Transparent Part 2

by 4letsgetrealtogether

January 23, 2020

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me! I praise God for his promise to me” (Psalm 56:3-4 ERV).

The primary barrier to transparency is trust. Without trust, our fears are fueled. Without trust, our doubts drum out reasoning. Without trust, we grasp onto whatever “lifeline” is within reach, whether or not it’s life giving and grounded.

So here’s the slippery slope: people are fallible. Humans are bent towards sin. We, including me, will not always get it right. Only God is completely trustworthy, fulfilling all His promises. HOWEVER, God created mankind in His image. God knew we would not be able to navigate this fallen world alone. God, in His infinite wisdom, directs others to implement His plans here.

Simply put, we need each other. We need to share how/what we feel. We need to trust others with our burdens. We need to accept the fact that we not only cannot but aren’t supposed to do this alone!

Jesus told His disciples, “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me” (John 13:20 NIV).

Transparency requires trust.

Trust in Him.

Trust in His plans.

Trust in whom He sends.

Trust is a two way street. We must share and speak truth with others. Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

We cannot dilute how we truly feel and expect others to see through it onto the underlying root cause . Likewise, we must speak truth with kindness and grace, inviting Him into the situation, because God only knows us completely.

Which brings us back to the question, why do we find it so difficult to operate in love, transparency, and grace-filled generosity?

I don’t have the definitive answer or magic formula on how to get there…and that’s the transparent, honest truth. I struggle too. However, I am working towards putting my trust in Him, which I have to remind myself of daily. I have to spend time in His Word, be cognizant of what/whom I’m listening to, and trust my Abba will ordain the day’s activities. I have to amend my canned “I’m ok” response, when anything could be further from the truth. I have to allow others in, so the junk can be thrown out, and together, we are able to move on. That’s all any of us can do on our journey towards transparency. Trust.