But seriously, it’s not you it’s
really me.
Have you ever thought that maybe
the reason things remain that same is because you’ve refused to change?
What this means is that we might
be fighting the wrong battle, rebuking the enemy when maybe we should be
checking ourselves.
See, it’s really easy to blame
the enemy for all the things that go wrong in our lives and this started way
back in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve ate the fruit but both blamed someone
else. Adam blamed Eve, and she blamed the serpent. Granted the serpent told a
lie and tricked them, but they had a choice. The enemy didn’t force them to eat
the fruit, they had free will - unfortunately they chose wrong.
“And remember, when you are being tempted,
do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone
else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which
entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful
actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15, NLT)
The enticement stemmed from a
desire within but they couldn’t accept it, so they put the blame on
everyone and didn’t address the real issue. Temptation exposes the deep longings
of a person’s heart.
So I asked a question “why is it
easier to put the blame on others rather than assessing myself?”
The Lord spoke to my heart and
explained that pointing a finger to myself would mean acknowledging my flaws. I would have to admit that indeed I have desires that don’t please Him
and those desires fuel my dysfunction. Placing it on someone else labels me “faultless”
and that way I’d be able to preserve the image of “self-perfection” I tried to
uphold.
Of course I resisted His
explanation cause apparently I was too sanctimonious to be at fault. The word
cut, but only to remove the filth in my heart and then heal me. Then why was I so
resistant?
There’s a misconception that we have to be spotless to come before God, when in reality it’s under the covering of Jesus that we approach the throne of grace. One thing I know God loves is genuine honesty but we, like Adam and Eve, have chosen to cover ourselves and our blemishes when we come before Him.
If you were spotless you wouldn’t
need God.
Prior to sin, Man was comfortable
with being vulnerable (exposed) before the King, because their focus had been solely on Him. They were so consumed by His majesty that they didn’t
notice they were naked. What sin does is make us take our eyes
off God and focus on ourselves, therefore elevating “self” higher than the sovereignty
of God.
You may think that you’re doing
God a favor by projecting an outward façade of perfection but it’s not for God,
it’s for you. Jesus didn’t die so we can pretend to be whole, He died so that
we can become (future tense)
whole.
I love David’s prayer to God that
says:
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms
139:23-24, NIV)
That’s a prayer that we must daily
pray because the person who will pay at the end of such great denial is us. Everything
is laid bare before God, so there’s no need trying to hide from our solution. Sometimes
we don’t even know we have these issues because we have dwelt in that space
for so long. Good news is that God is ever merciful! He can show us the error
of our ways and lead us in the right way, if only we submit.
After much wrestling, I told
myself that the reason why I don’t deal with certain aspects of my life and
fully invite God is because I don’t know how to deal with it. But I knew it
was a lie. Truth is, I was scared to admit that I actually had a problem and it’s
wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine. It’s much easier to blame someone else, plus it
takes humility to turn our fingers around and point ourselves out as the
culprit.
Not to say that the enemy doesn’t
try to oppose us, but he comes in through doors that we sometimes open. If
we can muster up courage to let God truly work in us and change our desires
then the enemy wouldn’t be able to tempt us in those areas, most importantly we
won’t have to pretend to be clean. The blood of Jesus would have washed away
the blemishes that once clouded our hearts.
Be encouraged and God bless!
Announcements
- The official book launch for my book was in July & God blew my mind! If you follow me on Facebook you can see some pictures from the event :)
- Visit my website (www.michelleziregbe.com) to checkout my new book “Journey to an Expected End”
- Check out some spoken word pieces I wrote and performed on YouTube here & here J
