I’m really good at hiding. And not in a hide-and-seek, fun way… When I’m struggling, I tend to isolate myself and shut everyone else out. What I’ve realized is that I tend to hide when I feel shame about my struggles—when I feel like I’m behind in life, like I’m failing, like I’m not good enough. Can you relate?

We want our faith journey to be wrapped up in a nice, tidy bow, but the TRUTH is: we don’t ever reach a point of “arrival” on this side of Heaven. We are going to be in process until we see Jesus face-to-face. And the good news is: that doesn’t disqualify us, it equips us.

I grew up in the Church and had a pretty solid faith foundation from the beginning, but when I was a teenager, I started struggling with things like body image, eating disorders, and mental health. It was one of the hardest times in my life, but God showed up for me through it all. I’d love to tell you that since then my life has been fun and beautiful and easy, but if I’m being honest, I still struggle.

The enemy would love for us to think that our struggles make us burdens or unworthy, telling us, “Just keep it to yourself; no one wants to hear about this.” The enemy wants you to stay hidden in shame, convinced you’re better off silent until you “get it all together.” But what I’ve learned is that my pain and struggles actually invite me into deeper faith, community with others, and relationship with Jesus. God doesn’t see our struggles as a barrier—He sees them as an opportunity to come closer, to depend on Him and let Him meet us right in the middle of our mess.

And that’s the Gospel—Emmanuel: God with us. Not once we’re perfect, but here, now, in the mess and struggles. In John 16:33, Jesus was preparing His disciples for hardship. He told them, “In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We often quote this verse, but do we know why He said it? Jesus was telling them these things so they would have peace, even in their struggles. He warned them that hardship was coming—grief, pain, and loss—and yet He said it was better for Him to go, to face suffering and even death, because it would mean the Holy Spirit would come to be with us, forever!

What sets us apart as Christians is not that we won’t have struggles, but that we have hope in the midst of them. Our God is with us and He has given us His Spirit and a body of believers for encouragement and strength so we don’t have to do it alone. I want to leave you with Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 12:6-10: “If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God gets glory from every broken piece we bring to Him, not just from us crossing the finish line, or overcoming something, or finally getting to the mountaintop moments! So there is no shame in your struggle. What if it’s actually the thing that brings you closer to Jesus? God has GOOD PLANS for you, friend, even when your circumstances aren’t good or easy. And you are never, ever alone.