Day 2680 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Isaiah 55:7 NIV

It seems I've been doing more thinking than normal over the last couple of days, and I've realized something about myself that I think may be something a lot of other people do without realizing it as well. I somehow manage to be pretty oblivious to some things. I think it's just a matter of there being so many different things in life to learn or pay attention to, and so we have to choose. We have to choose what we're going to focus on and what matters the most to us because we can't pay attention to everything or know everything. So we find ways to limit life down into the amount things that we're comfortable with learning or focusing upon.

But as we narrow our focus down into the things that matter most to us, it becomes pretty easy to start overlooking nearly everything else. And while we can't become experts on everything and we don't have enough hours in the day to pay attention to absolutely everything that happens, we still need to be careful about just how limited we allow our lives and ourselves to become. We may feel like we can only handle so much at once, but I think we often cut ourselves short of what we're actually capable of in order to avoid things like fear or change or challenge.

One of the very first things that we are likely to cut loose and stop paying attention in our lives is the mistakes that we make. Let's face it, we all want to focus on the best. We want to do the things that we enjoy doing, focus on the things that we find exciting or interesting, and spend the least amount of time and energy as possible on things we don't like or don't find comfortable. And so whenever we do something wrong, if we've already gotten it in our minds to only focus on the best, then we're probably going to just ignore the issues we have and focus more upon the things that we don't need to work on.

But that poses a very serious problem when it comes to our faith and the necessity of growth that it brings. We can't just focus on the good. We can't become consumed with the wonderful happy thoughts and feelings and hopes and excitement about the promises we've been given. As much as we may prefer thinking about the silver linings, we can't get to the point where we completely forget about the clouds that those silver linings often exist within.

The cold hard reality is that our lives are full of mistakes. That's been something I've had on my mind for a while now, and it's something we've discussed over the last couple of posts. Each of us have un-repented sins hanging around our hearts and minds, and they're probably there because we simply don't want to deal with them. We'd rather remain delightfully oblivious to the problems and struggles we have than to seek out the failures and fears that aren't enjoyable to think about or even admit we have. But as scary as the heavy side of things may be, it's often what we run from that we need to face the most.

The fact is that our weaknesses don't go away because we don't want to admit we have them. And they definitely don't get any stronger by ignoring them and not putting in some focus and attention to doing better. That's really what I've been trying to get across in these last couple of posts. Like it or not, each of us have things that we need to work on and deal with. We may not want to. We probably won't enjoy doing it. And we'd definitely prefer to just focus on the good and pretend the negative isn't there. But if you only focus on what you're doing right, then everything you're doing wrong just falls through the cracks and never improves.

The thing that we need to always keep in mind is there is no shame in being imperfect. All of us are. We all have worries and fears and doubts and questions and weaknesses and scars. And all of those things bring this sense of vulnerability that we're not at all comfortable with experiencing. But God loves us, and He knows that faith isn't easy. That's why it brings such a beautiful reward. That's why it means so much. So we need to remember that there shouldn't be any room for shame or fear in our faith. God already knows our struggles and problems, so why avoid what He's there to help us address and improve?

Friends, it will always be easier to avoid whatever is hard or painful or embarrassing or requires us to step out of our comfort zone. But we can only find God's mercy and healing and strength and guidance when ask for it. And we can't ask for it if we don't realize and admit that we need it. He is a loving, patient, and merciful God, and He wants to help us grow in righteousness and find strength in our faith. We can't build something solid and strong and resilient with a weak foundation that's full of holes we don't want to admit are there.

It's okay to not know everything. It's okay to need help. It's okay to lay it all out there and admit that we don't have the foggiest idea of what we're doing or even where to start. But if we don't start then we'll never be anywhere other than where we already are, and friends, where we are right now isn't anywhere close to where He can take us if we'll find the courage and the humility to be open and honest and willing to focus on what's hard and work on what we're lacking.

The main takeaway here is that each of us have weaknesses, mistakes, misunderstandings, and struggles that need to be addressed so that they can be improved. There's no shame in getting things wrong, the shame is found in letting those mistakes remain unaddressed and allowing them to undermine this whole idea of a growing faith that we're claiming to be living to pursue. The mistakes don't disqualify us from God's love. The weaknesses aren't something that will hold us back or prevent Him from helping us. His mercy covers our shortcomings and His love forgives our failures. Don't let them hide out anymore because doing so will only lead to more issues going forward.

Look, He's willing to forgive us and help us do better. We have to forgive ourselves and admit that we can do better. When those two desires meet up, then our potential is unlimited. So please don't miss out what God can do and help us address and fix and improve. No, it's not fun or easy or comfortable. But when we remember that He doesn't hold it against us as long as we're trying, then we have nothing at all to lose and so much to gain!

#LeaveNoSoulUntold