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Be Real....

by Shannon Heiden  
2/04/2010 / Devotionals

You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.(Psalm 10:17 NIV)

Beautiful One, did you know that the Bible is relevant and so full of real LIFE? Skim through it's pages and you will find, comedy, drama, suspense, crime, and action. From one chapter to the next, you never know what a character will do or say.

What gives me great hope, is that when I read the Bible, I find it to be very real. The issues that people dealt with through the pages of time, are not so different at all then what many of us face today. If you really take a good look, you will find betrayal, adultery, murder, rape, abuse, lies, and addiction.

What I find so interesting is that some of those issues came straight from the Holy people that we revere and respect today.

People like Abraham, the Father of Faith, He took another woman into his bedroom because his wife was too impatient to wait on the promise of God to pass. Noah, was a man of integrity and uprightness. God saved his whole family from the flood, told him to build a ship, gave him the blueprints to do it, yet a few chapters later, we find him passed out in drunkenness, and in a precarious situation with a family member.

Then there's the one after Gods own heart. With boredom and lust on his mind, he takes another mans wife, impregnates her, tries to cover it up, ends up failing, and having a man killed to hide his sin. David, repented, God forgave, but this man failed time after after time with the issues in his family. When his son raped his daughter, he stood by and did nothing. When his other son, tried to kill him, he again, did nothing. This one, as great as he was, and as good as a heart as he did have, continuously struggled with the issues of life.

What about Rahab the prostitute? She lived a life that wasn't even right. Yet God included her in His plans. She even lied in the process of God using her, and it still worked out for her in the end.

Paul, was about his Fathers business, or so he thought. Hunting down Christians was how he spent his days, standing by, while they were captured, imprisoned and killed.

Moses, the Great Deliverer of the Hebrew slaves, out of his anger over seeing the injustice to his people, ended up killing a man.

How about our first family. They had it together. One son ended up killing the other out of envy. Adam and Eve in one day lost both sons.

Lets' not forget the chosen twelve. Walking with God for three and half years, witnessing miracle after miracle, yet when push came to shove, they were not the faithful friends they thought. More like fearful foes. They were constantly clamoring for position. Here they were, living life with God in it, and yet in the midst of trials and storms, they forsook Jesus, doubted everything He said to them, lied and ran away.

Beautiful One, there are countless stories of people just like you and I. The Bible is real. It doesn't lie or cover anything up. If you really digest it, you will find your own life within its pages.

Sometimes as Christians we have this "holier than thou" attitude. No one likes to admit it, but it's true. Why do we sometimes think that we are above all the mess we see others in? If you just look at the ones Ive mentioned, these are the great ones, these are the ones God used in great ways. And look at what they each dealt with.

We each have woundedness within our walls. Even if life has treated you better then most, you still have some junk in there somewhere. Maybe outwardly your all dressed up, but within, you have nowhere to go.

Its time for us to be real. You can be a great preacher and yet be in pain. You can prophesy all over the world, yet still have a house filled with strife. You can be a prayer warrior, floating in the spiritual realm daily, yet fail to recognize the practical, earthly responsibilities of life. We can make all the noise in the world for the Glory of God, and yet overlook that one who is broken, alone and afraid.

Maybe we should take a good look at the real people right in front of us. Actually taking the time to seek them out in the hallways of life, and instead of just passing them by, we stop, look at them, and really inquire as to how their doing. Maybe someone else needs to hear you are struggling. Sometimes people wont let their guard down out of fear of being judged. But by being real people will naturally not feel like such an oddity.

Beautiful One, life happens to us all. God created us to live together at this time. We need each other, we each need help along the way.
We never know what another has walked through. We never know all the details as to why people do the things they do. But God does. Its His job to heal, restore and redeem.

Its ours to love and be real!

Beautiful One, just believe.

Shannon Heiden
[email protected]
changingonelifereachingmany.typepad.com

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