It is my experience over the years, it is our inability to lean into the discomfort of vulnerability that limits us in experiencing the fulness of our painful experiences that are wrought with uncertainty. Lack of vulnerability will not only keep us from connecting to ourselves and others but most importantly with our God. The very things we crave and hunger for such as: love, belonging, trust, intimacy, joy and peace, come at a cost. They don't just happen, they come from vulnerability, pain, authenticity, truth with ourselves, others and God.
If we can trust God for our salvation through Jesus Christ, we can trust Him for our daily needs, desires, and lives.
Vulnerability
We go to great lengths and attempts to prevent vulnerability to make us feel safe, they are actually quite counter-productive and even harmful.
Vulnerability is a prerequisite to being human, without vulnerability there is no risk, and without risk there is no growth.
The Poet David Whyte writes:
“Although we may intellectually recognise how essential vulnerability is to our aliveness and every significant expression of it, we remain astonishingly averse to being vulnerable expending tremendous defenses against this basic condition of being alive.”
Solitude
“Solitude is the furnace of transformation; solitude is the place of greatest struggle and the great encounter – the struggle against the compulsions of the false self and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self.” - Henri Nouwen, Dutch Priest and Writer
Being alone with God, stills the soul, prepares the heart to hear God, it unmasks the sinner, where we see our flaws, it takes away all our props and allows us to stand naked before God.
Why would we want to enter into a space of solitude and silence to examine our hearts, to see our sins, flaws, to struggle, to know ourselves. It is here where we experience the redemptive, restorative healing power and intimacy of our Lord Jesus Christ. To sit back and bask in his presence reduces us to tears where joy, pain, freedom meet together, being overwhelmed with God’s love and grace. Wisdom comes once we learn to become still…. In the silence of the heart, one learns the journey of the wise.
Surrender
We let go in order to know the power of God, acknowledged that we are weak and let go, surrender the things we are holding on too. Letting go of our need to control the world, relax our hold and rely on God instead. When we surrender, we give up trusting ourselves to experience the glory of Gods all sufficiency.
I personally can testify to the times when I am still long enough, this is when God has and does His greatest work in me; it is in these times that I surrender my heart and invite God into those places that remain hidden and need his light to shine in; it is in these times that I receive healing, growth, comfort in the deep pain, encouragement and hear Him speak to me. I have learnt and know it is good to struggle; it is in these times l grow, heal and mature.
He alone controls every moment of our day; He is with us no matter what we are facing, even when our life seems out of control, He holds the solution and He is faithful! HE IS THE GREAT I AM!
He sees us and hears us! Be Still and Know I am God, Just Be!
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