There are lots of things that we don't talk about in church: porn addiction, sex, adultery, etc, but who told us we can't talk about those things? If we all put on our church face and don't talk about the things we struggle with, we can't get free. This is why you see the same statistics in the church as in the world. Faith is believing in what God says over everything else, but if we don't have confidence in Him, we won't trust that He can provide what He says He will. Look at Abraham and Sarah. Their names were changed to mean "mother and father of multitudes". God spoke that over them before He provided it to them. God does the same with us. We were once slaves, but like Galatians 4:7 says, we are now sons and heirs. God equips us and He is right here among us - we don't have to wait till we get to Heaven to encounter Him and be free.

So many of us are bound up by shame, so we pray over small stuff and don't address the big things with God when we should be transparent because He knows it all anyway. Satan blackmails us by reminding us of what we have done when we try to step out in faith, such as when we go to pray for someone struggling with relationships and he reminds us of our failures in that area. The best way to counteract his blackmail is by admitting it - confessing our sins and laying it out so it's not hidden anymore. Galatians 5:1 reminds us that we have to fight for our freedom because we can become bound up again in our sin and shame. This can be especially hard for believers because we know better! Remember Romans 8:1-2, which tells us the law of the Spirit of life has set us free and there is no condemnation for those in Christ. People in our body have been burdened by shame for promiscuity, abortion, pornography, homosexual desires, racism and many other things. We must remember that our sins are no better or worse than anyone else's, but we are all first and foremost, children of God and that is how He sees us. What we have done is not who we are. The Word tells us to make allowances for each others' sin and to show mercy. Let's not continue the trend in so many churches of further injuring our wounded. Let's allow honesty and vulnerability and show God's grace to all so that all who come to Sandbox can leave different than they were when they arrived!

Amen!