“Find the courage to look into the depths of your own soul, and name what you see.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 25, 2021
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Genesis 2:20 (NIV)
One of the first things God told Adam to do was to name creation. He was invited to speak identity over the Lord’s creation, to work with the Lord in bringing order out of chaos, to see the flourishing of the Lord’s good creation. Yet before this work of cultivation could begin, Adam first had to name what was in front of him.
Until we are able to name something, we are unable to grow through it or find peace within it. So often we find ourselves in seasons of pain or difficulty, and one of the hardest things for us to do is to be honest with ourselves and others about the reality of our situation. Perhaps you are in a season of extended relational turmoil, feeling at times hopeless and helpless to bring about any change to your circumstance. Or, you find yourself in a job that pays your bills, but leaves you overextended and without any margin or time to give to life’s true priorities. Similarly, you may be a stay-at-home parent, giving yourself away sacrificially in love, yet struggling to articulate your need for personal renewal and retreat.
In these moments, and countless others like them, our temptation is to avoid naming the reality before us. We struggle to tell the truth. Instead, we create excuses or justifications for why we shouldn’t feel disappointed, betrayed, or exhausted. Yet remember this: just because you shouldn’t feel something doesn’t mean you don’t feel it! And to fail to name the reality of our emotions or situation is ultimately a failure of discernment, and leaves us paralyzed in our fear and unable to truly move forward.
The first step towards healing is having the courage to name and accept your illness.
Do you remember one of our Lord’s most fundamental questions? What do you want? (John 1:38) Our freedom in the Lord is found in our ability to answer this question with brutal honesty and transparency before the Lord and others. Though we may be tempted to say what we want to want, and there may be some benefit in doing so, we must today find the courage to look into the depths of our own soul, and name what we see. I want to be loved and admired. I want to be respected, powerful, and financially independent. I want them to see how they’ve hurt me.
Difficult as it undoubtedly is, like Adam in the garden, learn today to name the reality around you, and the desires within you, trusting this is the first step to your healing and ultimate freedom in Christ.
Prayer
Father, help me to know myself and my deepest desires, that I may bring them to you for healing, believing you love us and long to make us whole, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
What does it look like in your own life to name the reality in front of you?
Related Reading
Mark 10:51; 1 John 1:9; James 4:1-3
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