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By Posted on Posted in fear, God's love, God's word, grace, shame No Comments

A visit to the eye doctor this week reminded me of the importance of looking through the correct lens. Even the smallest adjustment can affect how we see the world! Far-off road signs and the fine print might not be accessible without finely tuned lenses.

Perhaps something we rarely consider is the lens through which we see God and His Word. Whether we know it or not, our life experiences and core beliefs about ourselves have a considerable effect on how we interpret the Bible. If we look at the scriptures through a lens of fear, shame, self-condemnation, rejection, perfectionism, abandonment, or feeling responsible for everyone, that lens will affect how we read, understand, and apply the spiritual principles there.

For so many years I viewed this passage in Galatians through the lens of shame and perfectionism:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-25

My version would have read something like, “Be loving, joyful, peaceful, etc. or you are not a real Christian. Crucify your flesh and stop sinning or you won’t be good enough for God or anyone else. Show the Holy Spirit that you can be like Him.”

Can you see how the lens of perfectionism and shame didn’t allow the full truth to come through? Once God started removing layers of these lenses, I saw that the Galatians passage highlights the Spirit of God as the SOURCE of the qualities I was trying to perform on my own. The power to crucify the flesh belongs to the Spirit, who leads the transformation of our hearts and minds as we keep in step. We are not in charge of our own spiritual transformation. It is our job to yield and participate in what God is doing in us.

Sadly, at one point in my life, it just became too painful to read the Bible. It felt like one shame storm after another as I found countless ways I had fallen short and endless expectations to be something I wasn’t. I actually had to take a break from reading for a while because it wasn’t good for my mental health.

Once I began to ease back in, I kept to the Psalms because they are so full of the emotions I was feeling at the time. Then I moved to the Gospels to see Jesus in action. God challenged me to look through the lens of love and grace. What does this passage say about God’s love? What affection is He showing me right now? How is His grace evident here? It was like reading the Bible for the first time!

I learned another new approach to the Bible when the Lord whispered to my heart that He wanted to read a passage to me. He changed some of the pronouns and the point of view so that the message was coming straight from Him to me. This has been such a powerful practice for me that I started a new podcast doing this very thing! If you’re intrigued by this idea, you can try the first 8-minute episode of “Pressing In with Jamie De Silvia” on all the major podcast platforms.

Some might think that I am watering down the Word of God. However, I am trying to remove the lenses that are keeping us from really seeing and understanding the Word. There is a mountain of truth to be discovered in the Bible. Some of it is hard truth, spoken explicitly! I’m not trying to remove the truth, but merely the added dysfunction that affects what we hear and read.

Recently, I was reading in the book of John in the Passion Translation and this jumped out at me:

Moses gave an intimidating set of standards, but Jesus is unveiling truth wrapped in mercy. He has some hard things to say, but He does it in a loving way. Keep that mercy in mind as you read His words.

Friend, do you have any filters that might be affecting the way you see God or understand His Word? If you’re not sure, ask the Holy Spirit to show you. A word or two might pop into your mind.

Lean into these words and talk to God about them.

It is not your job to remove the filters. God will remove them one layer at a time with His healing hands. Lean into His loving transformation. You can trust Him.

By Posted on Posted in grace, growth, parenting, work in progress 1 Comment

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Yesterday I had the privilege of going to a baby shower. The picture above features my oldest daughter with the mother-to-be. What a beautiful celebration of God’s work in a young woman, bringing her to the verge of motherhood. All of the guests were asked to give her some written encouragement or advice about mothering. As I thought about the one thing that would be most valuable to share, I decided to encourage her in the area where I have most struggled in motherhood.

My advice was to never forget that God chose her to be the mother of this baby boy. He did this, knowing full well that she would never do it perfectly. This is God’s intention: that His power would be made perfect in her weakness.

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Of course, motherhood is such a high calling that our weaknesses become apparent very quickly, ushering in a wave of insecurity. This is compounded by the accusations and doubts of the enemy. We wonder if we’re doing it right, if we’re doing it as well as someone else, if we should do more, read more, be more….and we often forget that the goal is not to perform, but to let our weakness be the conduit through which Christ’s power may rest on us. In essence, we have to embrace our weakness and let the Lord do His work of teaching, transforming, maturing us.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The truth is that we are a work in progress. We are not the foreman on this job; God is! What can we say about His work in us? It’s messy. It requires patience. However, as mothers, we struggle with being imperfect and unfinished. We often operate in a performing-kind-of-work rather than a surrendering-kind-of-work. We forget that God is the only one that can complete this work. We forget that He makes great preparation for this work. We forget that He has promised to finish it.

We fear that because we aren’t finished yet, our imperfections and failures will ruin our children, but it’s actually our tendency to perform and forget that we are God’s work in progress that threatens to unravel our family life.  We put pressure on ourselves to do everything perfectly and pressure on our children to respond perfectly to our parenting performance. All the while forgetting that every person involved is a work in progress. As I type this right now, I see so clearly how this has played out in my home over the last 15 and a half years.

I tend to believe that my weaknesses and failures disqualify me: from being a good parent, from being a good Christian, from being used by God, from enjoying His love and favor. However, it is only my inability to recognize my weakness that disqualifies me! God intends for my weakness to be a reminder of how much I need Him. He hopes that every time I am confronted with my inadequacies, that I will run to Him, that I will cling to Him, that I will make up my mind to hold on to Him and trust Him to work in me every moment of the day!

Friend, your weaknesses and failures do not disqualify you. Your weaknesses are part of God’s plan for your life. Stop pretending, stop performing, and begin to embrace your shortcomings (and the grace He offers) as the tether that will keep you close to God.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

 

 

 

photo credit: my daughter, Micah De Silvia, created the beautiful shower collage.

By Posted on Posted in forgiveness, grace, sanctification No Comments

I was very intrigued by this verse that I read today:

“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Heb 10:14 NIV

“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Heb 10:14 NKJ

This verse speaks of one thing that is done and one thing that is ongoing. By one action, one death, one sacrifice, my sins are atoned for. That business is done. The word “perfected” means completed, finished, accomplished. The never-ending forgiveness of my sins has been accomplished.

While the issue of sin and forgiveness is done and settled, I am still being sanctified. That business is ongoing. I am still being set apart, consecrated, transformed. I am still being shaped into Christ’s image and being used by Him in increasingly effective ways.

The enemy wants me to get the truth of this scripture mixed up. He wants me to think that the process of my atonement is ongoing. I have to perform in order to be worthy and forgiven. I am setting aside these lies and standing confidently in the truth that I am forgiven. It is done. The sins that you and I will commit later today and tomorrow are already covered. Praise God!