Devotions from Fil Anderson’s book. Breaking the Rules

How wonderful it is when we can take off our masks and not have to jump through any more hoops .. just be accepted as we are. Pretending drains every ounce of our integrity and it never really stays secret.  God is never fooled. It is both humbling and freeing to acknowledge there is nothing we can do that reaches beyond the appearance of things. Only Jesus has the power and resources needed to change what’s on the inside of us and help us live from the heart.

When the author stopped being afraid of being himself and came out of hiding, then he could experience the love his heart longed for. He could let himself be known. He struggled a lot with anger and felt like anger is a signal of what is going on beneath the surface. He said it is a G.I.F.T. ,indicating guilt, inferiority, fear, and trauma.  When he learned to use the gift of anger to know himself more fully, he could then step more fully into his true self. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is really the starting point of our living with Jesus, not because he will mend our brokenness, but because we then stop seeking perfection. WE can instead seek the One who is present in the brokenness of our lives.  Let us be done with frantic striving to achieve intimacy with God and open ourselves up to receive God’s gift of intimacy.