it's Nita.

Perpetual maintenance, an unholy marathon of wack-a-mole, that “oh-no this again” feeling…

These are just a few phrases to describe my experiences and attempts to tackle some of my biggest struggles and stumbling blocks. It seemed like they would come back again and again despite my best efforts to manage them. Key word manage…

However, as I continued learning about spiritual freedom through healing and deliverance, I gained valuable perspective. Management was allowing my problems to persist. God gave it to me like this “When you get to the root of the issue, you can stop simply managing the fruit of the issue.”

😱 This phrase summed up YEARS of back and forth and only seeming to get temporary relief from problems. Management was never a true resolution. I was addressing symptoms (fruit) but was not getting to the real cause (root) of the issue.

Consider this practical example. Just last week I needed to get gas for my riding lawn mower. So I took my containers, filled them up at the gas station, placed them in the truck of my car, and drove home. However, I didn’t cover the spout to the container. Therefore, the odor of the gas was starting to diffuse in my car. “No biggie”, I thought to myself. I assumed after removing the containers and a few days of airing out the car the problem would resolve itself.

Well it didn’t. Not even close. I aired out the car, changed to the outside air setting on the A/C, and even had some fragrance pumped in the car from a soap at the carwash… but all of these were temporary fixes. They were only managing a deeper problem.

This went on for a few days and then I remembered…there was a towel in the truck. I had used that towel on a previous occasion to get gas. Applying a bit more critical thinking to my smelly predicament, I figured the towel must have gotten some gas on it. Wa-lah! The root has been found. YAY!

And in that moment, I told myself I would remove the towel. Actually on several occasions on the way home I told myself but then I forgot. 😅

Now you may think, that’s silly why didn’t you remove the towel? What’s taking so long? It’s causing problems! Well, it most definitely was, but isn’t it just so that when I finally find the cause of my issue that I wasn’t quick to remove it? Call it procrastination or forgetfulness but could it be that I was getting used to the gas smell?

Yes, it was annoying but it could be managed as long as I was rolling down the windows. And rolling down the windows wasn’t too bad…who doesn’t like a breeze in the summer. Right? Yeah, you see I bargained with myself and I was getting comfortable with my issue even though I knew the truth of it. The towel needed to go!

And so one day, perhaps the air was hotter than usual, I noticed the odor again and remembered “Remove the towel”. Thankfully, I remembered and removed the towel the same day when I got home. Yet to my disappointment the smell didn’t go anyway right away.

…Ugh, the woes of delayed action. Yes, the towel was removed but the odor had gotten into all parts of my car. Now, it would take more time to remove the odor than if I had taken care of the issue in the very beginning.

Can you see the spiritual parallel here? Some things you carry around in your life smell. They overwhelm and invade your senses. They are all you can think about. But instead of getting to the root of the smell right away you find ways to just put up with the smell, you manage the smell, cover it up, and eventually just get used to it.

There is a better way to live my friends!

God doesn’t want us to soak in toxic smells. He doesn’t want us to manage them or get used to them. God wants us to breathe fresh air! It is a simple analogy but we need to find and remove the “towel from our trunk”. Mentally, emotionally, financially, physically, relationally, whatever it may be… we need to find the root of ours problem and address them with God.

So what is your smell? Is it anger, anxiety, bitterness, gluttony, malice, shame, fear, guilt, hopelessness? Maybe it isn’t something I listed here but something else or even someone else. Whatever it is, I am not here to condemn; I want to see you free! The truth is we all have issues but managing them is not the way to get to the root. Ask God to show you the root and how to remove it. ❤️

Here are some verses to get you started:

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:4-8

For more on removing roots. Read uprooted and uprooted part 2.

His Best Always!

Nita.