Help My Unbelief

Coming off of a summer of ministry serving at camp (the absolute craziest 6 weeks of my life, but also probably the best), I have only learned even more about how the Lord can work through our boldly honest conversations. To give some context, I spent about 6 weeks this summer working alongside 4 other girls as we hung out with and shared the gospel with 9th-grade girls. In an atmosphere of nearly constant pouring out, and hardly 24 hours off a week, it was basically impossible to sustain the ability to serve by our own strength. It involved constant reliance on the Lord, and many nights kneeling before Him in a spirit of desperation and need for His presence. One really awesome blessing the Lord provided during this time was my community. As I mentioned, there were four of us together in sweet Elliot House. Every night we would sit down together and just talk through the day. Process our thoughts. Laugh a lot. Sometimes cry a lot. It was what I looked forward to the most every day because it was the time I got to be poured into after a day of pouring out all I had. This didn’t always come easily though. 

Freshman year allowed me to grow in confidence and boldness in sharing my story, however, I realized I still had trouble being vulnerable and honest with my current battles. I was letting my pride get in the way of the redemption the Lord was offering me through the gift that is vulnerability. The atmosphere at camp, however, really provided me with no other option. The Lord had gifted us with each other as a vessel for His truth to be continuously poured out unto one another, but without letting these things be known this beautiful support system could not be fully experienced for what our Father designed it to be. And let me tell you, allowing yourself to fully and completely submit to His plan and design (which is, in fact, to yield a spirit of honesty) is the most freeing and comforting thing you could do. Sometimes it might seem that verbally acknowledging your struggles could only make you feel more suffocated, but it truly does the complete opposite.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5:16

So praise the Lord for the ability to listen to one another and support one another in truth! I challenge you to see vulnerability as a gift because it really is! I know it’s hard, and it still is for me even after seeing the fruit it produces, but choosing to hold fast to the assurance of His faithfulness is something we can always find confidence through.