MARCH 31, 2026

  “Find your authentic voice, become vulnerable, and then put yourself out there.” 

― Meredith Brooks

JUDGES 3-5

   31“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD;
            But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”
            And the land was undisturbed for forty years. (5:31)

LUKE 7:31-50

31Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“ ‘We played the pipe for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not cry.’

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

JOURNAL

As I reflect on Israel’s cycle of rebellion and rescue, and Jesus confronting the Pharisees, I see something deeper than behavior change. Faithfulness is not performance. It is exposure. And there is something profound happening, not just spiritually, but biologically, when we step into that place.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that vulnerability is not weakness. It is transformation at the deepest level. When I stop performing and actually tell the truth about myself, my fears, my failures, my need, something shifts in my brain. The defenses quiet. The constant scanning for approval settles. It is as if my mind moves from survival into connection. And what is even more remarkable is that this does not just change me. It changes the people around me. When I am real, it gives others permission to be real. When I drop the mask, it disarms theirs. There is a kind of ripple effect where honesty rewires not just my own heart, but the emotional landscape of others.

This is why living for the approval of people is so empty. It keeps me locked in performance mode, constantly managing perception, never actually known. And biologically, that state keeps me guarded, anxious, and disconnected. No amount of applause can calm that. Jesus is pointing to this truth. People cannot be satisfied because performance never creates connection. Only authenticity does.

This is where the tension with the world shows up. The world says earn it, prove it, achieve it. God says bring your failure, confess it, and receive love. One path keeps me striving and guarded. The other invites me to be seen and transformed. And I am starting to see that God’s way is not just morally better, it is how I was designed to function. Facing my fears, my insecurities, my inconsistencies is not punishment. It is the doorway to freedom.

Because when I allow myself to be fully seen and still loved, everything changes. I no longer have to perform for love. I can actually give love. My actions stop being driven by fear and start being an overflow of gratitude. Even my scars and failures take on a different role. They are no longer things to hide, but the very places that create connection, empathy, and strength in me and in others.

This is the way of the cross. It is not about image management, it is about surrender. It requires me to admit my need and trust that I am loved in it. And in doing so, I begin to find my voice. A real one. Not constructed or curated, but honest. I can live in my own skin without comparison or pretending.

And in that place, something powerful happens. The very things I once feared become the bridge to others. My weakness becomes strength. My story becomes an invitation. My life becomes an expression of something far greater than myself.

This is the good news. Not just that I am saved, but that I am transformed. And that transformation, through vulnerability and truth, has the power to change not only me, but the hearts of those around me.

5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really know me, you will know^b my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 

JOHN 14:5-7