What I Would Add to ‘Get Out of Your Head’

When ‘Get Out of Your Head’ was published two years ago, I never imagined that someone would send me a picture of the book in a secular store in Croatia. The reach this book has had is beyond amazing, and God has done a lot of amazing things through that work. While I would never take back anything I wrote in it, there are things I would like to add as an addendum.

I’ve learned a lot over the past year of my life. I’ve learned that I was not compassionate enough toward the struggle. At that point, I viewed my mind as something I could fix. There were reasons for my struggles with doubt, fear, anxiety, and anger. These things don’t disappear simply because we don’t think about them.

We cannot “out of sight, out of mind” our way into health. If we don’t think about our anxieties, then we never get the compassion to uncover how we got there. We then end up with more shame when we spiral again.

But God is a God of mercy. We see it throughout the Bible. We see a compassionate God in Jesus.

God rescued us when we were completely dead in our transgressions. Yet, we're still at war with our flesh. There'll always be a fight with sin, and we're going to make mistakes. In all this, we're filled with the Spirit who is helping us. We can produce good and the fruits of the Spirit. And yet, we're still going to struggle with our flesh.

We shouldn’t feel shame on the days when we spiral. If anything, we should feel hopeful that we have a God who is accessible to us, and that we need Him regularly.

One of the most important things we can do is to give each other the grace to be imperfect so that we can see our need for God. Our lack and need will allow us to ultimately reach for the Gospel. I hope everything you read or listen to from me gives you that grace.

I hope that you feel the grace of God, that you breathe it in and rest in it. I hope you want different, not out of fear-based obedience but because it's how you were built to live. You are not at home in your sin.

You were built to run a mission that God has prepared in advance for you. As you do that, you’re most delighted in your relationship with God.

Today, I hope I can add to what I believe was important work. I also want to be a kind and compassionate guide as I lead you into a deeper relationship with God and hopefully, into more freedom.

I want you to know that God loves you even if you’re spiraling again. The idea is that we would be compassionate and gracious with each other over and over again because we will be made perfect and whole one day. But it won't be on this earth.

I wrote ‘Get Out of Your Head’ before the pandemic hit. I believe God had me write it the way I did to prepare us. However, we're all very beat up right now.

While we need to hear what is true, we also need to find compassion and grace in our relationships as we struggle, especially with God.

When you’re beat down, tired, and weary, you don't need to hear what the right thing to do is. You need somebody to be there with you, and I think I'm more of that girl today.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is, “His mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). This passage is a reminder that we get a new day every day, and God still loves us.

We have the grace to move, make mistakes, and be imperfect. That's what everybody needs right now.

We will get to the health and freedom that we're craving through compassion and grace – not by force, but by gently taking you to still water (Psalms 23:2). It's what Jesus did. You see His gentle leading of the Spirit, and I love that side of God. This is why I can call Him a friend and a loving Father.

In this season of Made for This, I'm going to hopefully show you how God is leading you near still water. I pray that you would feel this storyline of hope and help building and growing because both things are readily available to us.

I’m not promising that you will feel fixed or resolved. The same struggles I had at 10 years old are the same struggles I have today. That doesn't mean I'm defined by those struggles, it just means they still rear their head now and then. However, I have spiritual authority and power. This is where I still completely stand by ‘Get Out of Your Head.’ I felt spiritual authority and power when I wrote the book.

You are more than a conqueror because of Jesus Christ, and you have power over your thoughts. However, you also have a very compassionate God who cries with you and asks us to do the same. Jesus knew struggle. He endured grief, disappointment, and betrayal to ultimately rescue us from it.

But we aren't living in that day quite yet; we're still in the war. We're still in the darkness, and the prince of evil is still very active and strong – so is our sin and proclivity to selfishness.

Ultimately, I hope that you feel God’s love.

God loves us and is with us. He's for us, and He's helping us.