You’re driving home after a busy day and are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Your progress is slow, and you are anxious to be home. Something about the situation causes your mind to drift to your relationship with God. You remember long ago when you felt like you learned something new about Him every day. You remember when you felt passionate about prayer and worship, but now your relationship with God feels like it’s at a standstill—barely inching along. Ashamed and confused, you turn up the radio and distract yourself from the growing questions you have about your less-than-flourishing walk with God.
Or maybe you experience this moment of self-reflection as you lie your head down on the pillow at night. Frustratingly, it’s not sleep you enter into—it’s angst. Without prompting, your mind begins to replay every mistake you made today on the big screen of your soul. As you recall the words you said and the actions you took, the weight of your sin feels crushing. You take a deep breath, roll over, and promise yourself that you’re going to do better tomorrow. But you already know—tomorrow will most likely hold the same sin and shame as today.
Or perhaps it’s a conversation with a friend that causes you to do some soul-searching. After a few minutes of small talk at your favorite coffee shop, she asks, “So, what’s going on in your life at the moment?” She’s a new friend from church, and you are excited to get to know her better, but her question leads you to sit silently for a moment—a fork in the conversation in front of you. Should you tell her how you’re really doing? Should you tell her that you’re struggling to hold onto hope in the midst of a difficult season? Can you tell her that you desperately need prayer, support, and encouragement at this very moment? “Not much,” you say. “I’ve been busy and a little stressed, but nothing out of the usual.” Then you ask her where she got her shoes and pledge to keep the conversation light.
Too often, we wear “Good Christian Girl” masks. We lie to ourselves and to others about what’s going on under the surface of our seemingly put-together lives and smiling faces. We pretend that we’re not complacent in our walk with God. We hide and minimize our sin. We pledge to work harder and do better in order to correct our weaknesses. We do all of this in an effort to protect ourselves, but it’s actually contributing to our demise—because beneath the smiles and striving is a girl who feels like anything but a “good Christian.”
Maintaining the mask is tiring. How long can we pretend to be something that we know isn’t authentic? We cling to the mask, and yet, we desperately want to remove it. Removing the mask, however, is a scary thought. Could we bear to see the unmasked version of ourselves staring back in the mirror? Could others bear this version of us? These are, no doubt, questions you’ve asked yourself before.
Good Christian Girl is your invitation to remove the mask because there is Someone you can trust with your unmasked self—Jesus. The truth is, dear friend, that Jesus has seen beneath your mask all along. And still, He chose to come for you. He chose to die for you. He resurrected for you and offered you salvation—His precious saving grace! And He sent His Spirit to continually mold you into His image. If anyone understands the process of spiritual growth—with all of its ups and downs—it is Christ. He authored the process. He initiated the process in you. And He will bring it to completion. This book will help you see that Christ meets you right where you are and walks with you as you stumble along the path of becoming like Him.
One of the greatest gifts God gives us in our journey of spiritual growth is community—Christ-exalting, humble, and honest friends who share their shortcomings and show empathy for ours. These are the types of friends who see what’s behind your mask and respond by removing their own masks. These are the friends who will remind you of Christ’s grace, challenge you to pursue Him by the power of the Spirit, and be honest about the ups and downs of the process.
Within the pages of this book, you will meet several of these friends who remove their own masks, bravely sharing the difficult and beautiful parts of their stories while making space for others to do the same. Together, they’ll share their sins, struggles, and shame. They’ll point you to the truths of Scripture they cling to in moments of confusion, apathy, and despair. They’ll give you a picture of what it actually looks like to grow spiritually (spoiler alert: it looks like slow and imperfect progress). They’ll be the kind of friends who sit with you as you take the mask off and allow yourself to be honest about what’s going on beneath it.
With each page you turn and each chapter you read—through biblical truths explored and vulnerable stories shared—we hope you see more clearly the work Christ has done for you, the work Christ is doing in you, and the hope you have for the work He will surely complete.
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
This excerpt has been adapted from the newest book from The Daily Grace Co., Good Christian Girl: Hope in Christ When You Feel Like You Don’t Measure Up. It is a warm, welcoming, and theologically rich book that will help you understand sanctification in both the Bible and in your life today. Pick up your copy today!
Additional Resources:
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Good Christian Girl |
Feel Stuck in Your Spiritual Growth? This Book Is for You |
A Year in the Bible Bundle |
Fresh Start: Finding Peace in Christ for the Year Ahead |
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