Be Kind to Yourself.

Have you ever been so weak, so burdened, so overwhelmed-
that you almost feel frozen by your own emotions?

Frozen as in hindered, constrained, restricted, inept.
Incapable of high performance, or any performance, on constant alert and yet unable to react, worried, stressed, on edge, distracted….

It takes all your strength just to get out of bed, show up at work, and complete small tasks like folding your laundry and brushing your teeth.

You want to write or read or exercise or cook a healthy dinner or paint your toenails or vacuum your car, but you just don’t have the focus-
or strength. You collapse into bed at the end of the day and either barely sleep at all or sleep all night but still wake up tired.

You are weary. And worn. And wounded.

We’ve all had seasons of life like this.

But for me, the worst part of this season isn’t actually the lack of will power or self discipline….The worst part is the negative thoughts.

Phrases like “you’re stupid,” “you’re lame,” “you’re such a wreck,” “what’s wrong with you?” and “why are you so anxious?”
are constantly swimming through my mind and settling around my already heavy heart.

And most times- I don’t have the strength to fight them.

But then I remember-
someone already did.

And he said- “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

One of my favorite bible verses, Romans 8:1, says this-

“There is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

That means the accuser can no longer condemn us.
That means the world can no longer condemn us.
But it also means that we can no longer condemn ourselves.

It’s easy to find value in what we do, instead of who we are.
But our worth is not found in productivity or performance.
It’s found in Christ.

John 8:36 says
“Whom the son sets free is free indeed.”

Condemnation is bondage.
Grace is freedom.

One of my favorite artists, Andrew Peterson, wrote a song to his daughter titled, “Be kind to yourself.” In it, he says this-

“How does it end when the war that you’re in
Is just you against you against you
Gotta learn to love, learn to love
Learn to love your enemies too.”

It’s easy to forget that when Jesus tells us to love our enemies-
it doesn’t just mean other people.
Because we can be our own worst enemy.
And when Jesus tells us to forgive- he’s also telling us to forgive ourselves.

C.S. Lewis said it well with these words:
“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.”

If you’ve felt frozen by life lately, if you’ve felt overcome with a burden you were never meant to carry, if you feel voices in your head telling you that you’re weak and worthless-

You’re not alone.

But if you’re in Christ, you’re also not condemned.

You are hid in the everlasting goodness and grace of God.
He’s not mad or disappointed that you are going through something stressful or that you feel like you can’t carry the weight of the world.

He knows you can’t carry the weight of the world.
And he doesn’t want you to.

Instead, he wants you to cast your cares on him, for he cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:7)

Jesus didn’t condemn the woman at the well, he didn’t condemn the paralytic at Bethesda, and he doesn’t condemn you either.
So don’t condemn yourself.

Breathe the fresh air of the gospel and the beautiful truth that because of Jesus- you are free. You are not bound to the demands of the law that scream for performance and perfection.

We all struggle on this journey called life.
But that doesn’t exclude you from God’s grace.
That just qualifies you for it.

Be kind to yourself.

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth.”
-Isaiah 25:8