I have tasted “pretending my problems don’t exist, and masking my fears….”
and I have tasted “trusting God in-spite of the fact my problem presents, experiencing joy unspeakable in-spite of uncertainty, experiencing incomprehensible peace amidst the storm”
And I recommend the latter.
This is why David will always be my favorite character in the Bible.
David knew all about God’s faithfulness and love, yet still experienced deep fears and uncertainty.
He had experienced so much of God’s deliverance, patience and kindness to last him a lifetime, yet still had moments of doubt but here’s what David would never do;
Pretend his problems don’t exist.
Mask/hide from his emotions.
Psalms progressively shows that David could experience so much fear, doubt and uncertainty yet still feel deeply God’s love and protection surrounding him.
It was not an either/or situation. It was a both/and situation.
If you look closely, you’d find out that we pretend through life, hiding our true emotions behind masks of confidence and happiness. Societal expectations, increasingly overwhelming, forcing us to put on a brave face even when we’re struggling.
Pretty much of what we do through life is pretend….
You are tired but you have to show up as the most energetic in the room so people don’t perceive “bad vibes” off you.
You’re dying inside but somehow, you pull up the brightest, most convincing smile and bravest confidence because your livelihood depends on it, and your job and its customers demand it from you.
You want to express how you truly feel to friends but you worry that you’d repeatedly wear them our with your burdens, they always have good news to share but all you have on your plate right now is burdens, problems, struggles and more burdens. So, fear of becoming irritable encourages you to swallow it down, replacing it with the easy, famous uncontroversial ‘I’m fine.’
Exhausted people clothed in the most elegant, expensive attire to cover up for what’s broken on the inside. O’ how much we over-compensate on the outside for what’s broken on the inside —we are not even ready for this conversation because everyone partakes of this communion but pretends not to.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of necessary pretense going on through life. There’s really nothing you can do about it. That’s just life’s way of lifing. You are expected to suck it up and move on.
Yes, you may find yourself tempted to pretend with people, even the closest of them to you. Or at your job, gatherings because Ofcourse, are expected to read the room and act accordingly. You are supposed to be okay when you’re not okay…..because other people have it worse than you, so be grateful.
If you pretend with God, I pity you!
If you pretend that you don’t feel fear or battle with uncertainty despite knowing and trusting God, I feel bad for you.
If you pretend that you’re not confused sometimes despite consistently seeking clarity in God’s Word and voice, I sympathize with you.
You may remember all of God’s faithfulness and still, the fact of your circumstance may not let you see a way through.
You’re not a fraud for expressing joy and gratitude but deep down, you’re still asking God “how far? No be wetin we talk be this.” All at the same time.
You’re not foolish for feeling this way.
If God didn’t predict that you’d feel fear, be disappointed, anxious and worried sometimes, He wouldn’t include scriptures about it in His Word.
There’s the truth of God’s Word and the fact of our circumstances.
Fact changes. Truth remains!
But truth doesn’t invalidate fact; it exists as a monument to prove that facts are just facts. They are real, but they’re just facts.
Truth and facts coexist, with truth providing a deeper context, perspective or bigger picture.
Truth remains the spiritual and eternal principles found in God’s word.
Truth is God’s wholesome perspective not just about our present circumstances but about our entire lives. While facts would highlight only our present circumstances and realities.
Your joy is palpable, your faith is real, your belief is valid. So are your fears, your worries, your disappointments.
But God’s truth is even more real than these.
Hold on to the truth but still learn to process your raw, honest emotions about your current state.
Don’t run from them. Don’t hide from them. Don’t pretend they don’t exist and certainly don’t pretend with God.
God can’t bless who you pretend to be and you miss out on a deeper connection, emotional healing and transformation.
Our reality in Christ is not appropriated by pretending like our current realities don’t exist, it’s believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ and the victory He has already won for us.
A simple prayer like;
“God I know Your Word says….. but my current circumstances makes me feel……… Help me to hold fast to your promises amidst uncertainty and fear.”
This way, you acknowledge your true and honest emotions while still emphasizing that God is bigger and the truth of His Word will outlive your current circumstance.
Lastly, acknowledging your fears and emotions —the most honest of them, does not reduce God or His truth and it certainly doesn’t make Him disappointed in you.
God doesn’t sift through our emotions like wheat to pick out only the best of them. He wants all of us —the ugly, the beautiful, the good, the bad, the scared, the sure.
“I’m still beautiful and loved without the mask”
Perhaps, we could take lessons from David the greatest of Israel’s king showing us that;
No one is too great or too small to experience a rush of different emotions all at the same time.
No one is too great or too small to express vulnerability.
That we’re still beautiful and loved without the mask….
One thing David would never do is pretend with God, he had raw human emotions and he knew better than to hide from them.
Instead, he took them to God.
Real and unmasked before God, the source of all emotions, the creator of emotions who knows best what to do with them.
David knew how to play God’s heart like the strings of his harp. Could that be why He was called ‘the man after God’s heart?’
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.
Your Sister in Seasons,
Emem Abasi❤️🔥
If UNMASKED resonates deeply with you, don’t hesitate to share with someone who desperately needs to unmask and be their very true self before their Creator who knows them intimately and fully.
Thanks for reading Your Sister in Seasons! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Ahhh oremi 😭😭😭 thank you for writing again. You don’t know how much this post just hugged me from the inside out. I’ve been there, showing up smiling when inside I’m crumbling, thinking I need to “faith” my way through and ignore how I feel. But like you said, David didn’t pretend. He felt, he wept, he sang, he questioned and still, God called him a man after His heart.
This part right here: “God can’t bless who you pretend to be” hit me so hard. I’ve been learning that being unmasked before God is not weakness; it’s worship. Thank you for reminding us that we’re still loved without the mask. Please don’t stop writing, we need this. ❤️🔥
Ahhh oremi 😭😭😭 thank you for writing again. You don’t know how much this post just hugged me from the inside out. I’ve been there, showing up smiling when inside I’m crumbling, thinking I need to “faith” my way through and ignore how I feel. But like you said, David didn’t pretend. He felt, he wept, he sang, he questioned and still, God called him a man after His heart.
This part right here: “God can’t bless who you pretend to be” hit me so hard. I’ve been learning that being unmasked before God is not weakness; it’s worship. Thank you for reminding us that we’re still loved without the mask. Please don’t stop writing, we need this. ❤️🔥