It’s been a little while since I’ve “gotten free,” so here it goes. While I was having a little one-on-one chat with God the other day, He prompted me to tell Him the truth about something that I’ve been in denial about for yeeeeears. So, I had to stand there all “awkard-like” and confess this:
“Pops, I really like to sin.”
I have to tell you guys—the “legalistic and insecure” Christian in me is dying right now from having typed those words out on paper. But it’s true. If we are going to be 100% honest with each other, we should all be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, “Hey, Good Lookin’… I need to get free: I like to sin. It feels good, it tastes good, it smells good, and it’s even fun to fantasize about.” But for some reason (and I’ll speak for myself here) I’ve been so afraid of admitting that truth out loud. I’ve been terrified of admitting that I don’t always hate sin, that I don’t always want to run from it, and that I don’t always say “no” when I am supposed to say “no.”
I used to deny this little nugget of information because I was so ashamed of it. Plus, I really didn’t want to get kicked out of the “Cool Christian Club.” What Christian wants to admit that they love sinning? I mean, how incredibly “ungodly” of me. (Shame on you, Sam. Go pray.) But it’s true. If sin wasn’t attractive, we wouldn’t want anything to do with it, right? If sin wasn’t pretty to look at or fun to think about, we wouldn’t have a problem walking down the straight and narrow road rebuking the lies of Satan left and right. I don’t know about you, but even though I love Jesus with my whole heart—sin is still a daily struggle for me.
But all of this led me to another truth: There’s power in honesty and there’s freedom in taking accountability for your struggles. For example: If I continue to deny the fact that I secretly love watching Game of Thrones when I’m alone in my flat at night, then I am not going to get anywhere when it comes to my relationship with the Lord. This is especially true since God already knows that I love watching Game of Thrones and that I don’t fast forward the sex scenes. To Him, it’s no secret. He just wants me to be honest with Him about it. And hey, that makes perfect sense because all real relationships are built on honesty, trust, and open communication. So why would my relationship with God be any different?
I’m stubborn. I like to push boundaries, cross lines, and dance near cliffs. It’s kind of my thing. Luckily, the God of the Universe is unconditionally loving and incredibly patient, and He is willing to trek through those valleys of difficulty and hardship with me—holding my hand every step of the way and even stopping to rest when I get too tired of moving forward.
When I admit my struggles to God, I am giving Him the power and the freedom to actually DO something about those struggles. Proverbs 28:13 in The Message version of the bible says it in such an awesome way, “You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.” The New Living Translation says it this way, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Being honest about my sin, and handing my struggles over to God, means that the enemy can no longer control me with his guilt and shame tactics. Then I can move past those things and walk in the light instead of hiding in the darkness. It gives me the assurance that I am loved and accepted by my Heavenly Father despite my imperfections. But if I keep pretending like nothing is wrong, then the Holy Spirit can’t freely work in me.
And to be honest, when I really sit and think about it, God’s character and His relationship with me through Jesus are enough to make me want to stop doing stupid stuff. Judgement doesn’t make me want to stop, fear doesn’t make me want to stop, and even condemnation doesn’t make me want to stop—but love… that changes things. It’s hard to purposely hurt the people you love (or the people who love you) and God is no different.
The Lord loves me and has my best interests in mind. So when He says, “Sam it isn’t a good idea to watch this show because it will put lustful and violent thoughts in your head, not to mention you probably won’t be able to sleep because zombies have always given you nightmares. I know how you think, so trust Me on this one, sweet girl”—I should probably listen to Him because He is trying to protect me.
Lastly, I got myself an accountability partner because being honest with God is only the first step towards complete freedom and life full of abundant joy. I found a girl who I can be real and honest with about my struggles. She is the person I can call at 3am when I am tempted to do something stupid, she is the person who is willing to pick me up when I fall flat on my face, and she is the person who will pray for me when I am too discouraged to even pray for myself. There’s no judgement or ridicule or fear in this partnership, just love. Neither of us are perfect, but we both want our hearts and lives to glorify God. I highly recommend getting an accountability parter to anyone and everyone who wants to push past their comfort zones and grow closer to the Lord—because doing life alone is hard.
So get free, walk in the light, and keep trusting that the Lord only disciplines and directs us in love, not anger. If you take any tidbit of info out of this blog, it’s this: You are never alone in your struggles, you are always loved, and freedom in Christ is yours for the taking (if you want it).
Your Friendly Neighborhood Missionary,
Sam
