Why is it scary to connect?

          Last night I was hit with what can only be described as vision from God. These are rare in my life and usually rock me to the core. I saw hurt and pain. I saw the person behind the mask for so many of my friends. (to read more about that check out my previous blog post: Broken). I also saw mine which I was fighting to peel away. It reminded me of an older song by Casting Crowns called "Stained Glass Masquerade". It talks about the people in the church being so broken, but so afraid to share and feel with each other. This reminded me of a few verses I posted here:

Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"

2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me"

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by god. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, s through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer, Our hope is for you is unshaken =, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort."

       God's word is so clear about sharing our struggles. It is so clear about opening up and being real with people. Why then are we so afraid? Is it a fear of judgement? perhaps. Is it Satan trying to stop us from God's will? Maybe. But I believe it is most likely a fear of facing God. A fear of sharing our most intimate thoughts with a God who is so much greater than us. The fear that maybe He will want too much from us, or not care about what we have to say. The fear of facing these struggles with truth and not excusing them. It is very scary. But God is not someone to hide our feelings from. David continually poured out his heart to the Father in Psalms, the good and the bad and the ugly. He gave his whole heart up and begged God to mold it. He cried out to God, in anger and frustration, and God answered him in grace and love. God cares about EVERY part of your life. He LOVES you. 1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you." It doesn't say cast some of your anxiety upon Him because he cares for the big things in your life. It says cast ALL your anxiety upon Him because He CARES for YOU. God cares about each part of you, the good and the bad. He wants to be an intimate moment of every part of your life. And he has this same desire for the church.

       Acts 2:44 says "And all who believed were together and had all things in common". While this passage explicitly speaks of money and possessions I also believe that God means for this to apply to our feelings and struggles as well. When we share together we can share in the comfort of God as well. We can grow together and believe the way God intended. James 5:16 echos this concern. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." I know that this isn't easy but it is so important to share ourselves. To open up and feel with other believers. To fellowship. I read an article about this topic (read here: https://bible.org/seriespage/importance-fellowship-new-testament-church)  and I really liked this quote. "Our final observation may be gleaned from the last and it is this: that fellowship is not just doing anything together. It is only doing God’s will together. Quite obviously, our fellowship with others is only as good as our fellowship with Christ, our unity. And we can only participate with Him in doing God’s will, for that is all He ever does! For this reason we must quit thinking of Christian fellowship as primarily doing things such as having pot luck dinners or watching football or playing basketball with other believers. These have their place but they are only fellowship to the extent that rest, exercise, and eating are doing the work of the Lord. Fellowship involves actively doing God’s will. The things we usually think of as fellowship are certainly not the primary meaning of the word!"

We are fulfilling God's design when we are real with each other. When we open up. When we cry and pray and truly enjoy the Father together. I will leave you with the song that inspired this post. Consider it passionately and understand the true change that could happen if we only shared.