Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you are all having a great start to your week. This week should be nice. It’s my first week of labs and my workload has been manageable so far, so I’m excited to see what’s in store.
Today I wanted to share something a little heavier that’s been on my heart. Sometimes, our society doesn’t talk about what goes on in the dark. The things that keep us up at night. What we harbor deep inside our hearts.
These thoughts are often surrounded by a lot of shame. They can cause us to doubt ourselves, those around us, and in God’s faithfulness and goodness. These are thoughts that make us magnify the bad and ignore the surplus of good.
I’ve struggled with negative thoughts throughout my life as I’m sure we all do. There have been times that I was so angry at the world that I became mad at God. Mad that He would let certain things happen to me while good things would happen to others. Those thoughts made me ashamed. How dare I think someone didn’t deserve the good in their life? How dare I question His plan? But in the recesses of your mind you still question…you still doubt.
The crazy thing is, there is no shame when you bring your pain and burdens to light. There is no condemnation in Christ. So when I start to spiral, I begin to lament to God. I express my pain and lack of understanding. I read His Word and bring Him into my struggle instead of pushing Him away. I talk to my family and friends and try to work through it. I try to see the bigger picture.
But at the end of the day, God is holy. I bet you’re wondering what I mean by that and what it has to do with what I just wrote about. We often talk about holiness in a casual way but don’t delve further into what it really means. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, to be holy is to be “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.” Basically, to be holy is to be sinless and good. And as we know, none of us are totally sinless and good because we are broken by default. Jackie Hill Perry said something truly profound in her book Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him. Because God cannot sin, He cannot sin against us, and if He cannot sin against you and me, then why do we not have faith in Him?
“If God is holy, then He can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then He can’t sin against me. If He can’t sin against me, shouldn’t that make Him the most trustworthy being there is?”
Perry, Jackie Hill, and Charlie Dates. Holier than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him. B&H Publishing, 2021.
God wants to mourn with us and He wants to celebrate with us. He yearns for a deep relationship with His children. So bring your burdens to Him. All of it–and do not be ashamed.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
The mere fact that God is holy is proof that all we need to do to be fulfilled is to trust in Him. Trust in Him and confide in Him. So if my God is holy, then that is enough. That will always be more than enough.
Aching AnnaLisa Hutchinson My heart is aching, It goes on breaking. Deeper it twists within me. And deeper still this pain unending. I reach a high Just to meet a new low. Why do I live? Why do they die? Why do some thrive? While I’m cast aside? Your promises, are they still true? My heart is still aching, It still goes on breaking. But He holds the key, And He is Holy. If there is one constant, If there is one good, If there is one that understood, It’d be no other than the One that is holy. Holier than me, Holier than you, Righteous and true. If He alone is Holy, Why do I doubt? I let you in Lord, To grieve, And release. Revive my heart, Make me new, For this is true: That seed You sowed Will blossom soon
