Anne Jackson - Author, blogger, speaker, bad driver. twitter.com/flowerdust & http://flowerdust.net/
- Taking a moment of silence...closing eyes & taking a deep breath
- Most of us probably have a crisis or a pressing issue that is on our minds or on our hearts
- Your identity and your calling solely rests in Christ & the cross. And everything we do is because of the cross, for the righteous and the rebellious
- When we don’t know where we are, it can have a very negative impact on the people around us...and the people around them
- Genesis 3:7-13
- When man fell, God didn’t start shooting lightning bolts through the garden...but instead he simply asked “Where are you?”
- 2 years ago, I asked a question on my blog: What was one thing you feel like you can’t say in the church?
- I felt that God was asking me a question, “Anne, where are you?” And I didn’t really know how to answer
- I wanted to know that I wasn’t alone in feeling that I was alone...
- Example submissions from her new book “Permission to Speak Freely”
- When I answer the question, “Where are you?” I feel like I’m alone
- When we can’t answer the question, “Where am I?” or we can’t confess it to God or to others, it is not healthy. It impacts not only us but our families, our communities and our churches as well
- Sometimes when we ourselves are lost, it is hard to show other people the way
- Not a single one of us has it figured out
- Confessing where we are to both God and to others is essential to leading and caring for our communities
- We have to know where we are before we can lead others
- James 5:16 - Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed
- Make this your common practice
- Let each other know where you’re at. Answer this question “Where are you?” to other people
- No matter how alone you may feel in your situation, you’re not
- When we live this confessed life together, these burdens are lifted as a community
- None of the paycheck, insurance, job, etc is your provision. God is your provision. When you live in obedience to him, he will be faithful to you.
- We need to show our brokenness to others. How else can a broken world see the healing power in us when we pretend everything’s fine all the time?
- When you take the first step, and confess first, you’re giving a gift to someone else. You’re allowing someone to feel comfortable showing their own brokenness.
- Allow yourself to hear God asking you that question, “Where are you?”
- Is your brokenness showing so God can show his healing power through you?
- People will see hope for them because they see hope in you. They will see rescue available for them, because they see God rescuing you
- Ending with another moment of silence, reflection & prayer
