Mirror Check, Scary But Necessary

At the surface, you seem to look decent

Mirrors, we all seem to look at them at one point in time or even on the daily basis. My ladies seriously know what I'm talking about. You look in the mirror to see if a certain outfit looks right or if your hair came out how you thought it would after watching that tutorial. All in all, we use mirrors to make sure that our outward appearance is pleasing to us. Now, what about looking in the mirror for our inward appearances? You see when we see something that we don't like physically, we take the steps to change that to what we think would be more appealing to the eye. We go on a weight loss journey, we try new hairstyles, we get more clothes to fit certain areas and some people go as far as to get things removed. Others may throw on make up to cover up unwanted blemishes. Keep in mind that it's okay to do some of these things as long as you're not destroying who you truly are with the things that you speak over yourself. As long as you aren't starving yourself because you think you're too big or want to be someone else's size or just trying a certain outfit just because someone that you admire has it. As long as you are being healthy in your mind then some of these things are normal. What about what we look like on the inside. The cracked and wounded parts of our hearts which then begin to expose ourselves through the words that we speak? Whatever is in your heart comes out through your words and 90% of the time, that's no pretty picture. For in the Bible, Jesus says:

"...For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgement day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you." Matthew 12:34-37 NLT 

It's time to look beyond the surface of yourself

When it comes down to being faced with who we truly are beneath ourselves, half of the time, we dare not go beyond the surface or sometimes we just do the bare minimum and assume that we did our part. When doing this, we are only keeping ourselves stagnant and refusing the growth period to even start. Don't hold yourself back from what God has in store for you. It is up to you to show Him through your actions and intentions that you are ready to receive what He has in store for you. In order to do this, you have to look beyond the surface of yourself and actually dig deep down within your heart to examine the very things that are trying to hold onto you. These are the things that serve you no purpose and they actually are meant to harm you. It could be guilt, shame, admiration that formed into jealousy, your past, bitterness, or even something that recently happened to you. Whatever it may be that is lurking around inside of your heart, you won't even notice that it's there until it's too late or if you aren't even trying to look passed the surface of who you are on the inside. You can use me as an example. For the longest time I claimed being shy and fearful of not connecting with others until I grew to learn them. Going passed the surface of that? I had trust issues because I began to learn that people weren't always who they claimed to be and their intentions weren't always good. Take this and apply it however you want. This is just one example of my own and of course there are more and deeper ones, it's just up to you to gain the courage to go beyond the surface. I'll give you one more example of myself. I wasn't always thankful for the way I looked. Before I gained a love for fashion in my junior year of school, I was just a follower, trying to appear to be someone I wasn't because I didn't know anyone and wanted some form of attention. Beyond the surface of that? I had been angry that my family had to move and I was away from everything that I loved and all of my closest friends were gone and I felt so out of place that I thought that following others would fill that void. Thank God that I began to just find interest in things that were just for me and kept me out of trouble. You see, looking beyond the surface of yourself isn't always going to be easy but it's a step closer to healing and growth.

It takes a big person to call themselves out, these are the ones who are ready for REAL growth

People lose power over you once you begin to call yourself out on the things that you messed up on. It's the same way as how if you can laugh at yourself, people won't even find whatever happened to you funny anymore. After looking beyond the surface of your heart issues, past, or whatever your situation may be, you then have the choice to be bold and call yourself out or go ahead and let someone else do it for you. What do I mean by this? Well take me for example again, just the other day, I was out of character on a certain subject and I was taken back to an extremely old mindset of mine. One that if I had displayed it, the people that know me would have no idea of what had gotten into me. Yes, it was that bad. Now then, after having this out of character moment, before I took the action that my flesh wanted, I immediately called myself out and reached out to the ones who I knew would tell me what I needed to hear and pray serious prayers for me. I reviewed all that had happened within that short moment, called myself out on my mess and received the correction and repented. This just happened only a few days ago. See that is the thing with all of this, it doesn't just have to be calling yourself out on what you did years ago (unless you need to if that's your situation) it can literally be something you did, said, thought, or posted days, months, or a few weeks ago. Calling yourself out begins to show others that they have no power over you. It shows God that you can admit your faults and are serious about real growth. It shows you that you are courageous enough to push passed your flesh because you know that improvement begins from within. If there is something within you that you have to call yourself out on, do it, the release and correction will be worth it. People will begin to see that you are deciding to be bigger than your flesh and those who look to you can continue to view you as the example. I refuse to walk like or talk like how I used to. There is no room for pettiness, bitterness, fear, shyness, resentment, or anything else that'll try to keep me in who I used to be. Whatever it is for you, make a list of those things, acknowledge them and begin to pray that God removes them no matter what the result may be. Some people may have to stay at a distance, you may go through a misunderstood process, you may be called things or you may be the bad guy in a one sided story. Keep going anyway!

Let the real you take charge

Throughout your mirror check you will discover things about yourself that you didn't even know existed. When you discover these things and take the necessary steps to get rid of them and keep them away then you will be able to see the real you bursting through. Let the REAL you take charge. When you came to Christ, you were born again and became a new creation, with this being said, as you work daily to receive and maintain freedom, the things that make you unique begin to emerge. It's easy to look back and see all of the awful things we used to take delight in. What about the things that were able to stay that is now being used to glorify God? Dancing, playing an instrument, singing,

writing poems and stories. Whatever it may be that makes you unique, embrace that and once you finally begin to let the real you take charge, the right people will gravitate towards you. Now yes, it's true that the wrongs ones will gravitate as well but the fruit will expose who they really are, all you have to do is continue to be you and use your discernment. Daily mirror checks are required in the Body of Christ because of our flesh. We won't always have days where we can catch ourselves or even receive correction willingly. There are tough days and days of going through but it's up to you to go through well and to not get weary in well doing because the harvest is near. For the Bible says:

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9 NLT

All in all, as I draw to a close, I dare you to begin to have daily mirror checks. As I type this out to you all, I'm daring myself as well. Begin to ask God to burn up anything and everything within you that is not of Him and that is holding you back from letting His will and His way be done in your life. Call yourself out and laugh at yourself more so that people will no longer hold any power over you. Look beyond the surface of whatever it is that has been keeping you from moving forward in your mind. Lastly, don't be offended by the correction that you receive (when it's God lead and not just people being people). Call on those who you KNOW will pray and labor with you without announcing to the world that they prayed for you or try to gain credit of your success when God releases something to you. Go back and read this again as many times as you have to if you ever need a reminder that having a mirror check can be scary but NECESSARY!

As Always: Stay Blessed & Encouraged