Let Him In

Do you ever find it a challenge to be vulnerable with people? I know I do. It can be hard opening up to someone and letting people in your life if you don't know how they will respond to what you share. Sometimes it can feel like it's just easier to show people a filtered version of ourselves rather than place our full lives on display. However, when we do find a person or group of people that we feel free to open up to, it can make a big difference in our relationship with those people. When we foster an environment of transparency with openness, communication, and accountability, genuine and meaningful relationships can flourish. Only in those genuine relationships is where we can experience rest from striving to be someone we are not and substantial personal growth.

The good news is that we all have someone that is not only willing to listen to everything in our life (the good, bad, and ugly) and encourage us with Truth, but who wants to be the first person that we turn to with all thoughts, experiences, and praises. My favorite Bible verse is John 10:10 in which Jesus says "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (NIV). I wholeheartedly believe that the full life that Jesus was talking about hinges on not just being knowledgable about Him but having a deep, intimate relationship in which there is honest and open communication.

The thing is that even though we may like to favor the idea of ignoring parts of ourselves and keeping it out of the spotlight, God already knows every little thing about us (more than we even know ourselves) and still calls us His children whom He loves (John 1:12). Psalm 139:1-4 reads "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely". Nothing that we could ever say or do would scare away or surprise Him. He already knows us and wants us to get to know Him.

The term "know" is translated from the Hebrew word yada' and means to learn to know, perceive, find out, recognize, acknowledge, and know by experience. When we truly get to know God, over time His thoughts and Truth will begin to be the lens through which we see ourselves and the world around us. If you find yourself struggling with vulnerability, I want to encourage you to open up to God and through that process truly get to know and experience all that He has for you. He knows you and is calling you to intimately know Him and in His presence is where we belong.

• "I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." - Isaiah 45:3
• "The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them." - Psalm 25:14
• "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." - Psalm 143:8
• "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." - John 17:3