Years ago, I had crazy spiritual beliefs. I believed that if I wanted to be a holy person, I should NOT trust my needs. Because I figured my desires are most likely from the flesh, not from the spirit.
The message I received was this: “Fear yourself. Fear your desires. Fear your selfishness. Don’t trust yourself. Instead, trust God. Trust your group. Trust your leader. Trust the system…” Oh, what a terrible thing to believe! This is the reason there is so much spiritual abuse happening in religious groups.
Priests, preachers, and pastors love to emphasize this message: “Don’t trust yourself!” Directly or indirectly, they will ask their members to simply rely on the leaders’ wisdom and decisions. Unintentionally, they produce people who are infants in their emotional and spiritual growth. Instead of freedom, religion shackles us to immaturity. God calls us to be childlike, not childish.
God Trusts You—When Will You Learn To Trust Yourself?
Instead, we need to hear a new message. What message? That you’re made in the image and likeness of God! That you’re not just good. You’re very good! So trust yourself because God trusts you. He trusts you by calling you His child. He trusts you by planting His Kingdom in you. He trusts you by dwelling within you. He trusts you by commissioning you to be His presence in the world. He trusts you to love the way He does…
Wow! Believe me, when I pray, when I read the Bible, when I listen to God’s voice in the depths of my heart, I say “Wow!” many, many times.
And one way of trusting yourself is to trust your needs. Not your sinful needs. That’s what you need to deny. But your legitimate, valid, and God-planted needs. Meet those needs. Even your need for joy.
Some people view all pleasure as bad. Their unwritten motto: “If it feels good, it must be bad.” That’s not true. I believe life was given by God to be enjoyed to the full. To be savoured with delight. So taste. Breathe. Relish. Dance. Sing. Live!
Ever wondered why some religious people are so stuck-up, they don’t allow anyone to enjoy life? When we enjoy life, we allow others to enjoy as well.
Love yourself!
— Bo Sanchez
Meditation: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. – 1 Timothy 6:17
You will succeed in Jesus' Name!
