MASKS AND WALLS

Welcome to Women of Valour which is about
YOU

experiencing your freedom in Christ, being set free,

experiencing the love of God, and opening your blinded eyes

Isaiah 61:1

What is the opposite of freedom in Christ? The opposite of freedom is bondage or prison. Masks and walls were my prisons of choice. Why did I put on masks? Because I believed that if people saw or knew the REAL me they would not like me. So, I did whatever to try and please everyone else. But I was dying inside in some places and already dead in others. As long as people were getting what they needed or wanted from me everything was fine. But when I started saying no I can’t or won’t then it became a serious problem.

My favorite go to phrase was: “That’s just the way I am? I can’t change the way I am.” As I was thinking about that phrase and the negative thoughts, I actually believed the way I thought about things were NORMAL. It was NOT normal to be evil and mean ALL the time. I was depressed and angry ALL the time. 

I wore many masks to make it through my days and nights for years. My masks changed depending on who I was around: friends, family, coworkers, boyfriends, etc. I wore many different masks around many different people. It was called being a “people pleaser”. I tried my best to my own detriment to keep everyone around me “fixed/happy”. It took many years before I could understand that I had given myself an impossible task. I had also given away my power. It was unhealthy for me because it led to deep depression.

I even had on a mask for God. I would act like a good Christian by going to church and serving in the church. But I would act like a complete heathen out of church. I had built up walls all around myself because I did not want to be hurt by men or women. I even built up walls against God because I believed HE had hurt me as well. How can God hurt you? By...

·        Not healing a loved one: parent, child, spouse

·        Not intervening in a failing or failed marriage

·        Not giving you the job you thought you deserved

·        Not providing what you thought you needed

·        Not stopping a rape or molestation or even an attempted one

There are many reasons we can be angry and mad with God. My reason was the last one on the list above for many, many years. I just could not understand or wrap my mind around the fact that this God who loved me would allow this to happen. Replaying this thought over and over in my mind kept me in a mental prison for a lllooonnngggg time. This was one of the tallest trees in my mind and the branches from this tree were just as overwhelming. You may be dealing with an issue listed above. REMEMBER: God still loves each of us (John 3:16 and Jeremiah 31:3) even when our mindsets have been warped by wrong thinking.

God used HIS Words to break this concept down to me. Just as a farmer needs tools we do too. Think of your mind as a garden with some or alot of weeds. The weeds are the negative thoughts which may have been growing for a mighty long time. I know my mind was full of weeds. The farmer (you) must first go in and dig up the weeds and get the soil (your mind) ready to plant something new. You have to do the same thing as the farmer. You have to stop speaking (pull up the weeds) the old way and start speaking (planting new seeds) something new. You have to learn and speak a new language. The best scripture that helped me start digging up and plant something new was “Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”. (KJV)

II Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.

We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

TESTIMONY: The thought would come "I am ugly". I would say: “No, I take that thought captive to the obedience of Christ." I would replace the thought (weed) with (seed) "I am God’s masterpiece" (Ephesians 2:10). Keep doing until you start to believe it as YOUR TRUTH. I still do the same thing today when negative thoughts come to my mind that are against God's Word for my life. I had to retrain myself to know and understand that the thoughts I was having were NOT good for me but detrimental. You have to retrain your mind as well. It requires work on your part but well worth it to walk in your FREEDOM in Christ. REMEMBER: IT IS FINISHED!!! (John 16:30)

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me take off the masks I have chosen to put on. Help me love and accept myself for who You have create me to be.

QUESTION:

What mask(s) are you wearing that God wants to help you remove?

I pray something you read touched your heart to walk closer to God. 

Please share a comment or email me privately

Womenofvalour15@gmail.com