Open Up

Psalm 116:⁶ “So I’ve learned from my experience that God protects the vulnerable. For I was broken and brought low, but he answered me and came to my rescue!” (TPT)

Jn.11:³⁵ “Jesus wept.” Jesus wept because He was present. The question is “what keeps us from being present?” What keeps us from being present is wearing a mask. Wearing of masks was recommended to keep us safe during the covid 19 pandemic. But hiding under a mask and not being vulnerable to God, not being vulnerable in your situation, with your children, not being vulnerable keeps you from being present. I heard someone share his greatest memory of his father. He said that his father thought that they were the ones that broke something at a particular location where they were. And even though it was not them, their father was so angry and he insulted all the children.

They tried to explain that it was not them, but he sent all of them home. He said later that evening when their father realized that he was wrong, he called them one after the other and was vulnerable. He said he was wrong, and he was wrong. What is the problem? Why can’t we say sorry? The man insisted on calling each one of his children and apologising. He refused to put it off till the next day even though his son that was telling the story tried to convince his father that it could wait. But the father insisted on setting things straight. That is a father that was present.

Whenever we choose not to be vulnerable, we are not present. And because we choose not to be vulnerable, we wear a mask and hide. At the cross, Jesus was present, He went through the pain. Jesus could have obviously commanded some angels to help Him out, take some load off Him and they will because He is their King. But He did not. Jesus chose to feel, Jesus was present.

At the point when Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”, He felt the pain of abandonment. Some of us feel the pain of abandonment, but we are not vulnerable with our emotions, we wear a mask. Jesus did not wear a mask on the cross of Calvary. Jesus shouted, ‘I feel abandoned.’ Do you feel abandoned? Are you hiding behind a mask? Why don’t you call for help, ask for help? Why do you want to remain where you are, dying? If Jesus, our King could be vulnerable even at His lowest point, then why should you hide? They mocked Him, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Take yourself off from the cross.’ Jesus went through all that, He experienced everything. Many of us are ashamed because we do not want people to laugh at us. So, we wear a mask because we do not want to be vulnerable.

Jesus was without a mask; He was totally vulnerable. God wants you to be vulnerable because you cannot shine if you are covered. You cannot shine if you are hiding. Jesus knew He was going to die anyway but He still was vulnerable with His feelings of pain and of thirst. ‘I am thirsty, help a man that is on the cross, I need a drink.’ How can you be keeping quiet when you need a drink? My grandmother would say, ‘if you keep quiet your own will keep quiet with you.’

Prayer: Father, as I open up and I am vulnerable, please protect me, in Jesus Name. Amen!