Truth Be Told: A Six-Day Devotional by Matthew WestIsampula

Day 4

Lie #4: I'll do the work. 

Truth be told: Maybe I should stop and let God do some work on me.

When the pandemic hit, I went into survival mode and for me, survival mode is work mode. I was determined to make sure that I worked as hard as I could so that I could continue to provide for my family, my team, and my employees. I mean, I worked. I wrote ten songs, started my next book, even launched a podcast. As a matter of fact, I'd like to talk to you right now about a wonderful set of steak knives I’m selling! Just kidding! But here's the whisper I heard from the Lord in the midst of my work: “My child, you're working so hard but don't let this season pass by without letting me work on you.” That thought stopped me in my tracks and set my feet on a new path. 

Honestly, one of the things helping me work on myself has been the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a tool to help you better understand your wiring and the personalities of others. I've always been scared of things like that. I've just been afraid of finding out what makes me tick for fear that it's going to disrupt whatever good thing I've got going, you know? But as hard as it may be, we've got to be willing to do some work on ourselves and allow God to show us areas of our lives that need to grow and need to change. This “Truth Be Told” reading plan is really all about honesty. Being honest about ourselves is not only important when thinking of the potential for greatness we have as God's children but also when thinking of our potential for epic failure. We're only a choice or two away from one or the other.

Another author wrote about the importance of knowing not just our mission in life but what he calls our ‘shadow mission’ as well. Your shadow mission is the opposite of your God-planned mission in life. As I'm learning about the Enneagram, it reveals what your number is, and that's a personality type. It highlights your strengths in some areas, but if you're on the unhealthy side, also the downside of your personality type. That's what he was writing about. He wrote, “If we fail to embrace our true mission, we will live out our shadow mission. We will let our lives center around things that are unworthy, selfish, dark.” God knows what your shadow mission is. The enemy knows what your shadow mission is. Do you know what your shadow mission is? It's really difficult to take that honest look in the mirror and ask, “What am I capable of if I don't keep God at the center of my life?”

Have you ever observed the poor life choice that someone has made? Maybe a friend's moral failure? A marriage that broke down or something like that. Did you find yourself thinking, “I can't believe they did that” or “That would never happen to me.” Well, chances are, that person once thought the same thing. Maybe you feel like you're actually living your shadow mission right now just a million miles from what you know God's called you to do. Maybe you're wondering how you wound up so far from God's calling. I want you to know that He's still calling you. He’s calling you out of the darkness of your shadow mission and into His marvelous light, just like 1 Peter 2:9 says.

Now remember, God never said that all things are good, He said that He works all things for good for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. You may feel like you don't even know who you are anymore or what your true mission in life is but God still knows, God still calls, and God still has a purpose for you – a mission only you can accomplish. Whether you're living your shadow mission right now or need to get honest with yourself and maybe some others around you about how close to the line you feel like you're getting to your shadow mission - your unhealthy side - let the truth be told in this area.

Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That's Satan's three-point plan for your life. That's your shadow mission, but here's Jesus’ plan: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” That is your real mission. 

I want to close with Psalm 139:23-24. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts: And see if there's any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Another translation says, “then guide me on the road to eternal life.”

I hope you'll be reminded by this that we each have a mission and we each have a shadow mission. Satan wants us to head directly towards our shadow mission and spend the rest of our days in darkness. That's not God's plan for you and it's not His plan for me. So instead of thinking that you can do the work, I want to challenge you, just like I'm challenging myself right now, to let God do some work. Don't be afraid to take some inventory of your life. Get honest with yourself. Let others get honest with you. Do the work that needs to be done to make sure that you stay on the road to eternal life and fulfilling the true mission that God has for you. 

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I don't know why it's so hard to admit it 

When being honest is

The only way to fix it 

There's no failure, no fault,

There's no sin you don't already know

So, let the truth be told