Why do we work so hard to hide our pain and scars from others? Why do we run and hide when our paths get rocky? There is so much shame and guilt we humans tend to associate with the mistakes of our past… and our present. The further we get off course, the more we isolate ourselves from the very people God has placed in our lives to help us get out of the weeds.

We all have stories to tell. God tells us, in His own words, that He will use even the deepest pain and biggest mistakes for good… our trials and struggles can always bring us closer to God, and as we get through them, we’re in a position to help others do the same. Allowing the people in our lives to be aware of our struggles, both past and present, opens a critical door for God to use those struggles according to His will.

“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-6, 8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Learning to trust every single aspect of life to God is a lifetime journey. It takes vigilance in holding our daily choices up against the Word, and it takes willingness to see where our thoughts and actions don’t line up. It takes humility to admit where we’ve gone wrong, and it takes a heart focused on God and not on ourselves to make room for Him to fix it.

“So get rid of all uncleanness and all that remains of wickedness, and with a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]. For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:21-25‬ ‭AMP‬‬

I’ve spent most of my life hiding in plain sight. I’ve lived a life that is full of both immense blessing and intense pain. Over the years I’ve come to understand that this is the case for all of us. There isn’t a human on earth immune from such a life. In fact, most people have scars so deep and so painful, other than God, few ever learn about them.

The problem with that is it prevents God from using those scars for the good of others. It prevents Him from using our healing as a beacon of hope for someone who may be in desperate need of that very light. It also prevents us from being offered the beacon we may need ourselves. When we shut out the people who love us most, we close down an avenue for God’s help and support.

In the coming weeks, I’m going to share some of my story with you. God willing, my doing so will offer a little light to someone out there who may be in need of a beacon that God needs to light up through me. May God guide my every keystroke, and may He use my life and my words for good in this world, no matter what circumstances the world places around me.