I’m sure you’ve heard it said that we were never meant to do it all. And when we think we have to, we are believing a lie.
Whenever I take on more than what I can practically handle, it’s usually done out of an extreme need to make everyone happy. I find myself running a mile a minute, trying to accomplish all the things, maintain my seemingly joyful demeanor, and never let anyone down. It’s exhausting. I come home way too wiped out to cook dinner, or do anything around the house, so the place I call home gets neglected and cluttered, which makes me feel all the more overwhelmed.
I’ve always wondered if Jesus really meant it when he said that apart from him, we can do nothing.
Really? Nothing at all?
Surely I could do things like…wash dishes, cook meals, or go grocery shopping on my own…right? Even if I’m completely drained, I should be able to just try harder to muster up more energy to get these mundane, ordinary lifestyle things done…shouldn’t I?
There’s another lie. And the one I find myself believing the most.
That God can’t be in these ordinary tasks. That they are just part of life, and part of “adulting”, and I should just…do them.
It’s been a journey to discover that choosing to bring forward seemingly normal things (like everyday household tasks) to the Lord, and asking Him to be in them with me, actually is BRAVE! It’s choosing to turn from the sin of self-dependence, which I find myself in all too often. And that is HARD. But the more I practice this act of surrender, my inner dialogue changes.
We all live with inner dialogues. Our thoughts have a direct effect on our actions, and that affects how we live our lives on a regular basis.
Proverbs 23:7 says it best: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (AMP version)
The stories we tell ourselves can become who we are.
What are you rehearsing in your head? What are you living by? Truth or lies? Knowing this can mean more than you could ever realize!
We can know and understand Truth. But if we don’t truly believe it, we’ll continue to believe the lies we tell ourselves. Like when I can’t seem to push over the hurdle of tiredness, and things continue to not get done, shame finds its way in, and I say things like, “I’m just a failure, always letting people down. I’ll never change. I’m always going to be like this. I’ll never be good enough for anyone.”
Thoughts like that will always bring about shame, and the more we feed that shame, the more power it has, and the harder it is to combat. We’ll come to the end of our day with nothing but emptiness and hopelessness. And giving in to those ongoing feelings will make it impossible to live the intentional, purpose-filled life that God has for us.
Because even those household tasks serve their purpose. When I allow God to go into the grocery store with me, or be at the kitchen sink with me, or as my cooking companion, my attitude and thoughts are completely different. There are giggles, thoughts of praise, and a recollection of how highly God thinks of me. Suddenly my sense of self-worth is restored over the need for self-dependence. Putting this mentality into practice in these ordinary life moments, then carries over to everything else in my life.
With God at the center of everything, it makes everything of equal importance...whether it seems big or small...mundane or significant. Suddenly it all has meaning. It is all fruit-bearing. It is all growing us into who God created… Share on XNow that’s TRUTH! In the day-to-day…in the moment-to-moment…God is growing us to become more like Him all the time. If we allow him to enter into our lives, lay down our stubborn nature, and let Him grow us.
What lies are you believing today? How can you let God in today, to replace them with His Truth?
Emily A. Sullivan, founder of The Kindred Spirits Blog, is a writer, singer, and teacher. She is a die-hard fan of coffee, puppies, classical music, and all things lace and floral. Emily has a passion for encouraging others to step into all God created them to be. She lives in Northern Indiana with her husband.
Catch Up On Previous Made for Brave Stories…Here
Sisters, we are called to walk the way of hope instead of the way of defeat. We must claim more than our title of “Daughter of the King.” We must step up and also claim our position.
And we must claim these together. As a sisterhood; a sisterhood of brave women who stand strong in the promises of who God is and who we are.
- We all are Made for Brave.
- We are made to live for something authentic and brave.
- In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love!
So, I’m inviting you to join this Made for Brave Sisterhood, each Monday as we share our stories and allow God to bring hope and healing. Let’s commit to being authentic and brave, one step at a time, side by side, holding each other up and nudging each other toward our true selves. And let’s claim the victory waiting on the other side of brave; for ourselves and our sisterhood.
Let’s celebrate our tears and our struggles as we peel away the layers of fear to reveal the beauty of brave.
Let’s risk everything that brave requires for everything that brave has to offer…
Becoming who we were created to be!
In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love! #MadeforBrave #Hope Share on XDo you have a Made for Brave story to share? Get the writing guidelines and submit your stories HERE!
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