The Cloak | Kyle McMurray Coaching, LLC

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A cloak is an outer garment that hangs loose from your shoulders. And if you think about it, a cloak usually worn by someone creepy. If you see a person wearing a cloak, they’re probably trying to hide something. Dracula wears one, even the Grim Reaper wears a cloak. Let’s be reminded of something when we think of these images. You’re listening to Living the Freedom Life, Episode 67 The Cloak

Some people love to play dress up and be someone else for a while. It’s an escape and for Halloween, that may be why it is so attractive to some. It seems innocent.

However, dressing up for Halloween can be scary, unless you keep in mind all the things we talked about last week. To use Christian language, there are opportunities for “open gates” when you entertain those types of things.

But if you know anything about the psyche of a little boy, that boy needs to feel like he has what it takes in order to “take on the world”, and to feel that he can overcome anything in life he may face. Dressing up for Halloween and being scary to others can be a shadow of that. It can make him feel powerful. And if you’ve studied Developmental Psychology, that can be a good thing. It gives an opportunity for a little boy to learn to be brave.

Odds are that if you are listening to this you’re not 5, we are living life. And like we’ve said earlier, it’s a little creepy to wear a cloak.

However, all of us wear some type of cloak in our everyday life. Oh sure, we call it “being all things to all people”. But where is that line of “playing well with others” to be drawn?

What is our cloak of today? It’s not just a Hollywood thing. A cloak is meant to hide evil.

What is your cloak?

Listen, even Adam hid. So this is nothing new.

One of the first steps towards restoration and Living the Freedom Life is to STOP wearing your cloak! It’s that simple. Don’t be secretive.

I know Living the Freedom Life isn’t about a long list of things you have to do to be a good Christian and what to stop doing to be a good Christian. Living the Freedom Life is becoming the person God made you to be. So, when I say STOP wearing your cloak, what I’m really saying is that you don’t have to be secretive about you.

There was a time when I wouldn’t say that I was from Tennessee, or that I was raised in deep east Texas. I’m from the country. I was not raised on a paved Road. In fact, we had to make sure we had at least a quarter of a tank of gas just so we could get home and back into town the next morning. I used to be very secretive about …well, me.

There are three things that Secrecy does:

Secrecy is one of the first signs that someone is up to no good. If someone looks at you from the corner of their eye and suddenly gets quiet when you walk in the room, YOU KNOW THEY ARE UP TO SOMETHING.
Secrecy builds suspicion, it puts others in a place to ask questions that may not be any of their business. What are you doing, why are you doing this, where are you going. If you feel irritated when you get asked those questions, you may want to dig deeper and ask yourself why are those questions irritating you? It may be that you are hiding something. Which brings us to number three.
Secrecy puts people on the defensive. When we are confronted about hiding something or being secretive, what happens? We get defensive. “That is none of your business what I’m doing, my motives or why I’m doing it. Leave me alone”. And we usually push them away. Isolation is the last thing we need in those situations.

Now, this doesn’t mean that when someone asks you what, why, and where that they are accusing you of being secretive. But this dialogue gives an opportunity for us to examine what is going on inside. It may give opportunity for God to do something deeper.

Look, I’m about to tell you something I didn’t read in a book, or learn while going to a church building, or listening to a preacher. In other words, “flesh and blood did not reveal this to me” the Bible would say (Mt 16:17).

See, Living the Freedom Life is about being the person God made you to be. Like, the thing that He had in mind when He made you. That is what He wants for you. I’m not here to talk about religion. I’m talking about how your life can be so much better than you can ever dream of. He designed your life to be that way.

That is not for us to decide how we are to “live our best life”. “Live your best life” That has been a power phrase recently and I don’t agree with it… completely. You see, at one time, I was living a pretty awesome life, according to what I wanted out of life. I rarely know what the best thing is for me to eat for lunch, much less how to live “my best life”. We don’t know what our best life is, or what it even looks like. If it were up to us, all of us would still be striving to have what we think we want and need, only to end up trying to fill our lives with more stuff we are striving to have.

I want to tell you three quotes and I want you to listen closely.

Smooth seas do not make good sailors.

Pain is the most anointed of teachers.

Self-comfort is the killer of dreams.

Those are three quotes in my life that have changed my view on what Living the Freedom Life means.

Does that mean that “since I started following Jesus” my life is one big sacrifice? No. Well, . . . not really.

“I have to learn to sacrifice what I think I want and let God provide in my life what He knows I need.” ~ KM Coaching

And that’s a big statement, but one you’ll hear frequently during our coaching sessions.

We’re out of time but I want you to know, you may be surprised at how many people wear a cloak.

If you feel like you have to be someone you’re not, or you’re hiding who you really are, you’re not alone. Give us a call, drop us a message, get in contact with us, we would love to help you on your journey towards Living the Freedom Life.

Remember, We give away what we have, let’s make sure we receive life. Living the Freedom Life, this is Kyle.