Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group.
You don’t have to broadcast it to the whole world, but you need at least one person you can honestly share your struggles with. The Bible says “You are better off to a have a friend than to be all alone. …If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble”.Eclessiastes 4:9-10
Let me be clear: If you’re loosing the battle against a persistent bad habit, an addiction, or a temptation, and you’re stuck in a repeating cycle of good intention-failure-guuilt, you will not get better on your own!!. You do need the help of other people. Some temptations are only overcome with the help of a partner who prays for you, encourages you, and holds you accountable.
God’s plan for your growth and freedom includes other Christians. Authentic, honest fellowship is the antidote to your lonely struggle against those sins that won’t budge. God says it is the only way you are going to break free: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” James 5:16.
Do y ou really want to he healed of thyat persistent temptation that keeps defeating you over and over? God’s solution is plain: Don’t repress it!, confess it!! Do not conceal it, reveal it. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.
Hiding your hurt only intensifies it. Problems grow in the dark and become bigger and bigger, but when exposed to the light of truth, they shrink. You are only as sick as your secrets. So take off your mask, stop pretending you’r e perfect, and walk into freedon.
It’s a Biblical, eigh-step recovery process based on the Beatitudes of Jesus and built around small support groups.
The reason we hide our faults is pride. We want others to think we have everything under control”.The truth is, whatever you can’t talk about is already ourt of control in your life:problems with your finances, marriage, job, kids, thoughts, sexuality, secret habits, or anything else. If you could handle it on your own, you would lhave already done so. But you can’t .Willpower and personal resolutions aren’t enough.
Some problems are too ingrained, too habitual, and too big to solve on your own. You need a small group or an accountability partner who will encourage you, support you, pray for you, love you unconditionally, and hold your accountable. Then you can do the same for them.
Let me ask you a tough question:What are you pretending isn’t a problem in your life? What are you afraid to talk about? You are no going to solve it on your own.Yes, it’s humbling to admit our weakness to others,but lack of humility is the very thing that is keeping you from getting better. The Bible says :”God sets himself against the proud,but he shows favor to the humble, so humble yourselves before God”James 4:6-7
Your friend and sister in faith,
Hellen G.Peralta