Day 2376 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Genesis 3:10 NIV
Not lost, just buried. That's an idea that's been on my mind for a couple of days now. I talked a while back about this feeling that I had lost something. I lost my happiness. I feel like I've lost these little bits and pieces of hope, joy, and peace. But then the Lord's been helping me see past those lies. It really is incredible how God and His timing work. Just when we're starting to wonder what's gone wrong, He steps in and reminds us that there is still hope and that not everything has been lost. So maybe I haven't lost my joy, maybe it's just been buried underneath other things.
The other night I has this random memory that came out of nowhere. Silly and almost one of those things that I don't know why I still remember, but now I see the reason behind it. Then out of the blue the other day I got this friend request from someone that I haven't talked to in probably 15 years or more. And yesterday I got to spend a little time talking with that friend of mine that I grew up with and she told me something I never thought I'd hear someone say to me. It's like God has been sending these little reminders and little bits of hope to help me see that maybe I haven't lost as much as I thought I had.
Then it dawned on me. My sins and mistakes have buried all those good things. I haven't lost them. I haven't lost the ability to be happy in life. I haven't lost the good that God placed inside me. It's just been buried under all the poor choices and distractions that I've gotten focused on. That's one of the big problems with sin. It brings shame. It tells us that we're not good enough. It teaches us that we need to hide, that we need to feel bad for ourselves, that we need to cover up all those things that we now see as flaws. Eventually sin can convince us that we're nothing. It can make us believe that there is nothing good inside of us. And that's a dangerous place to be!
What I've realized is that I have become by far my biggest critic. And I think that's where a lot of this issue lies. I've gotten to the point where I expect this level of perfection that I know isn't attainable. So all I can see are the flaws. All I see are the weaknesses. All I see are the mistakes that I make. And it's in that constantly being focused on this lie that I'm not good enough that I lost sight of the joy that I once had. I've spent so much time chasing so many things and believing so many lies that I lost the truth of who God made me to be and the satisfaction that comes with that simple calling to be His kid.
Something tells me I'm not the only one who's there. Sin is something that infects all of our lives. It does this damage that we may not even realize is being done. It pulls us away from the light and leaves us broken and hurting in the dark. It convinces us that we're nothing but this bundle of mistakes and problems with nothing good to offer. We allow the lies and deception of sin to bury the happiness that we then spend time trying to find in other places. But we usually look to more sin to bring us some sort of temporary joy. And it just becomes this vicious cycle that can feel almost impossible to break free from.
I can't count how many times I've thought back to the kid I used to be and wonder what happened. What happened to the zest of life? What happened to the happiness that I could find in simple things? What happened to that goofy kid who just enjoyed life and the opportunity to live it? Sin. Sin happened. Sin led me away from God and got me focused on all the wrong things. Sin convinced me of lies that I never should have believed. But that's exactly what it does. It's this constant lie that continues leading us away from the truth and the joy and satisfaction that is found only in following Christ.
I wanted to share this one today because I know how powerful those lies are. I know that it can seem like we've lost something in life and we can doubt that it's possible to get it back. The joy, the innocence, the hope, the peace, and all the other good things that we once experienced aren't gone. They're just buried. They're still down deep inside and we just need to start digging them out. Just know that God is the best when it comes to redemption and restoration. He can help us find our way back to something good. He can help us cut through the lies and deception of sin so that we can get back to the good that He created inside of us. That good never went anywhere, it just got hidden behind more negativity than we ever realized was piling up.
Stop letting sin tell you who you are or what you're worth. Our mistakes don't have the right or the power to define us. Only Christ can do that. There is still something good inside each of us. There is still joy in life. We just have to learn to focus on the good and refuse to let the bad convince us that it isn't there anymore.
Comments
Post a Comment