Why is it that some folks never seem to make it past a certain point spiritually? Why do some Christians wind up doing things they never would have dreamed? Why is it that some folks get into situations that are so emotionally debilitating and spiritually stifling that it seems like the only available option is to give up? Well, I think the answer to that question is actually shockingly simple. Let’s dig right in:
Okay, you guys know that in my day job, I’m one of the pastors of a little church in Tennessee. And look, I love my job and my church family like crazy. It’s an awesome place filled with folks who love Jesus. At the same time, I see lots of people who are really hurting and really struggling. Sometimes, people are in the middle of a crisis that is so bad, they can’t see any possible way out of it. Over the past decade, I have had the unique opportunity of seeing people at their most desperate moment and helping them figure out how to walk through it. When people are at the end of their rope, we are the folks they call.
As I said, I love that. I love being the guy people come to once the ceiling caves in. The only thing is, in almost every case, if those folks had called me up a few weeks or even a few days earlier, I could have saved them a lot of heartache and damage. You see, the simple answer to the reason so many people either don’t grow or else wind up in the middle of a code-red type of mess is that they waited too late to call for help.
Guys, one of the enemy’s oldest tricks is simply to isolate people. He wants to get you off by yourself so that he can just kick your butt all over the place. You see, if you’re by yourself, you think you’re alone. You think you’re the only one struggling. You think there is no answer and no way out of your problems. When you’re isaolated, you think whatever the devil tells you to think. Before you know it, you’re confused, you’re depressed and you’re crossing a million lines and making tons of compromises that are tanking your already difficult situation.
The answer to this problem is as simple as the problem itself. Ready? (And listen up, because what I’m about to say is seriously ground-shifting kind of stuff) Here goes: Give someone a back-stage pass to your life. Find someone you trust who loves you, loves Jesus and knows Scripture and then open your heart to them. Put a welcome mat on the doorway of your life. Give this person an all-access, back-stage pass. Be honest with them. If you cross a tiny little line, let them know. If you’re scared about something, let them in. If you’re feeling beat up and tired and down and out, tell them. I know so many situations that could have been completely avoided if those people would have given someone a back-stage pass. It’s how you grow. It’s how you keep yourself from doing the stupidest stuff ever and it’s how you tell the enemy to take his sad little tricks somewhere else. Open up your life. Be honest. Find someone that rocks and give them a back-stage pass.