How are you? “I’m fine.” It’s the answer we often automatically give even when the reality is far different. Sometimes we’re not fine. We’re tired. Overwhelmed. Grieving. Confused. Frustrated. We’re humans living in a world where all is not as it should be.
For years I believed that if I ever came to a place where I couldn’t muster up the strength to say, “I’m fine,” it would be a crisis of faith. So when I read these words, I thought my Bible might have a typo…
I believed in you, so I said, “I am deeply troubled, Lord.” Psalm 116:10 NLT
I stared at the sentence and kept repeating it in my mind. Something didn’t seem right.
I believed in you, so I said, “I am deeply troubled, Lord.”
I thought it should say instead, “I believed in you, so I said, ‘I’m fine!’”
But I’ve learned God isn’t asking us to pretend we’re okay; he’s inviting us to come to him as we are. He isn’t putting pressure on us to paste a smile on our face; he’s with us in our pain. He doesn’t expect us to hold everything inside; he understands all of our emotions because he created them. Yes, we can love God by thanking him in the happy times of life. But we can also love him by saying, “I’m having a really hard time right now.”
Emotional honesty with God can be an act of faith. It means we’ve stopped trying to protect ourselves, and that shows we believe we have a protector. It means we have stopped trying to be perfect, and that reflects our belief that God loves us just as we are. It means we’re admitting we don’t know what the future will hold, but we’re confident that there is One who will hold us no matter what happens.
We don’t have to be as strong as we might think we do. We don’t have to fake it to prove our faith. God can handle where our hearts really are right now. We’re deeply loved in every moment, when we’re “fine” and when we’re falling apart.
I believed in you, so I said, __________________.
However you fill in that blank today, it’s okay.
Cheering You On,
Holley
MORE FOR YOU
- Last week on More than Small Talk, we revisited one of our favorite episodes! If your story doesn’t feel redemptive, this episode is for you. Listen in as Quina Aragon, spoken word poet and author of Love Has a Story, shares her journey of loss and healing, how the love of God met her in unexpected places, and why God wants to do the same for you.
- If you want more encouragement like today’s post, you can find it in my new devotional book, 365 Truths for Every Woman’s Heart. Download a free excerpt.
- If you’re not fine today because a relationship in your life is broken, then my online course Heal After You’re Hurt will gently walk you through the pain and help you move forward with hope.
