love others. When He is everything, He exceeds and replaces any fear we may have.

I love that the Apostle Paul expounds further on what perfected love looks like in I Corinthians 13. They are beautiful words that I have often returned to as a reminder. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Summarized, love is selfless. And that is the problem with fear. In the effort to protect ourselves, we can withhold love from people. In self-preservation, we deny the very thing that could be life preserver for others. If we truly lived by the love described above, there were would be no fear of others. This pure love is completely for the benefit of others, not ourselves.

There are a couple of clarifications that I must make. First, loving without fear does not mean complying to manipulation or control or abuse. I just want to make this clear; sadly, people can think that putting up with this is what they are supposed to do. Yielding to mistreatment is not love, it is neglecting to properly love yourself. You can still love the person – but you do not “love” them by allowing them to repeatedly misuse you. I also want to note that expression of love is to be used according to what is situationally appropriate. For example, it would be fitting to hug your sibling to show gratitude, but it would be an awkward mess if you decided to hug the grocery clerk to assure your appreciation; this would only serve to bewilder and alarm the person, not to uplift and encourage the person.

In proper application, we are to transcend our comfort zone and let our worries of rejection, lack of reciprocation, or absence of appreciation be overridden by love. Instead of fearing what may happen to us, let this fear be replaced by a greater concern – what if we deprive people of the love that they need? What if we change people’s life trajectories for the worse, not the better, because we never gave them the kind words that they needed? What if other people continue to hurt more people because we never showed them what love really is? What if people never come to accept or know Jesus – the One everyone needs – because we feared their responses?

I am speaking to myself, too. I do not write as someone who has mastered this; I write as someone who aspires to live by this duty and wants others to join her. These are the weightier things that we interact with each day. Love is a choice we can make every day, to pursue God and prioritize others. So consider this: will we be held back by fear and hold back the love the world needs? Or will we abide in God, and live out His will to love without fear? As I said, the choice is ours.

Why Do You Love Jesus?

I want to present a prompt for you to contemplate today: why do you love Jesus?

This may be a trivial question for some and an irrelevant one for others, but for those of you who revere Jesus to some capacity, what meaning does Jesus have for you?

I know for many Christians, answers may look this: Jesus died for me, Jesus is God, Jesus took away my sins. I do not disregard those answers, and they are all great reasons to love Him – but I want to challenge you to answer beyond the automatic answers. Why do you love Jesus? On a personal level, what is His meaning to you?

I have had a lot of questions I have been sorting and struggling through the past several months. As I have met people during this time and shared Christ’s place in my life, it has been humbling and convicting to consider how I represent Him while working through uncertainties. It further disturbed me to ponder why I love Him… and I find myself listing the reasons, but not living the reasons. And He knew that.

I really do not know how to explain that – how I could experience and know God, experience and know the Holy Spirit, and easily tell someone Their impact on my life, but be less clear and absolute on Jesus’ involvement in my life. It was not that I was ignorant of what He did. I knew about His birth, His ministry, His death, and His resurrection; but knowing these things, I do not know that I always grasped their significance.

Asking these questions made me want to make Jesus more than an acknowledgment. I wanted the words “I love Jesus” to be more than a phrase to throw around. I wanted real love to be rooted in my heart, and I wanted it to change how I saw and knew Him. I wanted that love to be unmistakable to Him, myself, and others.

I started reading the New Testament more intentionally to better understand who He is and what He wants. I prayed that God would open my heart to fully understand and fully receive Jesus’ love, and that I would genuinely reciprocate it. I was more purposeful in talking to Jesus.

This journey of knowing Him in a more personal way and learning to love Him continues – but the difference is there. I can say I know Him and appreciate Him in new ways. He has reminded me of some of the ways He has loved me all along. I still want to love Him more, but I can more firmly say why love Jesus.

I love that His purpose for living was not condemning us for what we do wrong, as I understood it to be at times, but sparing us of that condemnation we would receive if He did not intervene (John 3:17-21; 12:44-48).

I love having more of a grasp of His astounding grace and the freedom that He gives when I repent, realizing that I am hopeless to my struggles without Him.

I love His persistent mercy and compassion. Every time I willfully choose to disobey Him, it hurts Him and distances me from Him; even then, He still advocates for me, and every time I sincerely want to stop, He is willing to meet me where I am at, regardless of my track record (Hebrew 4: 14-16).

I love Him for simply loving me. Not only does He love me, but loves everyone, especially having a heart for those deprived of love and the hurting and the lost and the misunderstood (Matthew 5:3-10; Luke 5:30-32).

I especially love Him realizing my inability to escape the darkness I have been through without Him, and because of that, I have purpose and hope for myself that I can also offer to others.

And lastly, I love Him because no matter how much I try to be right or perfect, I can’t be – He is right and perfect for me, and He simply asks that I love Him.

The ways Jesus has reached out in my searching and has helped me to understand Him better has been beautiful and dumbfounding, and I still do not live in light of these realities enough. I am trying more not to disregard Him as I easily have done before, but to continue pursuing Him as He continues revealing and reaffirming Who He is.  

I originally worked on this post wanting others to understand why Jesus is worthy of love and why I personally love Him. Even since I first started the post, He has given me more reasons to love Him, but I am solemnly aware that I am not the only one who has maybe struggled to back up the words “I love Jesus.” I fully acknowledge, not every day is going to inspire an overwhelming emotion of love – some days you have to choose to love and to remember His love. Yet, I am also aware how easy it is to settle for saying the words and not living them, or how hard it is to admit that absence of love.

Taking the time to ponder this statement was really important and worthwhile for me. I pass the challenge on to you today: why do you love Jesus? I hope some of you reading are curious enough to wonder “what is the big deal, why should I love Jesus?” I hope some read this question and take the moments to joyfully reflect on how much He means to you. And as uncomfortable as it may feel, I hope some read this and take the opportunity to reevaluate what loving Jesus means, and perhaps even discover Jesus in new ways.

A Resolution to Fight

Once Jesus gives you victory over sin, you should never struggle again.

That sounds about right, doesn’t it? I believed it. It was this belief that also made me question my relationship with God. Every time a struggle crept back in or took over again, it caused insecurity and anxiety. I saw it as proof of my incompetence or God’s indifference.

Then God showed me how this belief fueled my struggles.

Maybe some of you can relate to this: you have a personal battle. It could be substance abuse, impulsive spending, eating disorders, sexual struggles, self-destructive tendencies. You fill in your blank. It is ruining your life. You want to stop… yet you do not want to stop. The scary part is you are not even sure you can stop.

There are some of you who have come out of the other side of this. For many, it was flat-on-your-face moment before Jesus. Inexplicably, undeniably, He took away the shame or desire or oppression. He gave you the incentive to leave it. I can assume it was a beautiful marker in your relationship with Him.

But some of you never experienced that, and some, despite the victory, are back there again. These questions may surface: Why didn’t Jesus take it away completely? Am I less-than for being here? Why does God allow it to be so hard? Is this worth fighting if it will come back again? Am I destined to fail?  

Humbly, I am sharing from personal experience. Some of these battles are fresher than I want to admit, and some have been long-term fights. In the past six months, God has given me some breakthroughs. He has even given me a few opportunities to pass on these insights to others, and as vulnerable as it feels, I want more people to experience and maintain victory.

In my latest post The Ultimate Cure: Why We Reject It, I focused on the importance of Jesus’ statement to a man He had just healed from a lifetime impairment: “Go, and sin no more, lest something worse come upon you.” Jesus used these parting words multiple times after releasing people from personal burdens they were helpless to escape. The significance of this statement is that it suggests we can fail again. In fact, Jesus states our situation can be worse than it was before. With our unbelievable freedom, there also is a responsibility indicated: to be intentional about not getting there again.

At face value, stopping seems so simple. We just don’t do it. Like any of you can probably testify, there is more to it than that. Though Jesus and His freedom are so much better than any bondage we had before, there still can remain an appeal to what held us captive. In a spiritual (or also literal) sense, the pull for the drug is still in our system. It is a temptation. It can slide in under the radar, or it can blatantly ambush us out of nowhere. We can succumb to its lure right away, or we may submit to its control after considerable resistance. The aftermath is likely shame, doubt, guilt, worthlessness, frustration, and sometimes anger toward God. Most dangerously, it might impel us to give up and give in entirely.

Temptation is a relentless antagonist. It feels nearly impossible to say no at times. Yet Jesus tells us to leave our sin. How do we obey Him when the strain is so strenuous?

We must commit to fight once and for all. Though we feel unable, there needs to be a point where our will is fully resolved: no matter what it takes, we will never do it again, and we will do all we can to fight it. There absolutely can be no room to flirt with going there again. We may not want to do it again. We may try to not do it again. But there must be a decision – we will not do this again – in order to take the problem head on. I am not ignoring that it will still be very difficult to fight. I am just saying that we have to be willing to go through the punches to knock it out. If we are not all in, we cannot win.

Repentance of the struggle is the most important key to this. In admitting our problem to Jesus and expressing our sincerity to stop, Jesus supernaturally gives us freedom to walk away. I must emphasize – this is the most important step to true recovery. He gives us a fresh slate, a renewed hope, and the power to continue conquering our sin.

We must make the decision to fight every day. Even if we have won a battle, more incidents for temptation will follow. However, fighting is not something we just do when the temptation comes. We fight to win the battle before the battle starts. How do we do this? We train. Something God has helped me realize is that we need to build resilience and resistance to fight well; we build these strengths even when temptation is not at the forefront of our minds.

I am going to share some essentials I have discovered in training effectively.

1.Eat your portions, carry your weapon. To fight well, we need to eat well. In other words, the Word of God feeds us truth, encouragement, and conviction. When we nourish ourselves on God’s truth and memorize His Words, we can use what He says about fighting temptations and living for Him as offense against the enemy. That is why the Bible is also called the Sword of the Spirit, an important piece of armor for fighting spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:10-20). Knowing Scripture is vital, and there are so many good passages for fighting temptation.

2. Protection and prevention. I believe Jesus was very purposeful in including prayer against temptation in His model of prayer (Matthew 6:9-15). Even when He was praying before His impending death, He implored the disciples that they also pray, specifically against temptation (Luke 22: 40, 46). This emphasis signifies that asking for God’s support empowers us in combatting temptation, and even shields us from encountering temptation at times, too. If we want to have the strength to overcome, we need God’s assistance.

3. Never fight alone. God joins our fight as our greatest ally when we read His Word and pray – but even then, He places importance on having other people be involved in our pursuit of victory (Galatians 6:1-2). This can come in so many wonderful forms – family, friends, mentors, support groups, pastors, and counselors can all play a necessary role in our triumphs. Though it is often easier to choose to isolate, having the courage to open up to people you can trust can silence shame, give accountability, offer support, and contribute helpful tools, while collectively promoting community.

4. Strategize. Jesus made the illustration of cutting off your hand if it will cause you to stumble (Matthew 5:30). The author of the book of Hebrews described shedding off any extra weight or sin that hinders us from living for Jesus (Hebrew 12:1-2) In other words, we have to detect our triggers and eliminate opportunities for failure. These often can be humbling, even unconventional choices that become a form of routine and lifestyle. We must strategize how to avoid potentially dangerous situations that have been linked to our previous failures. This takes some introspection, but this can be placing limits on activities, cutting out activities entirely, or steering clear of toxic people, environments, and situations. Burning bridges can be essential to avoiding temptations.

5. Minimize destruction. One of the best ways to prevent temptation is to derail our thoughts. Scripture refers to this as “taking our thoughts captive” (II Corinthians 10: 3-6). When something is appealing to us, it is easy to entertain it. James 1:14-15 describes this process well, breaking down how desires (thoughts) lead to sin (actions), and those sins, to their full capacity, result in death (literally and spiritually). Breaking the patterns of thinking, especially when we have fostered negative progressions, can be an extremely exhausting discipline. I assure you, though, it is well worth the effort. The more we do it, the easier it becomes.

6. Fight for love. I will warn you, there may be times we do all the right things, take all the right precautions… and still find ourselves barely making it. Nothing is working, and the struggle is all-consuming and agonizing. If we can, we must run from it. If we are stuck, we may have to ride it out. Either case, if we are grappling to choose the right decision, this may be the final standing motive: do it for the love of Jesus. Saying no at times has felt excruciating – but when I remember the reason I decided to fight is because I love Jesus, then the reason I should not give up now is because I love Jesus. I have to reflect on the times I gave in and felt devastated afterward, and I have to remember the undeserved grace He gave me. It is not easy, but He is worth the difficulty. He also had to endure difficulty, remembering the reward on the other side (Hebrews 12:2). We, too, must endure, for a greater reward.

Every day is training day. Every life is filled with battles. There are methods to build strength, endure, fight well, and win; regardless, it will always be hard. The question is, will we commit to fighting?

I am fully aware of the absence of fighting spirit. I spent my whole last year conflicted because I knew I had to fight, and yet nothing in me wanted to fight. It took some desperate prayers before God to ask for the will I could not muster. He came through, and I cannot take credit for the sincere desire to rise above and fight back. I still have my rough days, but the hope changes the outcome.

I want to end this in a prayer for those who want to fight, and those struggling to fight.

Lord, I pray you would use these words to inspire someone today. Lord, you see the struggle, you see the pain, you see the loneliness in this struggle. You see the efforts made and the times given up. I pray that You would strengthen this person to go fully after You and to fight this struggle, no matter the work it takes. I pray You would give them the courage to fight, and that life would not cripple them. I pray that You would bless them for wanting to honor You, even if it scares them. God, please lift them up, that Your name and power would be glorified, that others may see, and too, give You the glory and praise, and that they would find freedom. May we be ambassadors for You in all we do. Remind us of these tools daily. Also, for those who may not know You, please use this opportunity to start them on the path of knowing and seeking and finding You. Blessed be Your name, Amen.

The Ultimate Cure: Why We Reject It

“Do you want to be made well?”

When Jesus asked this question, it was directed at a man who spent nearly forty years waiting to be healed. This was forty years of watching, waiting, willing for the chance to enter a pool known to be visited by an angel of healing. He probably dreamed of one day having his body fully functioning and strong, absent of the defects he could not ignore. Year by year, he watched others pass him and receive their healing.  

This was likely what he knew most of his life. Maybe he spent his life waiting because it was all he knew to do. Perhaps he persisted thirty-eight years because he had faith in finding relief from his affliction. I do not know for certain, but four decades of waiting leads me to believe he was holding on to hope. Either way, the man caught Jesus’ attention.  

I imagine Jesus asked this question after watching the man make no effort as others flooded by. The man explains himself, saying, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

I am not strong enough. I am incapable. I have no one to help me. People pass me by and overlook me. My mightiest efforts never measure up. I am helpless, I am hopeless, I am discouraged.

This is what I read between the lines in his answer. I cannot imagine the pain, frustration, and disappointment he experienced as decades disappeared. Still, he sat by the pool, and Jesus noticed him.

“Rise, take your bed, and walk.”

In one sentence, the man’s life was changed. What made him crippled and powerless to change disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed. The man did nothing to enact this change. All he did was persist in faith and catch the attention of the Son of God.

Some would consider Jesus’ question to be absurd: who would ask someone who was sick or physically handicapped if they wanted to be well? What person would willingly choose to continue through life incapacitated if they were given the opportunity for health and freedom?

Many people. Most people, actually. Jesus was not ridiculous for asking this question. It would not be the last time he asked that question, either. This very question summarizes His legacy. Every day, Jesus gives people the choice to be well. I am not specifically referring to physical healing, although He certainly can do this through the power of faith and prayer. I am referring to the spiritual healing He offers us. All people, regardless of whether they recognize it, have something that cripples them inside. It comes in different names and numbers, but it all falls under one category – sin.

I do not always like using the word sin, not because I do not believe in it – I know without a doubt it is real – but because it a confusing and unknown word for many. Understanding the concept of sin is vital to comprehending Jesus’ life of ministry and sentence of death, as well His claim to being equal to God.  

Sin is essentially rooted in wrong, harmful, and selfish motives, whether done advertently or inadvertently. It ultimately has negative and destructive repercussions on someone or something else, including ourselves. Sin is taking anything good that God created and twisting it into something He did not intend. Sin is the expression of evil.

Sin is the illness of all mankind. There is no one incapable of it, and there is no one who is not impacted by it. There are some unaware of its hold in their personal lives. There are others who know it all too well, even if they may not identify it as sin. Instead, they may know it as addiction. Hate. Lust. Selfishness. Abuse. Power-hunger. Lying. Harm. Envy. Pride. Whatever its form, whether we realize it, we are all crippled by sin.

There are many reasons people choose to stay crippled instead of walking in freedom. Some of us are not aware we are crippled. Some of us love the thing that cripples us. Some hear the offer for healing but are comfortable with the ground – we choose what we know and get by. Some do not believe we can ever walk; though we hate being crippled, we accept it as what is and what will always be.

Some of us are too scared to walk. We know we can be healed – but what do we do when all we have ever known is being crippled? To walk opens up a whole new frightening world of freedom; it allows us to go places we have never been, do things we have never done – a wonderful, free, frightening world now daring us to live. Some of us do not want the responsibility that will come with walking.

There are some who take Jesus’ invitation to wellness. Just like the man, Jesus gave us the opportunity, and we responded. However, Jesus left the man with these last words – “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse sin come upon you.”

Jesus offers wholeness and healing for everyone. No matter which description you related to, you do not have to be confined to sin. You can respond to Jesus’ call to healing. However, even to those who accept His healing, it does not stop there. He does not bring healing just for us to continue in what crippled us – He changes us in a way we are incapable of on our own. He frees us so we can walk away and live a life of new freedom. When we choose to go back to sin that we are no longer in bondage to, we are no longer just crippled – Jesus indicates it being worse!

His act of mercy – his compassion to our helplessness and his healing that we could not accomplish –   should prompt us to change our lives. What saddens me is that so many who have experienced God’s healing turn back to being crippled. Even after being given the keys to freedom, we choose bondage. Take it from me, I know it can be such a complex, internal conflict, and it can be so easy to get there again – but having gone back and been healed again, I know how blind and foolish we really can be.

There’s a word for “sin no more” – it is called repentance. Repentance is when we not only confess that we have been wrong – it is when we make the decision to never do it again. It is making a firm, absolute decision to leave that which cripples us and keeps us from the wellness Jesus has for us. Jesus gives immediate healing and purpose authorized by the power of God; it is our decision to rely on His power to turn away and continue living in freedom.

Some of us have experienced the absolute healing of Jesus. Some of us once were crippled and knew it; and when asked if we wanted to be well, we said yes. Then there are some of us who turned back to the very thing that crippled us. We can still repent of that. Just like the man at the pool, we have to have faith that we can be given freedom. Just like Jesus said, we need to walk away and abandon that which crippled us.

For those who see something crippling them and do not know where to start, if these concepts are perhaps new or you want to understand more, do not hesitate to go to my contact page and send me a message! I would love to hear from you!

*This blog post’s material is based the Bible passage in John 5:1-15.

Thoughts on Words

Last week, I was going through my notes app on my phone trying to find my list of books that I want to read. I had discovered another book to add to my every-growing collection of titles, but while looking for this list, I found myself first having to continuously scroll through several other lists I had accumulated. Soon my curiosity and amusement took over, and I found myself sifting through other notes to see if I would have any success remembering their original purposes.

As I aimlessly scrolled through, I came across one list containing an assortment of statements, quotes, and reflections, each marked with the date I recorded them. I did not immediately process what I was reading, but I did recognize the span of time they were created: they marked an especially painful season of my life. I had forgotten about writing those notes, but as I read through them, I recalled the way certain statements and occurrences especially held depth to me when I was in that pain. I distinguished this in some of my personal reflections, notable things learned in college courses, a quote from The Dead Poet’s Society… but what motivated me to take the time to share this instance – though seemingly small and insignificant at a glance – are the thoughtful words I found from a few loving friends.

These words were significant to me at a time I had reached a bit of a rock bottom. The state of my mind was unhealthy, and these timely statements managed to have power in decluttering some of the chaos inside and in guiding my day in a bit of a brighter direction.

These refreshed memories brought back the strong emotions I had experienced when they were first spoken. I struggle to even describe it now – it is almost like my heart just swelled up reading them, and it reminded me of how loved I felt by those people. Simply reading and remembering, I felt I had gained a renewed sense of confidence in who I am, who I am becoming, and the things that matter to me.

Does this resonate? Have you ever received a meaningful letter or a yearbook note or thoughtful words that were nearly life-altering? Sadly, the same effect is found with negative words. In the same series of notes, there was a day I had written down adverse things had been said to me in the past. At the time, I found myself identifying and working through the impact of unkind words and actions. In my experience, I have often found these words to be easier to remember. I do not know why that is, but sometimes the lies or negative verifications about us seem to mold our reality more than the truth or positive affirmations do.

I am glad that I had taken the time to write down the positive words. Had I not taken a few moments to type them in my phone, I do not know that I would have remembered them. Some of those beautiful moments would likely have been lost from my memory. This experience prompted me to search through older journals, and even has me resolving to be more intentional to write down distinctive things when they occur. I would encourage you to consider doing the same. Especially if you have found that words of affirmation feed your soul, record those quotes. You may find them feeding your soul again.

Even if you are not inspired to write down transformative words, I hope that you can be left with this: words are so important. What you say is your superpower. You can give life or death. The kindness, encouragement, and support you give can be the keys to freedom, self-worth, hope, motivation, success, or positive decisions for someone else. Words are a chain reaction – intentionally or unintentionally, your words make an impact, positive or negative.

Be intentional. Make a positive impact.

Seeking God First: Praying the Difficult Prayers

It feels a bit funny to announce my inspiration to start a new topic series when I am just starting to write after a couple month pause. I had a few ideas I worked on during that time, but I want to focus on a topic that is especially important to me.

 A big motivator behind my writing is encouraging people in their relationship with God. The purpose behind this blog is to encourage people in their journey with things I have learned – and am learning – in my own journey. Journey is a vague word, and purposely so – all our journeys are different, but I am especially focused on spiritual journeys relating to God and internal journeys with struggles and difficulties, particularly pertaining to mental health. I am a follower of Christ offering a Christian perspective, but I also strive to communicate in a way that does not limit my writing to readers who identify as Christian. I want people to feel they can read and relate to the experience of being human while also receiving insight to God’s undeniable involvement in my experiences.

It is still my desire that this website offers encouragement to everyone on their personal journey – but the importance of this topic and those who will benefit from it still prompts me to write specifically about the title of my new series: Seeking God First.  

Recently, I was reflecting on the confusion I have experienced trying to determine what a life following God really looks like. By observation, people could assume that my life growing up in the church and attending Christian schools and living in the world of Christian culture would give me all the answers I need for this question; but on the contrary, the more I have seen and known, the more conflicted and confused it has left me.

I have witnessed a variety of opinions and approaches to God and Christianity, some that have contrasted each other. From my earlier stages of seeking God to now, this has caused seasons of internal conflict. Wanting to truly please God and “get it right”, these mixed messages were stressful. I understood that even innocently being misled or having a misunderstanding could have its consequences in one way or another.

The confounding question that hit me the most was this: is God a part of my life, or is He supposed to be my life? I had listened to sermons in the past by pastors who capitalized on seeking God with all our hearts and sacrificing anything and everything to follow Him, and quite honestly, this bothered me. I recognized that though I wanted to please God, I did not quite feel that intensely about God, and even found it extreme. What increased my frustration was that the Bible seemed to actually support their words. Even with this awareness, I easily justified myself because I found a lot of Christians whose ideas aligned with mine.  

I share all this because it brings me to my first topic in this series: praying the difficult prayers. I chose this subject first because this is where it really started for me, and I believe that if we really want the answers to truly seeking God, we need to go to the Source, God Himself. I describe these prayers as “difficult” because if we are asking for the truth, the gamble is that we may not like the truth.

I recall my first “difficult prayer” sounding like this: “God, make Yourself real to me.” This was during a time I was struggling between my desire to please and seek Him and my desire to do as I wanted and have Him as an afterthought. This was a difficult prayer because in asking for this, I knew His response could mean losing the barriers I was already hesitant to give up. I was opening the door for a big change, and that change could require sacrifice.

That prayer was a catalyst to my relationship with God.  This type of prayer has come at different times in many forms: “God, align my desires with Your desires”; “Lord, I surrender my day to You”; “God, I give up my control”; “Reveal what needs to change and help me by Your Spirit and  Your strength to change it.”  Though these prayers come in different situations with different words, they all come down to one thing – they are a request for Him to do what He wants, regardless of what we want or feel.

For anyone who wants to seek God first, I believe that one thing it comes down to is a willingness to pray these prayers. As simple of a suggestion as it may seem, these prayers require us to mean what we say. They are not just words to recite – they are words of intention and meaning, with the willingness to submit to whatever He brings, despite opinions or feelings. One thing I will say is this: it is okay to be scared to do that. Initially, it may be hard to trust Him enough to give these requests, especially if you have never stretched your trust in Him this far. He knows that. That is the best part, really – He knows us fully and knows what we feel and what we need. Not only that, but He knows these things and He loves us. I hope you will find this to be true as well.

My challenge for you this week: if you are in place where you have been skeptical about what following God really entails; if you want a closer walk with Him; if you even simply are curious to know that He cares, or that He even exists – I dare you to pray a difficult prayer. Give Him your situation with the willingness to receive what He answers. There is a verse in the book of James that says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” God is always available and open to us – it is a matter of us making ourselves available and being willing to change or give things up to draw near to Him. It takes earnest prayers for those things to happen.

In giving this advice, I want to emphasize that I make no claim to having a perfect relationship with God or to having everything figured out – I still struggle to pray these prayers as circumstances or seasons change. It can be hard to mean them – but I also know they are so necessary, and I want you to benefit from praying them. Never have I regretted these requests. As mentioned before, this is me offering what I have learned on my journey for your own journey. I continue to learn on mine.

You Are Still Here

Today I want to write some words of encouragement to whoever this message applies to. It is a message God prompted on my heart recently that gave me some assurance and hope, and I do not doubt that there are others who have experienced the same feelings I have.

Over a month ago, I was reading the first few chapters in the book of Revelation. In it, John has a vision and receives instructions from Jesus to write His personal messages to the churches of seven different cities. The structure of each message included Jesus’ recognition of how these churches were succeeding as His followers, followed by how they were failing. His purpose was to warn them – He saw how their destructive patterns were harming them, harming those around them, and ultimately harming His reputation. In some of His addresses, He ends with the words “to him who overcomes.” He used this phrase before describing an award for those who persisted to follow Him.  

It was this last part that really stood out to me – “to him who overcomes.” Really, those words are supposed to be a source of encouragement; for me, however, they were a reminder of the times I fell to my own destructive patterns and failed to overcome. It made me think of wrong choices I had deliberately made, times I had disobeyed God, and instances when I had followed my own selfishness over His desires. Those words did not only remind me that I had messed up – in the moment, they made me feel that I was destined to continue making mistakes.

I knew I could still manage to be so selfish. There were still days I lived like I believed that God was not enough. I feared that I was going to fail Him. Over the past year, this fear has stayed with me.

That day while I was reading, I finally vocalized these concerns to God. I think a mistake Christians often make is wanting to hide our questions or fears from God. We know in our minds that we are not supposed to think or feel a certain way, and we fear God’s disapproval if we admit those things. At this point, I have realized that whether or not He is disappointed, He already knows. An important part of drawing closer to Him is being vulnerable about our disobedience or doubts.

As I took the time to be transparent with God, I shared my fear of failing Him. I told Him I was afraid that I would continue hurting Him, even though I truly wanted to please Him.  I realized how capable I was of making unhealthy decisions, and with that came the awareness that I could do them again. I confided how my mistakes even made me question if I really was His follower, though I tried.

After I had allowed all those feelings to be unveiled and expressed, I waited for His response. I sat quietly, trying to make room for Him to lead me to a passage in Scripture or to press words on my heart. These are the words that have been with me ever since: “You are still here.”

The significance of these words is something I hope someone else can be blessed by. I was so focused on ways I had failed in the past; these past decisions also made me preoccupied with having a similar future. While I was concerned about what had been and what could be, Jesus was focused on the present. He gently reminded me that even at that moment, I was still pursuing Him. I was consumed by the fear of not overcoming; He saw that despite failing, I was still overcoming by continuing to go after Him.

This instance took place several weeks ago, but it was just this week that I had this reflection: most of the churches that Jesus addressed were, in one way or another, failing. He spoke through John to tell them this, but He did not tell them their failures just to tell them how disappointed He was; He illuminated this so that they may have a chance to change and get right with Him. What the churches were doing hurt Jesus, but it especially hurt because He loved them. Because He loved them, He also wanted them to stop so that they would overcome and live in His fullness and do His work. This was the same pattern God used throughout the Old Testament with the Israelites; this is the same way He confronts His people today.

All this to say, it is not over. Every day is a new chance to overcome, despite how you have maybe messed up in the past or how you may mess up in the future. I think that the devil – and I say this with all seriousness – wants followers of Christ to believe that we will never overcome. Unfortunately, this tactic can work. But every day, there is the decision to overcome. Every day that we persist to try to put Him first, to pray, to talk to Him, to apply what He is teaching us, to read the Bible, to spend time with Him, to love others as He has called us, to share the hope He gives with others – we can claim success in overcoming. A life pursuing and obeying Christ despite all challenges is a lifetime effort; once we start, the pursuit never stops. We can make the decision to stop; messing up or making a few bad decisions does not confine us to failure. It is our decision to stop pursuing Him altogehter that confines us to failure.

Keep pursuing. Remember that you are still here.

Knowing and Caring

It has been an unsettling and disheartening time recently – unsettling and disheartening because of the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and what those deaths signify for millions. Unsettling and disheartening because of the riots and the social unrest, the division and the discord that is resulting for many. There is an explosion of perspectives and opinions, and, naturally, I believe our interpretation of these events determine our responses. I have spent the last week and a half wanting to express my response. Admittedly, fear has made writing a struggle – fear of offending those I am addressing today, and my fear of not giving this issue proper justice as someone who is white and can only write so much on the matter. I have edited through this several times, adding and detracting my thoughts. Ultimately, I am glad I have waited, and I pray that my message implements the effect I hope for it to have.

I know that there are some who watch the news right now and perceive a lot of overreactions. Some do not know why there is so much emotion behind this. Some think it is political, some think it is a situation being taken advantage of. Some are not very affected by what is going on… and I think some do not know how to react to this.

If any of these descriptions resonate with you, I want you to know I have you in mind as I am writing this. I believe that we are all entitled to an opinion, and we should all be given the respect to voice it; today as I share insight, I hope you can take the time to do the same for me.

I believe there is a part of the story that many are missing when it comes to racial injustice that has extended far beyond this past month. It was not until the past couple of years that I started to become more aware of a reality that I was oblivious to. I am going to share my personal process of becoming conscious to this reality while exposing my own ignorance; but more than that, I also am going to share how I think we should respond to this reality.

My perceptions on racial injustice and racism growing up are different than the perceptions I have now. I was raised in a home where my parents led an example of respecting and accepting people. I knew that racism existed, and anytime the topic of racism was discussed in the classroom or at home, I found it upsetting – but when I was younger, it seemed like a distant idea. When I thought about racism, it probably brought to mind the ugliness that existed during the Civil War or Civil Rights Movement, and what managed to survive from that ugliness was far away in some rural Southern community, not anywhere near my life in the Northeast. Though I did not realize it then, growing up in a predominantly white community sheltered me from the persistence of racism and the presence of racial injustice. By high school, I recognized insensitive jokes and generalizations as forms of racism, but still did not have a real grasp on what white supremacy, white privilege, or the Black Lives Matter movement really were.

This changed after I graduated high school and attended college several states away in Virginia. It was there that friendships were made, classes were taken, churches were attended, and conversations were had that opened my eyes to the prevalence of racial injustice in the United States and that it existed in ways that I was not aware. With the patience and transparency of others, I was shown that there was so much I did not know.

I did not know the difference between equality and equity. I did not recognize lack of representation and its implications of lack of importance and priority. I did not realize the ways that a predominantly white culture could pressure and force conformity. I did not know about the rejection and sensitivity that went with not only having a different skin color, but even with having a variation of skin tone. I was not aware of the extent of exclusion there had been and could be when it came to getting a job, an education, or a home. And lastly, I did not really know what the Black Lives Matter movement represented. I would hear people say “all lives matter”, and back then, that sounded right to me – but now, I know that Black Lives Matter is a call for rightful recognition. It is an emphasis on the fact that for several years, people have been treated like their lives do not matter; many have been overlooked, mistreated, and disregarded. And that is wrong.

Perhaps someone is reading this and does not understand a lot of the references I made above. That is exactly the point I am trying to make – there is so much that is not known. I continue to be uninformed about some things. I hope that this brings curiosity and reflection for you, as I find that it is easy for many to become defensive instead.

Earlier, I mentioned that by sharing this information, I also wanted to share what our response should be. A common answer lately can be “I’m not a racist.” That is good, I applaud that – but the point is not necessarily if you are racist. It is recognizing that racism and racial injustice are real problems with real repercussions on the wellbeing of others; it is affirming that they are problems that need to be properly addressed. To do this, we need to take these steps.

  1. Look beyond yourself.

Commonly, people are most prone to react to injustices that directly correlate to their own lives. That is not always a negative thing; in fact, this can fuel the passion to fight injustice. However, that does not make other injustices less important. There are others enduring pain and hurt, sometimes with less power to change it. There is a lot of conflict regarding the protests right now, and understandably so – but consider that there are people who are scared for their children, their spouses, their friends, their loved ones, their futures, their lives. To every reaction there is a cause – be willing to become aware of those causes.

2. Listen and legitimize.

Put aside preconceived ideas and opinions and have the humility to listen to someone who is impacted by racism. Listen to stories and experiences. Allow uncomfortable feelings. Do not jump to say “you are wrong, I do not agree, it is in your head”; remember that person knows their life and you do not. Not personally living it or seeing it does not negate validity. Disagreement does not make the person incorrect. Everyone has the right to be heard. Allow the realities of oppression, rejection, belittlement, fear, stigmatization, and mistreatment to be expressed. By allowing yourself to listen and consider the accounts of others, you may be allowing yourself to discover things you never knew.

3. Look within yourself.

Take a reality check – how does this affect you? Does this matter to you? Does this upset you? Have you perhaps been ignorant to things? Whether or not it was intentional, have you ever engaged in or justified aspects of racism?

These can be very difficult questions to be honest with ourselves about. Making unpleasant personal discoveries can be uncomfortable; often, people would rather avoid acknowledging any negative truth about themselves. However, we need to look within long enough to see if there is a need for personal change.

4. Learn what the Bible has to say.

Here, I am especially addressing the response Christians should have. An aspect that I love about God is that He hates injustice. However, sometimes I can find it easy to question this when we live in a world that is filled with hate and depravity; but when we read the Bible, we see that oppression and injustice are consequences of evil, and evil is a consequence of people’s choices. If you read throughout the Psalms and New Testament letters, God is emphasized as hating injustice, caring for the afflicted, and rescuing those in trouble. He offers hope, comfort, and healing in an imperfect world. When considering these attributes, I think it is indisputable that He cares about racial injustice.

This is not something that is exclusive to God’s character; it also an attitude He desires from His followers. There are a few sections I have found that affirm this (Isaiah 1:17, Jeremiah 22:3, Romans 12:9-21), but I was especially moved by Isaiah 58. Here God is talking to the Israelite nation, and He tells them that though they pray and genuinely seek God, their fasting and praying had wrong intentions and reasons, and therefore was ineffective. However, He further says, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

I do not know how this affects you… but it stunned me. The people of Israel were praying and seeking God – but essentially, God was saying that if you are going to pray and fast, pray and fast for injustice to be broken and for oppression to cease. He wanted those prayers because those were the things that mattered to Him, and He wanted His people to care about the things that He cared about. And to take it further, those were the prayers that God said brought blessing and peace – because the very nature of those prayers results in blessing and peace.

 God has a heart for those who are wronged, and because His character is never-changing, this passage extends to today. For those who make it their life ambition to serve and love God, injustice should matter.

I want to leave you with this – respond to this situation with love. Love is ultimately what is needed to make a real change, and love is a change that can only start with people individually. Love that is selfless enough to think outside of oneself. Love that is humble enough to lower one’s pride and to validate. Love that is willing to change oneself, even if it is painful. Love that cares for what God cares for – and God cares for loving and supporting those around us, and He cares for justice.

As heavy and uncomfortable as these topics can be, I hope this is enlightening as well. For those of us who are not as directly affected, racial injustice can be easy to dismiss. Do not dismiss it. The change starts with each of us individually.