Posted by Have you ever known someone a little too well? So well, in fact, that you’re able to call them out on their B.S.? It’s a wonderful feeling when you’re the “caller-outer” but it’s not so fun when you’re the one being forced to be honest.
So what do you do when God is the one who’s calling you out?
I’ve written before about my consistent struggle with insecurity; this is something that I’ve always battled and likely will always have to fight against. Recently, God has been pressing in on this nerve in my life again; he always knows just the right thing to say! This whole week I’ve felt God speaking to me “You need to bet on yourself”, something that I feel completely uncomfortable doing. God knows each of us so well that we can’t hide anything from him, even if we’ve been successful at hiding weak spots from others and even ourselves. He wants us to draw even closer to him by bringing those weak spots into the light of his perfect love.
What’s your area of weakness? Where is God meddling in your life?
Mark 10:18-22 describes a rich young man who considered himself righteous. Jesus knew exactly what area to focus in on, but the man wasn’t willing to give that up to follow Jesus.
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
Jesus was saddened by this man’s actions; he loved the young man enough to make him uncomfortable, but when it came down to it, the rich young man just wouldn’t take a leap of faith.
So what does it look like to let God go to those uncomfortable places in your life?
John 4 recounts Jesus’s encounter with a woman at the well. She had come there to draw water and he began a conversation with her, saying that he had living water he would freely give to her. They were having a nice conversation about water when Jesus zeroes on what he really wanted to talk about: her.
“He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.” John 4:16-30 (NIV)
This woman was honest with God. When Jesus began to meddle in her life she let him, openly and honestly exposing those dark and shame-riddled places in her past. The most amazing thing to me is after her encounter she led her entire village to Jesus! She went back into the town and brought people to him. She pushed through the discomfort, she let Jesus expose and love her, and it led to other people meeting Jesus.
God wants to heal you so that you can point others to him. What if that discomfort you’re experiencing now would lead to someone coming to know God? Would that be worth it to you?
It’s my hope and prayer that God would give each of us the courage to submit to his process and come to him with those broken and hurting places in our lives. Then, as we walk through this journey of healing, we could then share our stories boldly with others, pointing people to the God who saves and loves them.
When God begins to pinpoint areas of pain or hurt, how do you react?
How can you share your story with someone this week?
To go Deeper: Read When God Calls You Out in Public, Share Your Story
Check out some of my healing story in A Proverb A Day now available on Amazon!
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Work in Progress 
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