Brave Steps Into Wholeness
I heard a podcast the other day. The podcast host was interviewing a husband and wife in the Christian music industry. And the Mrs. said something that caught my attention…
“I want to live and lead from a place of wholeness”
Wholeness in relationships. Wholeness in life balance. Wholeness in our soul.
I don’t know about you, but things can get out “whack” (yes it’s a word) pretty quickly for me. Maybe because I let my feelings take over. Maybe because I haven’t dealt with my own frustration or anger in a particular situation. And I have no idea if this happens to you, but when I skip spending time with the Lord and just tackle my to-do list in my own strength.
And just like the Mrs. I want to live from a place of overflow. I want to live and love and lead from a whole heart.
So how do we get there? I spoke about this recently at my church. On the idea that that sometimes life sneaks up on us. On the idea that we sometimes get out of whack by relying on our own effort to find our identity instead of relying on who God says we are. On the idea that we were meant to step into wholeness and who God created us to be.
As I studied, I discovered 3 temptations for us when it comes to defining our own identity instead of allowing God to define our identity. And these 3 temptations? They keep us from wholeness.
Temptation # 1: I am what I do
Is anyone raising their hand for this one? I struggle with this big time. We can base our identity on what we do. On our performance. On being or even appearing to be a success. And the end result is that we’re always moving. Always performing. Always doing while God is interested in our becoming.
Temptation # 2: I am what I have
Sometimes we can get focused on what we have or maybe even what we don’t have. This can be possessions like our dream home or a new car. That promotion we’ve been eyeing at work. Or even a relationship. A specific friendship or that significant other for some of us single gals. But we are not what we have - we are who God created us to be. And even in this, we can lose a sense of wholeness when we are focused on acquiring instead of resting in contentment.
Temptation # 3: I am what others think of me
People pleasers, I see you! Actually, I feel you. This can tank our own self-confidence like nothing else. And when we live for what others think of us, we neglect what our soul needs for wholeness. Listening to God before we listen to others. Second guessing our own decisions. Living for the next piece of feedback which keeps us from living whole-heartedly with our people and our purpose and our relationships.
Why pursuing wholeness is brave…
If you’re raising your hand and saying yes at least one of those is me, I get you. Pursuing wholeness is no joke. It’s hard work. It takes persistence because you don’t just pursue for one day and say problem solved. Living from wholeness and choosing soul care is an ongoing intention of choosing health from the inside out.
Getting real
It’s brave because the first step to pursuing wholeness is getting real with where you are now. What is the state of your heart? What is the state of your soul? And getting real is brave work. It’s admitting we haven’t been dialing into who God says we are. It’s admitting that maybe we shouldn’t be doing everything we’ve been doing so we can connect with God. It’s admitting that we’ve gotten off course in a way that we never even imagined. It’s admitting that we have not been trusting God with the deepest places of our heart.
Understanding ourselves
Once we’ve gotten real, the next part is getting to know ourselves. What feeds our heart and soul? What builds us up? What drains us? And why can’t we just say no to over scheduling and overcommitting? As someone who tests on the border of extroversion and introversion, I can always be up for doing things with people. The problem? I recharge by being alone. And while I consistently say yes, there are definitely times when I need to say no for me. To give myself space to connect with God. To lay down my to-do list and pick up, well, nothing.
Rest and wait
For all of us achiever, we may be disappointed by this last thought. What we should do to step into wholeness is to rest and wait. God is the author of emotional and spiritual wholeness. He is the one who can heal our hearts when we’ve overworked them or neglected them or just know it’s time to drop those 3 temptations above and start living by His Word and His promises and His love. I read this devotional yesterday. Throughout every day, God is attuned to us. He is aware of our wins and our challenges. He knows where our heart is and when we need Him. He’s attuned to you even when you are not attuned to Him. He knows your heart, friend, and He loves who you are becoming.
So what’s the answer? To be honest, pursuing wholeness is brave because it means saying no. Saying no to activity so we can say yes to being still in Him. Saying no to getting things done because we are not defined by what we do or what we have or even what others think of us, but by who He declares us to be. Saying no to striving because God loves who you are becoming. Today. And every moment after.
Interested in knowing more about soul care and wholeness?
I’ve got you covered! Join other Christian women for my upcoming workshop on the power of soul care. We’ll talk what the Scripture says about wholeness, proven coaching tools to explore you are at, and developing an action plan to lean into wholeness right where you are.
