It's not you, it's me

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