Girl, why are you running in crutches?
Should I trademark this? I came up with it myself *Pats self on the back*
Initially, I coined the term when I self-diagnosed myself to a friend. I confessed that spiritually, I was trying to run a race while I was still in crutches. This analogy elucidated that my spiritual life was hurting, I needed to heal from old wounds, things I was afraid to tackle head on. Instead of finding the healing I needed through Jesus, I was still operating like I was perfectly healthy, hence: running in crutches. Little did I know, functioning while you’re not fully healed will only do more damage than before, which means deeper wounds and a longer recovery.
Conventional Biblical wisdom has it that human beings are made up of three fundamental parts: spirit, soul (or mind) and body (1 Thes. 5:23). The Human body has physical indicators that tell us when our bodies are injured or in need of relief. Pain is an obvious signal when our bodies are wounded. If I broke my foot and tried to run a race, the pain would be so overpowering, it would prevent me from even walking up to the start line. I would need to completely heal before I could attempt to run that race. The same goes for your spiritual life/thought life, we must seek healing from past wounds or tragic life experiences. But how do we know if we are currently spiritually wounded? How does one indicate the spiritual-pain and how do you go about spiritual healing? Well, I am glad you asked…
A tale tell sign that your spiritual life may need a touch from Jesus is by your thought life! Proverbs tells us that, “Your own mind is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel”. What types of thoughts and words are you using? Are you kind with how you view yourself and others? If you find yourself thinking pessimistic thoughts, worrying a lot, feeling hopeless, always stressed and overwhelmed then you may need to reset, refresh and take your thought life to Jesus. Otherwise you may be destroying your thought life by believing cruel lies from the enemy.
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he – Proverbs 23:7
Additionally, your spiritual life may be rocky when you are too prideful to admit it. Sadly, this was my biggest downfall. As someone who considers myself a seasoned Christ-follower, admitting I was broken and hurt meant I had to be vulnerable to friends and leadership. This is terrifying to someone who wants to appear stronger than they really are. But listen sister, confessing you need help and acknowledging you’re wrecked is one of the strongest, most admirable things you can do! The best leaders are HUMBLE and transparent! And here is the worst part, the longer you stay broken and wounded the more damage you are doing to your spiritual life, your thought life and your ministry. You are operating out of a place of hurt so the way you see is skewed, the way you hear is muffled and you can’t run, because you’re in crutches.
Is this starting to make sense? Take some time and reflect on these three question.
Personal Reflection
1. We all know how to take care of our physical body (exercise, eating healthy, vitamins etc.). How do you take care of your soul/mind and spirit?
2. Do you have a kind or cruel thought life? Read Philippians 4:8 and write down each what Paul tell us to think about.
3. In what ways can you improve your mental and spiritual health with your choices this week?
