Mirror Image
Have you ever looked into a mirror and didn’t like what you saw? Some feature of your physical appearance that you thought was ugly? Perhaps your nose. Maybe your eyes or your thighs.
This week I had a similar experience. Only the mirror I was looking into didn’t reflect my outer appearance but my inner one.
I had a conflict with someone I love–a close relative–that escalated.
It was as if the Holy Spirit put a mirror up and said, “See, this is the way you really look inside.”
I could see the areas of my life that needed work. Attitudes that needed to change. Things that had been hidden came to light. I couldn’t deceive myself any more by thinking I had it altogether.
I have just finished reading Juanita Bynum’s book, The Threshing Floor.
Through it, I have learned to put myself on the brazen altar every day and surrender my will for God’s will.
I have been asking God to consume that in me which doesn’t please Him. Rather than just consuming it, He has been making me aware of these problem areas. Not to condemn me but to help me grow deeper in Him.
What I have learned, though, is that God doesn’t want us to get rid of those bad areas on our own. He wants us to yield to His Holy Spirit. He wants us to let the Holy Spirit help us overcome in these areas.
If we try to do it on our own, we will fail. We won’t make lasting changes. We will always struggle to go back to that behavior.
It is only when we team up with the Holy Spirit that we will create lasting change because He knows the root causes of our behavior. He knows those things that are hidden in our lives and can bring them into the light–His light.
So next time the Holy Spirit puts a mirror up to you and shows you which areas you need to work on, enlist His help.
Remember we are all works-in-progress. None of us have it altogether. None of us are complete.
By joining forces with the Holy Spirit, though, you can make more progress than if you continued on your own. The choice is yours.
In The Mirror
I look in the mirror
And what do I see?
The girl inside of me,
Fighting her way to the front,
The girl God created me to be.
She has been there all along,
Deep inside of me
Implanted in me from the beginning.
Don’t you want to see?
The girl inside of me?
The I was meant to be.
- Annagail Lynes
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