3 Ways to Be Honest With YourSelf
Have you ever had one of those eye opening moments that grabbed your attention? One of those moments God used to show you a deeper meaning to what is really going on in your life?
The other day as I was reading my Bible study No Other gods by Kelly Minter, I noticed something moving in the corner of the room. As I looked closer I realized IT WAS A MOUSE! I had a moment of fear come over me. How long has this mouse been there? Were there more? And then my fear came true, I saw 5 more sightings of the mice scurrying across my kitchen floor!
What I had been reading in my Bible study only moments before, was about being fruitful and multiplying. And then it hit me. Is it possible that we can allow the wrong things in our lives to create bad fruit and multiply in our lives, like the mice?
When someone has an infestation of mice, no one says, ‘It’s ok, they can just live here.’ Or, ‘It’s totally normal for the mice to be here.’ Or just pretend they’re not there. That would be considered crazy and insane, right?
The same goes for our spiritual lives as well. Why would we allow for crazy cycles of brokenness to perpetuate in our lives and label them as normal or pretend they’re not there? This is just as crazy as not setting a mouse trap or calling the exterminator.
Unless we step into places of honesty, we can never be fruitful and multiply the way God intended.
3 Ways to Be Honest With Yourself:
1. Acknowledge- We can never learn how to be honest with ourselves when we are trying to pretend we’re something we’re not. Or when we put labels of normalcy on things that are dysfunctional. The sooner we live in the honesty of God’s truth, the better we will be able to start growing the fruit in our lives that God intended. Whatever is going on in your life, be gentle with yourself. Honesty can be hard, because it often can reveal things in our past we’re not proud of, things we’ve been in denial about, or poor choices we’ve made.
Acknowledgement is the first step in being honest with yourself, one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Click To Tweet“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
2. Accept- One prayer I have learned to depend on, is the Serenity prayer. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Learning to accept the things we cannot control will open a whole new set of doors that allows you to be free from your burdens and circumstances and step into more places of honesty. Having the courage to change the things that you can, like what you’re exposing yourself to, can free you from the lies that perpetuate crazy cycles. Seeking wisdom in God’s word will help you discern what’s His truth and what isn’t helping you step into acceptance of your situation.
3. Abide- “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5. The more we are honest with ourselves and our situations, the clearer we can hear and discern the voice of God. When we abide in Him, in His word, we can see His fruit growing in our lives. There will be joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Learning to abide helps us stay in places of honesty and recognize when there is either stagnant growth or bad fruit growing in our lives and giving ourselves the gift of honesty to say out loud, 'Lord I messed up, I've gotten off track, I need your help.' Click To TweetGod’s will, will never ask us to lie, hide or go against His will. Honesty begins with putting a boundary on the craziness of our situations or lives and being open and willing to acknowledge and accept what we can’t control, so we can abide in God’s greatest promises.
Being honest with ourselves, doesn’t allow hidden places of our hearts to stay in places of darkness. Staying in places of honesty allows for God’s freedom to overflow in abundance in our lives.
The next day after setting the mouse traps, I got up to finish my Bible study. This time, I did not see one mouse nor did one mouse get caught in the trap. And then the doubt and the questioning set in, ‘did I really see the mice?’ Just because I can’t see the mice doesn’t mean they’re not there.
This is what the enemy does to us so many times, ‘Did God really say?’ or ‘Did that really happen?’
Be careful of the enemy’s tactics to twist and deceive. Don’t allow him to knock you off course and dismantle your confidence. Stay strong, stay close to God’s words and stay in your places of honesty. You won’t regret it.
Are you able to stay in places of honesty?
How has honesty allowed you to gain more freedom?
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