Casandra Martin

Do you ever just feel stuck? It seems like no matter which way you turn there is a wall staring you in the face. Boxed in, your heart feels squeezed small by the pressure. Hope seeps out like air from a dying balloon. Frustration and despair become constant companions as you look with bewildered eyes at the obstacles that now fill your vision. It doesn’t matter what has brought you to this place – a broken relationship, financial stresses, health issues, job troubles, faltering dreams, or sin and its consequences. You look around and just feel stuck. There is no way out, and our hearts weren’t designed to live, really live, in tight, closed off spaces.

Listen to these words by Don Moen, and let them echo in your soul.

God will make way where there seems to be no way,

He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side,

With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way,

He will make a way.

God is in the ‘making a way’ business. The Bible is filled with stories in which people felt boxed in, stuck, broken, and insufficient for the challenge, but find themselves rescued, redeemed, relieved, and renewed by a God who makes a way. Their stories are meant to help you trace the way that God is creating a way in your story. He may not open the way you expect, or even wish. He may call you to crawl through a window when you have been praying for an open door. But God is in the business of making a way for you to look more like Jesus no matter where you find yourself. No place is too small for God to work.

My Jesus Resolution today is to trade stuck for still. Instead of being frantic and trying to find my own solutions, I am going to be still and trust in the One who is the Way. I want to open my eyes to the ways in which God is at work all around me. I want to see the beauty in where I am, not just where I want to be. I want to remember that the cross is not a stop sign, but a door opening the way into the very presence of God. I want to celebrate the truth that God is making a way for me, even when there seems to be no way.

Transparency is tough. It requires doing exactly the opposite of what our society declares to be most important. Transparency is the decision to be see-through. Transparency challenges us to lay down the mask of self-sufficiency and admit need, imperfection, brokenness, and the inability to handle everything by ourselves. We live in a “don’t let them see you sweat” world. Success is defined by how effortless you make your life seem. There is tremendous pressure to have all the answers, juggle all the balls, and pull off the impossible, all while having fresh manicures and perfect hair days. We exhaust ourselves creating a façade while failing to feed our souls.

Transparency allows our souls to breathe. It gives our hearts access to grace, prayers, support, and love. We are often afraid to be transparent because we fear others will judge or abandon us. And there may be some who do. But overwhelmingly, people respond with mercy and compassion. It is a relief to know that others struggle, to join together as we seek God with hungry hearts, and to discover blessings in brokenness. Transparency acknowledges a fundamental truth – we are not in control. It is counterintuitive to admit that, but it is also the only pathway to freedom and peace.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be transparent. I am going to fight against my ingrained habit of wearing a mask and hiding my true self. Transparency has the power to stretch my faith, open the storehouse of His grace, and shine a light into a dark world. I am going to risk opening the door to my heart when fear urges me to keep it tightly closed. I am going to trust God’s faithfulness when it might seem easier to hang onto personal control. Most of all, being transparent means letting others see how Jesus is taking shape in me as I open the windows of my soul and allow Him to shine through me.