I started reading this and know it was written from your story but very much felt like it was for me in that moment. Very thankful for how Holy Spirit does that with our words.
The beloved to Beloved quote reminds me of the often said reality of the “already and the not yet”. That idea of becoming what already is, I’ve realized, is the gap in my understanding that led to self loathing for so many years. I thought I just had to start acting different and didn’t fully realize the layers of becoming and healing he was so patient to lead me through so that that knowing could sink so deep it would never be forgotten. Praise him for his patience and his love that is so much greater and wiser than comprehension!
Thanks, Jonathan, for shedding light on your struggle, one with which many people also struggle, including myself. Even though the Word has many verses which show us our true identity in Christ, transitioning from the identity which we’ve learned in many ways from our experiences in the world to one that seems so antithetical to our reality is difficult. But I love your reminder that the cross is indeed the strongest evidence we have of the proof of God’s love for us, and that He is the one that gives us our true identity, and that’s the identity we should believe. Of course, as you also pointed out, it’s not, at least for many of us, a quick transformation, but one which is a journey that may take awhile to truly accept. Thanks for your words, vulnerable as they are, as they encourage me in my own struggle with identity.
So well written and honest. Thanks for sharing! Performance and self acceptance is something I also have journeyed with and I really resonated with everything you said. :) Have a wonderful Easter.
It was so beautiful for me when God helped me realize that He loved ME. With the shortcomings, mistakes, desires, dreams, and wants. I think that this is a healing aspect of God's love; that in truth nothing about us is a mistake and that God loves every single part of us.
Your writing is so beautiful and honest. We can feel the depth in your words. Many of us are facing or have been through situations similar to your experiences. Maybe that's why your words touch us so deeply. It's as if we were all sharing the same space. When we have the courage to talk about our dark moments, something happens inside us, it's like a loud cry that frees us from the weight we've been carrying. When we talk about our experiences and difficulties, we are gradually healing ourselves and we can also help other people with the way we deal with life's adversities. I know it's hard to bear so many things alone. If it weren't for God's love, mercy and help to strengthen and renew us every day, we would have succumbed. May God restore you and strengthen you every day. I love reading your posts when I can, they are beautiful works of inspiration and motivation. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🤍🌻
Thank you! Had a similar conversation with a friend this week and the whole post just landed so right in my heart… strangely, I’d say I used to be more aware of God’s love for me in the past. I guess I need to find what are the new bitter roots that I allowed to grow
This is absolutely beautiful and so encouraging. I find that I’ve come to this place of being nudged by the Lord to face aspects of myself that He’s wanting to bring healing and freedom, aspects that I’ve avoided, unwilling to face. Self acceptance/rejection is a huge one. Last year was incredibly hard for me as I felt He opened my eyes more to cycles and faulty perspectives I’ve long operated in. In His kindness, as I cried out for more of Him, He showed me a wall/hinderance being my own inability to receive His love due to self rejection. Psalm 103 and Psalm 139 have become trusted resting places for my soul and lifters of my head, as they testify of the truth of His character and His affections toward us. One of the elders in our congregation recently taught a message on self rejection and identity, rooting his teaching in Psalm 139. He encouraged us to take 30 days and meditate on this psalm daily. I’ve just begun this and it’s already been such a blessing to consider how He relates to and interacts with us, what that means for our identities. The truth of how He knows and loves us is beyond. I LOVE your exercise “…but you love me, and nothing can change your mind.” Each acknowledgement of this truth is like a washing and purifying of identity and self perception.
Clearly I have so many thoughts and you may not even read this, but I will still say, thank you. Thank you for sharing with us the journeying, wrestling, and searching out. It’s worth it to discover precious truths like these.
Oh Jon,You are loved, everything you wrote is a profound reflection. I loved the part where you mention that the best thing we can do for the cross is to gratefully receive that gift 🥺
When I read it, I feel a revelation of grace and guidance to live that freedom of being accepted and loved by God❤️🩹. I would like to tell you based on what I experienced, 3 years ago I had a similar crisis, I went through a period where I told Jesus that I needed to see him and embrace him in this material world, that way everything would be easier, I think there is a moment when one feels the need to physically touch someone one loves, in this case God. In this process something that helped me was writing letters to him in a separate notebook, telling him how I see him and what he makes me feel, I started looking for private moments where I'd say, "Can I see what you're doing now?" or "How are you?" And when he showed me something, we'd talk about it, and then I'd write it down. One day I heard this romantic song A Thousand Years by Christian Perri and thought of him and found myself crying for what I felt for him but also for what God felt for me, It was connecting my soul to that of God and understanding that in the spiritual he is so palpable and by closing your eyes you can open yourself to see beyond the natural eyes and see him hug you, smile at you, Feel a hug to the soul, perhaps this material world is a limit to give it a hug or for it to touch our hair as a friend would whom we can feel physically, but there is something alive, real, and beautiful in seeing it and feeling it in the spirit. There are also memories that our soul will never forget, even when we experience the restoration of all things.
Your words were like a hug, embracing that invisible but tangible relationship that human beings have with God. A hug, you are loved. You are loved, Jon.
This is so lovely and incredibly well written! You definitely have a gift for writing! I know I’ve struggled with this myself at times and I enjoyed reading through your process of healing and learning. God really is so good and he loves us so much ❤️
How I needed this today! There is such a tiny, hand-dug space between feeling unworthy and believing in your worth to Him, because of Him.
Watching my daughter’s dance show rehearsal today and seeing all of the individuals dance in harmony, with the same goal, gave me a foretaste of what Heaven will be like, as we focus on the One who created us and the work He has for us, instead of our own, self-imposed, imperfect thoughts and actions. Even so, come Lord Jesus!!
I’ve been feeling this way for months, it’s so healing to see it put into words! Thank you so much, it’s so comforting to know this is not an isolated experience, hehe😅, gives me hope of the healing to come!🫶🏽
When in doubt Henri Nouwen, always Henri Nouwen ✨🕊️🤍 Wounded Healer is great too!
I started reading this and know it was written from your story but very much felt like it was for me in that moment. Very thankful for how Holy Spirit does that with our words.
The beloved to Beloved quote reminds me of the often said reality of the “already and the not yet”. That idea of becoming what already is, I’ve realized, is the gap in my understanding that led to self loathing for so many years. I thought I just had to start acting different and didn’t fully realize the layers of becoming and healing he was so patient to lead me through so that that knowing could sink so deep it would never be forgotten. Praise him for his patience and his love that is so much greater and wiser than comprehension!
Thanks, Jonathan, for shedding light on your struggle, one with which many people also struggle, including myself. Even though the Word has many verses which show us our true identity in Christ, transitioning from the identity which we’ve learned in many ways from our experiences in the world to one that seems so antithetical to our reality is difficult. But I love your reminder that the cross is indeed the strongest evidence we have of the proof of God’s love for us, and that He is the one that gives us our true identity, and that’s the identity we should believe. Of course, as you also pointed out, it’s not, at least for many of us, a quick transformation, but one which is a journey that may take awhile to truly accept. Thanks for your words, vulnerable as they are, as they encourage me in my own struggle with identity.
So well written and honest. Thanks for sharing! Performance and self acceptance is something I also have journeyed with and I really resonated with everything you said. :) Have a wonderful Easter.
It was so beautiful for me when God helped me realize that He loved ME. With the shortcomings, mistakes, desires, dreams, and wants. I think that this is a healing aspect of God's love; that in truth nothing about us is a mistake and that God loves every single part of us.
This was an insightful read. Thanks for sharing
Your writing is so beautiful and honest. We can feel the depth in your words. Many of us are facing or have been through situations similar to your experiences. Maybe that's why your words touch us so deeply. It's as if we were all sharing the same space. When we have the courage to talk about our dark moments, something happens inside us, it's like a loud cry that frees us from the weight we've been carrying. When we talk about our experiences and difficulties, we are gradually healing ourselves and we can also help other people with the way we deal with life's adversities. I know it's hard to bear so many things alone. If it weren't for God's love, mercy and help to strengthen and renew us every day, we would have succumbed. May God restore you and strengthen you every day. I love reading your posts when I can, they are beautiful works of inspiration and motivation. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🤍🌻
Thank you! Had a similar conversation with a friend this week and the whole post just landed so right in my heart… strangely, I’d say I used to be more aware of God’s love for me in the past. I guess I need to find what are the new bitter roots that I allowed to grow
This is beautiful. Thanks for your openness, just what I needed to read today.
This is absolutely beautiful and so encouraging. I find that I’ve come to this place of being nudged by the Lord to face aspects of myself that He’s wanting to bring healing and freedom, aspects that I’ve avoided, unwilling to face. Self acceptance/rejection is a huge one. Last year was incredibly hard for me as I felt He opened my eyes more to cycles and faulty perspectives I’ve long operated in. In His kindness, as I cried out for more of Him, He showed me a wall/hinderance being my own inability to receive His love due to self rejection. Psalm 103 and Psalm 139 have become trusted resting places for my soul and lifters of my head, as they testify of the truth of His character and His affections toward us. One of the elders in our congregation recently taught a message on self rejection and identity, rooting his teaching in Psalm 139. He encouraged us to take 30 days and meditate on this psalm daily. I’ve just begun this and it’s already been such a blessing to consider how He relates to and interacts with us, what that means for our identities. The truth of how He knows and loves us is beyond. I LOVE your exercise “…but you love me, and nothing can change your mind.” Each acknowledgement of this truth is like a washing and purifying of identity and self perception.
Clearly I have so many thoughts and you may not even read this, but I will still say, thank you. Thank you for sharing with us the journeying, wrestling, and searching out. It’s worth it to discover precious truths like these.
Oh Jon,You are loved, everything you wrote is a profound reflection. I loved the part where you mention that the best thing we can do for the cross is to gratefully receive that gift 🥺
When I read it, I feel a revelation of grace and guidance to live that freedom of being accepted and loved by God❤️🩹. I would like to tell you based on what I experienced, 3 years ago I had a similar crisis, I went through a period where I told Jesus that I needed to see him and embrace him in this material world, that way everything would be easier, I think there is a moment when one feels the need to physically touch someone one loves, in this case God. In this process something that helped me was writing letters to him in a separate notebook, telling him how I see him and what he makes me feel, I started looking for private moments where I'd say, "Can I see what you're doing now?" or "How are you?" And when he showed me something, we'd talk about it, and then I'd write it down. One day I heard this romantic song A Thousand Years by Christian Perri and thought of him and found myself crying for what I felt for him but also for what God felt for me, It was connecting my soul to that of God and understanding that in the spiritual he is so palpable and by closing your eyes you can open yourself to see beyond the natural eyes and see him hug you, smile at you, Feel a hug to the soul, perhaps this material world is a limit to give it a hug or for it to touch our hair as a friend would whom we can feel physically, but there is something alive, real, and beautiful in seeing it and feeling it in the spirit. There are also memories that our soul will never forget, even when we experience the restoration of all things.
Your words were like a hug, embracing that invisible but tangible relationship that human beings have with God. A hug, you are loved. You are loved, Jon.
This is so lovely and incredibly well written! You definitely have a gift for writing! I know I’ve struggled with this myself at times and I enjoyed reading through your process of healing and learning. God really is so good and he loves us so much ❤️
How I needed this today! There is such a tiny, hand-dug space between feeling unworthy and believing in your worth to Him, because of Him.
Watching my daughter’s dance show rehearsal today and seeing all of the individuals dance in harmony, with the same goal, gave me a foretaste of what Heaven will be like, as we focus on the One who created us and the work He has for us, instead of our own, self-imposed, imperfect thoughts and actions. Even so, come Lord Jesus!!
This is beautiful!
This is beautiful, Jonathan!
I’ve been feeling this way for months, it’s so healing to see it put into words! Thank you so much, it’s so comforting to know this is not an isolated experience, hehe😅, gives me hope of the healing to come!🫶🏽
"And You won't change Your mind"...wow. Thank you for sharing this Jonathan.