I woke up like this

A local pastor I know has been doing a series on "Let the redeemed of The Lord, say so!" His focus is on highlighting the wretched characters in the bible and their ugliness; then magnifying how the Lord confidently uses those very things to point others to Himself!


Society has Jedi mind tricked us into pursuing perfection, focusing on our outward appearance and believing we need to cover our flaws and accentuate our assets. This mentality has duped us by blinding us to our need for a Savior...and inevitably, a Lord.

If you were honest with yourself you've had some "ugly" times and days. No, I'm not just talking about those times you wake up with morning breathe, dried up drool hugging the corners of your lips and crust wedged in the crevices of your eyes.  Nor those bad hair days when your pocket book couldn't seem to squeeze out an appointment to the barber/beauty shop. I'm talking about the times/days when your thoughts disgusted you; and if they lingered long enough they gave way to some destructive words. You know those disappointing actions you later regretted but have become so accustomed to that they somehow became deceptive habits.

You know what I mean by ugly: that ugly person you can't seem to live with some days; that ugliness that keeps you from attending church, cracking open your bible, divulging your issues with those who are closest to you and prevents you from talking to the Lord. It's amazing that how we act physically towards the insecurities of our outward appearance mirrors how we react when we come to grips with the weaknesses of our inner appearance. We shun it, then pour our energy into trying to fix it (aka cover it up)!

What I love, however, about The Lord is that He is most puffed up when we admit and embrace our weakness, our frailty, our "uglies". He used the ugliest people in the bible to demonstrate His strength, grace and love for us. And once He got a hold of them, He used their glamour to point attention back to Him.

Paul puts it this way,

"My grace is enough; it's all you need; My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, ...I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
[2 Cor. 12:10-15]

I took my nappy head to the beauty shop after 4years of going natural and admitted to my beautician that I had not been taking care of my hair properly. I humbled myself to her control and allowed her to treat and apply heat to my naps. I walked out of there with straight hair and feeling like Beyoncé said, "I woke up like this!" (meaning I'm confident in who I am). I wasn't anymore beautiful leaving out of there, than I was when I walked in there, but I recognized and admitted that there was a part of me that needed the touch of a professional.

Am I saying act a fool and hope for the best? No! I'm saying don't shun and cover up the things you struggle with, admit that those things need the touch of a Professional. Let Him in on the ugly things in your life, He knows 'our best efforts are grease-stained rags' (Isaiah 64:6) anyways and so He is patiently waiting for us to sit in the seat of humility, so he can treat and apply the heat of His power and love to us. Then and only then, can He straighten us out in efforts to bring attention to Himself!