Strong, Dependent Christian Women.

Failure. That word holds a lot of pain, don't you think? We all fail. We all fall short. We all feel stuck sometimes. No matter how hard we try, we cannot seem to separate ourselves from our failures.But the world tells us we’re supposed to be perfect, right? That there is no room for error. That we need to always be at our best. And the world also tells us time heals everything, so if we hold onto failures, burying them deep inside, they’ll just go away with time. But, does the hurt really go away? Or do we convince ourselves it does? Holding onto failures can feel really easy at first. Putting on a brave face is manageable for a little while. Then there’s the classic world lie that we are strong independent women, so we can handle these problems all by ourselves. But then, our failures begin to pile up. And pile up. And pile up. Eventually, the weight is too heavy to carry and we get stuck. Where do you get stuck? Stuck not telling anyone? Stuck on the failure itself, afraid to move on?The truth is that we all forget what we were taught at our first day in Sunday school: Jesus died for our sins. Our sins. Our mess-ups. Our mistakes. Our failures. Jesus knew that we couldn’t handle life and all its messiness without Him. Jesus knew that we would fail. Jesus knew that we would get stuck. So He died for our sins. He carried the weight of our sins on the cross. All of it. He took the pain for us, He says in John 19:30, “It is finished.” The weight isn't ours to carry. So why do we try so hard to keep our problems, mistakes, and failures to ourselves when they have already been carried for us!? It's pointless and painful. Our sins were nailed on the cross with the Savior. He took the pain. We don't have to feel it. We don't have to carry it. When we lift up our struggles to Him, the weight of our mistakes is gone.”Therefore, since there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1).I wish once we understood this concept everything would be rainbows and butterflies. But unfortunately it isn't, because the world doesn't want us to feel this way. The world says our mistakes define us. The world says if we fail, you are worthless. And sometimes we believe it. And it hurts. But God says, “No! You are a masterpiece! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are chosen! You are worthy!” When we have this truth anchored in our souls, the world cannot shake us. Instead of being strong, independent Christian women we need to be strong, dependent Christian women! Dependent on the Lord, who is not of this world, but out of this world! "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us” (Romans 8:31-34).No one can stand against us. Failure isn't ours to carry. Jesus already took the punishment of our sins, so stop punishing yourselves. It is finished.words by Samantha Burton and photo by Kiana Dundore