A couple weeks ago, she left the school gym tired, exhausted, lonesome, and slightly irritated. As she merged onto the bus, the driver greeted her with his familiar "Hello! How are you doing?" She plastered on an artificial smile, replied optimistically, and seated herself far from the front seat, trusting that nobody knew the turmoil she was experiencing inside.
Have you ever been in a similar experience?
As humans, it seems we have a tendency to masquerade our emotions.
We stuff them down deep inside, hoping that nobody will notice.
We continue on, wearing fake smiles, praying no one will call us out.
We pretend that we are fine, when there is a raging storm within our souls.
We say everything is under control, when all is chaos.
As a consequence, we suffer more.
Anxiety.
Depression.
Misery.
Exhaustion.
Fatigue.
The need for rest.
Yet, try as we may, we cannot generate our own rest.
Nobody can.
Except Jesus.
Believe it or not, Jesus knew what it was like to be weary and sorrowful. Consider these eye-opening verses.
"Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon." (John 4:6 NIV)
"Jesus wept." (John 11:35 KJV)
For this reason, Jesus offers us complete rest when we come to Him.
"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 NLT)
Jesus knows exactly what we need.
He doesn't expect us to try to hide our feelings - from Him or from anyone else.
God's word doesn't tell us to lie about our emotions either. As His children, we are admonished to speak truth with one another.
No more lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:25 GNT)
It's okay to not be okay sometimes.
Knowing that, what if we chose to stop covering up, and tell the truth?
What if we chose to to stop hiding our pain behind insincere smiles?
What if all of us chose to share what was really going on inside?
How are you today?
Love this post!! I think it takes the place of my favorite as well.
May I also add this as a follow up: "Can we choose to listen?" When you ask someone how they are or how their day has been, wait to hear the reply. Too many people these days ask but don't wait for the response.
I love this post, it's probably my favorite. Thank you for writing it!
Here is a link to a phenomenal song on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4wYkS8Z3Io