Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
Sometimes, we read Scripture and wonder what we're supposed to learn by reading it. But other times, God gives us a lightbulb moment. And last week, God turned the lightbulb on in my mind. The Scripture passage about our spirit being willing but our flesh being weak (from Matthew 26) finally made sense to me.
Unfortunately, insecurity is just a part of life. There’s no way to avoid it or delay it. We can’t expect it to go away when we get older, and we can’t better ourselves so that we no longer experience it. It’s simply a consequence of the Fall when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. But there is something significant that you should know about insecurity that you've probably never heard before.
Honestly, I could spend hours alone, enjoying the peace and quiet. Interacting with others can be enjoyable, but it’s also exhausting. Thankfully, I can escape to my room or my car or my dorm room when I need a break from people. I can be completely alone there. But honestly, being utterly alone can quickly become utterly dangerous.
Every week, she sat at the church piano and played beautiful music as the congregation sang along. She didn’t demand attention or praise, but without her, it would’ve been difficult to worship during services. For weeks, months, and years, she served faithfully. But I don’t know if she was thanked for her service.
Sure, I do my quiet time. I actually do sit down with my Bible, journal, and colored pens. But I rush through my devotions. I don’t set my alarm early enough. I hurry off to class without even praying. I suppose it's not surprising that God seems so far away.
To be honest, I’ve struggled with idolatry for years. I want to believe that I simply have chronic idolatry, but I know that’s just a lie from Satan. Whether I want to admit it or not, idolatry doesn’t just “happen” to me; it's a choice. I choose to worship idols. I choose not to let them go. I choose to serve them when I should serve Christ.
Don’t get me wrong—I love my phone. I love that I can text, make calls, go online, make notes, and set timers using one portable device. It can be used for great things, from tithing online to staying in touch with missionaries. But when we use our phones rather than pay attention to the people we're with, we communicate that we care more about our phones (and ourselves) than them.
But the truth is that the shocked, unable-to-respond, shunning Christians are probably hiding something from you, too. Even though their struggles are as real as yours, it’s unlikely that they’ll share them. As I talked about in Part 1, being authentic is hard. It’s easiest to hide because other Christians might judge us or reject us if we’re honest.
I saw pain in the eyes of the 20-something single woman taking pictures on her phone. I saw it in the eyes of the young mom holding a curly-haired toddler. I saw it in the eyes of the older man, looking off into the distance. The passengers on that tractor ride may have been noticeably hurting—but often the hurt in people’s lives isn’t so noticeable.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 