Keep showing the humble your path, and lead them into the best decision. Bring revelation light that trains them in the truth. Ps 25:9 (NIV)

Going Through Hell Series – Part 2

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6  |  PART 7

Sometimes, when we feel like we are going through hell, the best thing we can do is ask ourselves this question:

“Am I really?”

Yep, I said it.

Sometimes when we think we’re going through hell, we’re actually not.

I am the QUEEN of this. (Now that my friends, family, and husband have a written confession of it, I’m sure it will be framed somewhere and often brought to my attention). You know people who are like this too. They’ll tell everyone about their busted up big toe and how it's making life hard for them, they'll shed a few tears, and even go in for a comforting hug.

Now, I’m not trying to take away the pain of a busted up big toe… that's gotta hurt. A bit. But I think as a society we’ve become somewhat addicted to drama. We heighten our pain, exaggerate our hardships, embellish our challenges, just to get some attention. Victim mentality is worn like a badge. “I’m owed” is sung as an anthem from many a proverbial rooftop.

When I open my eyes to the world around me and listen to the honest stories being told; the truths whispered in vulnerable tones about abuse and systemic racism, the cries of the refugees, the heartache of families whose homes have been foreclosed by the bank, those gripped by addiction, bodies riddled with disease, and I could go on; I have to wonder…

Am I really walking through hell?

My situation right now is challenging, it's hard. But if I’m honest, it's probably not hell. If I strip away the ego that wants attention and comfort and sympathy and sink into the vulnerable humility of the condition of the world and my heart… Then I’m not even anywhere near hell.

Here’s the thing. If you can get honest about where you’re at, you’ll find the best way to get through to the other side. Psalm 25 says that God shows his path to the humble. When you get honest and humble enough to know exactly where you’re at, you’ll best hear the whisper of God leading you through, guiding you down the right path.

When David wrote Psalm 23, he was on the run from King Saul. He was fleeing for his life. Being pursued by someone in authority who had the means and manpower to track him down and bring him to his knees. Can you imagine how terrifying that would be? He hid in the forest of Hereth, which was, in fact, less of a forest and more of a desert. The Hereth means “harsh and barren.” It was a place of danger, as dark and foreboding as the grave.

Only you can know if you’re in a place like this, or if you’re just having a bit of a crazy day. But name it for what it is. Own it for the fear and treachery that it is, or isn’t. Pride puffs itself up in greatness and in pain. Putting forth a version of reality that only hints at the truth, but stunts all chance of change, movement and growth. This kind of pride is its own kind of hell, and will only serve to isolate you. It’s not until you humble yourself and see your situation for what it is, hell, crappy or whatever, that you can begin to get moving.

Self-honesty is often the hardest truth to admit.

I honestly believe that so many of us are too busy crying about our big toes, that we’re blinded to the hell that others are living in, and our ability to reach out and help them.

But.
Some of you are walking through deep darkness, the shadow of death, a living hell. And it's very, very real.

The Hebrew word Hereth – the name of the forest that David hid in – shares the same letters as the word Heruth, which means “freedom.” In Hebrew, when two words look alike, they ARE alike and are linked in some way. But what could possibly be the connection between the barren and dangerous forest of Hereth and the emancipating qualities of freedom?

Over to you! Leave us a comment below.

Go to Part 3 – There is Strength »

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