“You cannot know yourself by yourself.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today –April 14, 2023
Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. James 5:16, AMPC
You cannot know yourself by yourself. The Holy Spirit and holy friends help you venture into undiscovered places in your heart to be healed from distorted affections, so you become wholly you in Christ. Buried or hidden pain may be the most common hindrance to you becoming God’s best version of whom He has created you to become…His beloved. Gratefully, community with the Body of Christ…His beloved bride…is where the pain is revealed and healed. Confess (reveal)…and be healed…as safe relational environments emotionally excavate dark discoveries that are brought up into the light of love. Love ablates or burns away unhealthy influences with righteous residue left behind. And in the process…you grow to know and become your best self as you are generously loving and being loved. Becoming your best self…resting in belovedness.
James reminds believers to be vulnerable with their sin, shame, and pain, as Proverbs 28:13 teaches that sin concealed does not prosper. Why wait for sin to be revealed in an unhealthy way when the Lord has given His children a healthy way to process pain? Charles Spurgeon speaks to the wisdom admonished by James, “While James, who is ever a practical apostle, bids us pray for one another; in that same verse, where he says, ‘Confess your sins the one to the other,’ he says, ‘and pray one for another,’ and adds the privilege ‘that ye may be healed,’ as if the healing would not only come to the sick person for whom we pray but to us who offer the prayer; we, too, receiving some special blessing when our hearts are enlarged for the people of the living God.” Indeed, becoming your best self is the blessing of your heart being enlarged in love!
“I will give you one heart and a new spirit; I will take from you your hearts of stone and give you tender hearts of love for God” (Ezekiel 11:19, TLB).
Since 2011, my wife Rita and I have been with the same four couples in what we affectionately call our Life Group…doing life together to inspire one another’s marriages to oneness in Christ. We weep, laugh, and learn about one another and, in the process, get to know ourselves and our spouses at a depth we could not conceive if we were not invested in an authentic, caring couple’s community. We meet monthly for dinner and afterward share marriage updates until 9 pm when we head home. Recently, in preparation for our time, the wives shared with their husbands what made them feel loved and cherished, while the husbands shared with their wives what made them feel loved and respected. Answers like, “Really listening to me and making me feel known,” “Walking together outdoors or sitting together undistracted at home,” and “Being interested in and truly caring about what I care about.” Simple but profound feedback that helped us love our spouses in an understanding way. Becoming your best self advances in a vulnerable community.
Most important is being in a community with your Father who loves you, the Son who saved you, and the Spirit who guides you. Divine love exposes distorted loves and draws you into oneness with perfect love. Eternal security in your Savior Jesus Christ and His companionship gives you the confidence and spiritual stamina to carry on as a faithful follower of Jesus. And wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit give you perspective to see the long-term implications of decisions—good and bad choices—so you seek first Kingdom priorities. You become your best self as you discover and grow to become God’s beloved, beautiful child. Rest in love, walk with love, and generously love the Lord, yourself, and others; that is your true self.
“I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine” (Song of Solomon 6:3).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I long to be the person you have created me to be. Help me to express the love that you so lavishly bestow upon my life, and may I respond to your Spirit that continues to transform me in your grace through Christ’s love, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
Be intentional about investing in an authentic community of couples or individuals who inspire you to become the best version of yourself God has created you to become.
Related Reading
Deuteronomy 33:12; 2 Samuel 1:23; Ephesians 1:6; Philippians 4:1
Worship Resource
Bayside Worship: Holy Fire
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