I struggle with that surefire faith that stops doubt in its tracks. My first response is to turn to myself for the answers. What follows is never very pretty because weakness and brokenness are not a good combination for finding the truth.
I’m blessed to live in community with people who can spot a lie a mile away. They hear it in my voice and see it in how I respond to a challenging situation. These people don’t waste anytime naming the lie and replacing it with God’s truth. It all sounds easy, but the reality is that for any of us to grow our faith, we must be willing to surrender and dig deeper. God is willing to do the pruning if we let go of the lies of doubt, unbelief, mistrust and whatever else keeps us deeply rooted.
[Tweet “For us to grow our faith, we must be willing to surrender and dig deeper.”]
I hold onto those deep roots because in my own way I believe it keeps me grounded. I feel a sense of comfort with the familiar and same old same old. Beneath it all, though, there is still a desire to fight the work of surrender and digging deeper. But God…
Gently pries my fingers away from all I know and replaces it with all He has to give.
Loves me right where I am and rejoices when I take baby steps toward surrendering to Him.
Remains in me even when I forget that it is only with Him I can do all things.
Prunes back the unnecessary branches of my life so I can produce the fruit of God’s glory.
God teaches us His truth in the parable of the vine and branches. “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. -John 15:1-4, NLT
The community that surrounds me and holds me accountable works from a place of grace and truth. Naming a lie is not the same as calling me out for doing the wrong thing. Creating a space to learn truth looks safe and welcoming as well as challenging. But, I still decide whether or not to surrender and do the hard work of digging deeper. The choice is still mine.
[Tweet “Creating a space to learn truth looks safe and welcoming as well as challenging.”]
What choice will you make when faced with the hard decisions of life? Will you reach for the pruning shears or gently sift a few granules of dirt through your fingers?
Surrendering and digging deeper produces many tears, creates a space for vulnerability, and reflects the truth of who God says I am. There is nothing easy about the pruning God desires to do in us. As I say “yes” to the hard work and the debris begins to scatter, I am beginning to see the first signs of fruit. It is better than I imagined and creates a desire for more of the same.
When we choose to do the hard work, God will lead the way ever closer to Him. We might not get it right the first time or second or third, but God promises that He will always remain by our sides. Choosing to allow community to speak truth and grace into my life continues to bear fruit. I am now facing challenges through the lens of God’s truth and not my own understanding.
This is making all the difference. Are you blessed to have a community who speaks words that build you up and points you to God’s truth? If so, will you share what this looks like in the comments? If not, what would it look like for you to have this community?
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being a Father who desires to see us grow in relationships, your truth, and love. Your willingness to walk with us even when we get it wrong teaches us selflessness and tenderness. As you begin to prune our hearts, show us how to surrender and allow deep digging to produce beautiful fruit. May we turn our focus back to you each time we falter and rest in the promise that you will always remain in us as we remain in you.
We love you and praise you! Amen.
Blessings on your week!
You may find me linking up at these lovely blogs.
You are blessed to have such a community of Believers around you, Mary! I love this, “Gently pries my fingers away from all I know and replaces it with all He has to give.” It is hard to give up on what is familiar, even when the familiar is sometimes no longer the best for us. Thank you for this words of wisdom today!
Sometimes I feel that letting go of the familiar is harder as I get older. I know part of that is because of loss which changes everything. I pray you have a community or one person who is your person to go to for grace and truth. Love you friend!
That sounds like an incredible community, Mary. Having people to speak truth into our lives and who love us enough to hold us accountable are so important in our journeys. Thank you for this beautiful reminder. I can get far too caught up in my to-do list and push friends to the side. I know how dangerous this is and definitely needed this inspiration today.
Mary, there is so much truth in your words! Many things resonated with me, but this is what I’ve been walking out most over the past couple of years:
“Surrendering and digging deeper produces many tears, creates a space for vulnerability, and reflects the truth of who God says I am.”
I’m learning that as I am honest with God about my struggles, my feelings, my thoughts, He works healing in me. As I trust Him with vulnerability, He’s that safe place. I can trust Him with all of me, and then I can begin to believe who He says I am. It’s such a journey!
I agree with you that community is SO important. I feel like I have different communities for different things, and each one is necessary in its own right. I thank God for friendships that speak truth to us when we need to hear it! Thanks, Mary.
Our Heavenly father really does prune back the unnecessary branches – and anything else that is sapping the energy and growth – in our lives. What is wonderful (and a bit amazing) is I actually see myself beginning to appreciate…even longing for (not always enjoying) a good pruning! What a beautiful difference it makes!
Thank you for stopping by. What a blessing to have you join in the conversation. I am with you that a good pruning does the soul good!
I have one particular friend who is so good at speaking truth… and the hard truth that sometimes you don’t want to hear but need to hear. I’m very thankful for her.
And I just have to comment on the But God…. 🙂 My favorite two words in the Bible.
Much love,
Beth
What a treasure to have such a good friend. We all need people like that in our lives. I do know your favorite two words are “But God”. I remember that from when you were writing more regularly. I think of you anytime I use them in a post.
Mary,
I am blessed to have a community of friends where I live who are willing to speak Truth into my life and challenge me and I’m blessed to have friends, like you, online who certainly challenge me and make me think. Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I often have to hear something and then have it confirmed a few more times until I will let go of MY way of thinking and latch onto what God would have me believe. Whether it’s prying clenched fists off the old, or pruning away dead branches, it hurts sometimes. God, though, is more concerned about our character than our comfort. Sorry so slow to get here this week…
Blessings sweet friend,
Bev xx
What a gift! This online community has pulled me through many rough moments and the interaction is priceless. I am a lifelong learner and God is patient in the process to repeat a lesson many times when I need it. I am always glad when you stop by and it doesn’t matter whether you feel you were slow or not. I am very slow responding to comments this week.
So true that the pruning is not easy, but it is worthwhile for the growth when we can surrender to God and be rooted more deeply in his truth. Community is so important- I’m glad you have found that. I’ve been finding that more and more within my church over the last year or so, and having struggled to find true church community for a few years before that really makes me appreciate how helpful it is.
I love seeing how you are growing. Following you online for the last few years has provided a glimpse into your journey. Your writing displays a sense of peace that only comes when you are resting in who you are as God’s child. I love seeing and watching this unfold. Blessings!
It’s so easy to find the answers in ourselves, isn’t it? Yes, we so need to be willing to surrender and dig deeper, even if it means tears and vulnerability. It’s such a difficult process, but oh, so necessary. Thank you, Mary, for this reminder. I’m glad you have a community that surrounds you with speaking the truth in love and nurtures and supports you. Love and hugs to you!
We think it’s easy to find the answers in ourselves, but truly it isn’t. Surrendering is the better choice if we are willing to do the hard work that comes with it. I am very blessed to have a community that invests in me and each other. Thank you for being here and leaving such kind words.
Visiting from Tea and Word link up. Surrender and digging deeper is so hard, but has such amazing benefits. I love this line, “Surrendering and digging deeper produces many tears, creates a space for vulnerability, and reflects of who God says I am.” There is so much truth in that statement. We just need to remember we are not alone in the surrender, He is always there for us. And He is faithful every single time that we choose to be willing. Thank you. Sweet blessings.
Good to have you hear today. Surrendering is difficult and it takes daily practice for me. It just takes a “yes” and sometimes that is the hardest part. I am blessed you joined in the conversation.
Dear Mary,
Oh, I know that feeling of digging into my own ways instead of running to Him for the surrender. But His Grace is so very beautiful in that place of surrender. I am so grateful for His Word that He speaks to me in such varied places: through my own Scripture reading, through books, through blogposts, and through friends who share their own thoughts with me. I am amazed at how many and different ways He finds to bring His community together. And it may not be in the way that I had envisioned, but I am so thankful that His Spirit will reveal His grace to me! Oh may I listen with an open heart to HIM! Blessings to you!
Thank you for sharing all the different ways God speaks to you. I know it just takes a listening heart to find God in everything. God is good to share His grace and to bring us community in many different ways. I am blessed by your insight.
A friend of mine replaced the word ‘accountability’ to ‘integrity.’ In other words, to help others stay true to their integrity. I kind of liked that, so having people help me, and to help others stay in integrity, living out from the deep truths in how God made us has become a centre point for me lately. How that looks like is to keep pointing myself and others back to God, who He is, rather than on the problems, the struggles, maybe even the lies. It’s a different approach than the world’s way which is to solve problems, struggle against the pain etc. Still learning! Good question Mary!
What a great perspective. The idea of staying true to our integrity as we live out God’s truth takes it to a new level. I agree with you in how you are pointing yourself and others to God. It is too easy to point out what’s wrong and focus on the lies. I imagine your journey is teaching you so much. God is working in you. May we walk in God’s truth and point others to Him along the way.
Good morning, Mary … You stopped me right in my tracks right here –>’My first response is to turn to myself for the answers.’
Uh … yeah. Sadly.
;-{
That statement pretty much stops me too. It is a part of my personality that I need to let God rework. It certainly doesn’t get me very far. I’m praying we both learn how to let God do the work that He always does better.
Isn’t it so ironic that the following life is both holding on and letting go? And so often I’m hanging on for dear life to the thing I should release and letting the thing I should be grasping flap around in the breeze as if I don’t know it’s there?
Oh, how we need a Savior!
So recognize this battle: “I feel a sense of comfort with the familiar and same old same old. Beneath it all, though, there is still a desire to fight the work of surrender and digging deeper. But God…”
Sadly, church has been a place that has affirmed lies in my life, again and again. I am so thankful that as a returned Prodigal God is showing me that the sinful church (me included!) is not Him. That the teaching I believed of Him is not of Him.
The difference between then and now, is I have experienced and felt the truth in powerful visions. That’s come as rather than swallowing what’s being taught, I’ve weighed it against Scripture and invited God to reveal Himself to me – to SHOW me the truth.
What I saw stunned me. God didn’t expect me to push away my emotions and my doubts and fears. To speak truth against it, hoping one day to feel what I was professing to believe. He showed me, no, He in fact wanted me to be like King David and bring Him my whole heart- the raw emotions, the lies, the fears, the doubts, no matter how ugly, and HE would do the hard work of unraveling it all for me and helping me to experience and FEEL the truth.
My whole life I thought I had to be a “good” girl to believe and when I couldn’t cope with the heaving emotions of fear and shame beneath (that I deemed as wrong and not right to feel), I fled. And when I came back I thought to myself – now I’m a good girl again. Now, I’m faithful. But then God allowed me to experience one trial after another and as the lies and emotions again swirled I cried out to Him. It’s then He started to unravel the “religion” I lived tethered to and gifted me back a true relationship with Him.
I’m still learning. Because like you- the old feels safer. Except for me it feels safer to stuff away what I think and feel- and preach the truth to myself. But that doesn’t work because it doesn’t get to the root of the lies, so every time I am in a similar situation I am overwhelmed and frozen yet again.
Through therapy He’s taken me back to the roots. And revealed His Presence there in those moments of trauma. I’ve now experienced the truth of His love and affirmation in powerful visions. I have now seen, felt and heard Jesus speaking and acting in my defence. And I have seen myself responding by standing firm and speaking truth, where I once lay down as a victim, believing the enemy’s lies.
That’s the difference for me between the law (think this, do this) and the Living Word (experience and know Me personally, Your Lord and Savior).
I’m praying for a safe community. I only have it online at the moment. And praying for my unbelieving husband to one day experience truth and grace-filled Christian community, rather than churches enslaved to yeast that have crippled and traumatized his wife and almost destroyed our marriage. And I am praying for continued healing for myself – for deeper forgiveness and compassion for my brothers and sisters.
Your testimony continues to unfold. I love how God is teaching you and leading you from where you were to His truth. You have so many good points here in your comment, but I sense that you are learning God’s grace and truth. I also hear you speaking about identity. You are learning how when you rest in your God-given identity you are able to walk obediently as Christ calls you. Instead of relying on yourself for the truth, you are leaning on God to provide truth which he promises us. Finally, I love how you are finding a true relationship with God. Your journey is just beginning and your faithfulness is only outmatched by God’s faithfulness.
Thankful for your grace-filled reply, Mary. I don’t think I will ever stop being a beginner. Just when I think I’ve learnt something, God plunges me deeper. I thought I’d forgiven. I thought I’d given Him my pain.
His faithfulness keeps leading me to return and rest in Him in my own unfaithfulness, every single day. I berated myself so many times for posting the comment I did above, but even that was God’s mercy to me. To then experience your grace in my struggle to give God my pain and release the bitterness of my journey. And knowing you, you also prayed. I’m thankful for you. That you listened to my heart and didn’t move to “fix”.
I am a fixer by nature but am learning through discipleship the beauty and gift of allowing God to do what He needs to do. It is hard work but so worth it.