Have you ever felt
as if you’re hemmed in by a part of yourself?
You realize this “something”
is standing in the way of your growth as a person
and your freedom to really become who you were meant to be.
Maybe you've attempted,
time and again to push it away,
but it stubbornly refuses to move,
as if it were firmly stuck in hardened cement.
In the past week, I’ve been working on polishing Joel’s Wife.
At one point, Jerusha (Joel’s wife) speaks to Hannah,
her grandmother-in-law,
“But,” she looked up at Hannah sadly,
“the fear . . . is still there.
Do you think there’s hope of it ever going away?”
Hannah smiled. “There’s always hope.
But sometimes fears remain until we’re willing to face them head on.
I don’t think either worrying about it
or trying to force yourself to stop being afraid will do much good.
The best thing, I think,
is to talk honestly to God about your concerns.
Listen to what He has to say.”
Jerusha’s situation seems to fit so many of us.
It may not be fear.
It could be lack of self-control.
Or unforgiveness.
Or self-centeredness.
But might the solution be the same?
That solution, Hannah tells Jerusha,
will not come by worrying about it,
or even by trying to force ourselves to change
Instead, we must be willing
to face our problem head on with the help of God.
The Lord is our hope, Hannah says.
He understands our deepest heart,
the core part of our being that is hidden even to ourselves.
He understands how we were formed,
not just physically, but emotionally, and spiritually.
Maybe you are really tired of being confined by self-obstruction.
You’ve tried to force yourself to be different
and have found it doesn’t work.
If so, you may want to try Hannah’s suggestion.
“The best thing, I think, is to talk honestly to God about your concerns.
Listen to what He has to say.”
How exactly does this work?
The first key is to require ourselves
to speak the absolute truth as completely as we know it.
The second is to take time to listen for God’s response.
A couple days ago,
I began doing this with another issue in my life.
What about you?
Please make comments for others to read
by clicking the word COMMENT to the right the title.
You might also like to go back to read comments on other articles
since they may have been posted after you last visited this blog.
as if you’re hemmed in by a part of yourself?
You realize this “something”
is standing in the way of your growth as a person
and your freedom to really become who you were meant to be.
Maybe you've attempted,
time and again to push it away,
but it stubbornly refuses to move,
as if it were firmly stuck in hardened cement.
In the past week, I’ve been working on polishing Joel’s Wife.
At one point, Jerusha (Joel’s wife) speaks to Hannah,
her grandmother-in-law,
“But,” she looked up at Hannah sadly,
“the fear . . . is still there.
Do you think there’s hope of it ever going away?”
Hannah smiled. “There’s always hope.
But sometimes fears remain until we’re willing to face them head on.
I don’t think either worrying about it
or trying to force yourself to stop being afraid will do much good.
The best thing, I think,
is to talk honestly to God about your concerns.
Listen to what He has to say.”
Jerusha’s situation seems to fit so many of us.
It may not be fear.
It could be lack of self-control.
Or unforgiveness.
Or self-centeredness.
But might the solution be the same?
That solution, Hannah tells Jerusha,
will not come by worrying about it,
or even by trying to force ourselves to change
Instead, we must be willing
to face our problem head on with the help of God.
The Lord is our hope, Hannah says.
He understands our deepest heart,
the core part of our being that is hidden even to ourselves.
He understands how we were formed,
not just physically, but emotionally, and spiritually.
Maybe you are really tired of being confined by self-obstruction.
You’ve tried to force yourself to be different
and have found it doesn’t work.
If so, you may want to try Hannah’s suggestion.
“The best thing, I think, is to talk honestly to God about your concerns.
Listen to what He has to say.”
How exactly does this work?
The first key is to require ourselves
to speak the absolute truth as completely as we know it.
The second is to take time to listen for God’s response.
A couple days ago,
I began doing this with another issue in my life.
What about you?
Please make comments for others to read
by clicking the word COMMENT to the right the title.
You might also like to go back to read comments on other articles
since they may have been posted after you last visited this blog.
