I want to be a home-maker. Not to live in a man’s cave, or feel like a guest in someone’s home. I want to be able to make our home a home that is welcoming and cosy for everyone that walks in. Instead I feel like I am imprisoned in this man cave and it’s dark, and it’s swallowing me up in this big engulfing wave. I know I should be grateful that I have a roof over my head. I know there are more pressing needs in this world – like the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Or the orphans of this world, and the poverty that so many people are facing.

Think about it though. Aren’t we all living in a man’s cave? What we really need is God. We are lost without God. Contained in our own imprisonment when we just do our own selfish desires and not what the Lord wants. We need to draw closer to God and seek refuge in Him. Our earthly home is but temporary. Our heavenly home is forever because that is where Jesus lives. God wants us not to store up riches here on earth, He wants us to store up riches in heaven. God is calling us to break through the walls of containment and move beyond the walls that keep us bound. We are not prisoners of this world. We are not man’s prisoner. We are children of God, children of light. The darkness does not need to trap us. It does not need to embrace us like a welcoming friend.

We must put our hope in God and not be afraid of what God has to offer. We must not fear God but instead place our faith in Him. Isn’t having faith far better then to fear? After all to fear in something is to trust in something going wrong. To have faith in something is to believe that things will go according to the plan of God. Faith is grounded in truth; fear is grounded in lies. Without hope how do we live? With fear does hope exist? Fear is an emotion caused by doubt and anxiety. Faith is simply a trust in something that we cannot see but know that it does exist. God says come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.

In my own vulnerability I recognise my need for God; the Father of my life, to have a saviour. The thing is I sometimes want to do things in my own strength and I don’t trust God with my life, or I don’t let him take control of the wheels. Rather I want to be in control. This in turn leads me to feeling frustrated, insecure, needy and unsure of who I am, and what my purpose is in life. When I give the reigns to God, life is a lot more peaceful and settled, the ups and downs in life are easier to face – because they are not being faced alone. The thing is who likes to feel insecure, needy, frustrated, anxious about what the future holds? There is an angst in my heart that I cannot explain. A longing to be able to be who God wants me to be. Yet again I am letting the walls around me to engulf me and make me blind to what God has for me. Blind to what God has to offer. Blind to the skills that God has given me. I don’t use them then. I fall into the pit and exist for the sake of existing. Breathe for the sake of breathing.

God reminds me to be thankful for what I have around me. He reminds me that He is the one who gives me strength to face the day even when I am ungrateful, even when I feel like I am drowning in this dark avalanche of frustration and insecurity, this feeling of not being good enough, this feeling of not succeeding in life. This feeling of not being able to do God’s best. I know that this is the enemy talking to me. I know that the enemy casts doubts on everything. You see I allowed the enemy in. If I praise God, and allow Him to do a work in me, I will feel settled. If I am humble enough to admit that I need a saviour, all is well and the mountains we face – we won’t face alone. God has never left our side. He is here no matter what. He is always in the midst of all that we do.

God says trust in me. Come to me my child. Don’t do it in your strength. Don’t allow the man cave to swallow you. Break free from the yoke and come to me, your burden will be light. Will you be a prisoner of the man cave? Or will you be a child of God, a child of light? What do you choose this week? Do you choose to have faith in God? Or do you chose to believe in the lies that the enemy feeds you? What is it that you want to do?

Break free. The man cave does not need to contain you. You can break the barriers and be free. Show your vulnerability. There is no shame in this. God loves you as you are. It’s OK to admit that we got it wrong. It’s OK to be vulnerable. It’s OK to be needy and to be needed. It’s OK to depend on God the source of life. Seek Him and you will find. Knock and you will receive. Ask and it will be given to you.