There's power in being thankful. When you are looking for things to be thankful for, you can't focus on negative things. Your focus is on the good. When I look back over the last few years of my life, I'm brought to tears in thankfulness.
I had to just sit down and make a list. I love lists. I live by lists. Apparently Santa does, too, but this list is one that I will check more than twice. I will read it over and over reminding myself of what God has done. Some of it may seem vague to you, but just know that He has done more for me than I could ever describe in a blog, even if I tried.
1. God delivered me. He yanked me out of my comfort zone, my life of complacency (why be average?), and pushed me into an uncomfortable, painful place forcing me to find Him, forcing me to rise above average, and find the Supernatural. Not the way I would have ordered that, but He knew what would work for me.
2. God healed me. He took me to a place where the pain was so great only a Divine intervention would answer the questions of my breaking heart. He completely healed my heart. Then He healed my mind. He spoke an indescribable peace to the raging thoughts in my head that had captured my life and crippled my walk with Him.
3. God forgave me. He went back to when I was 14 years old and washed away all the guilt and shame from then until now. No, I shouldn't have been harboring those feelings, but I did. I honestly didn't realize how strong they were, until He washed it all away. He covered me with His precious blood and gave me another chance. Now He remembers none of it (that part makes me shout!). He actually freed me from the old life and gave me a new one.
4. God loves me. God has shown me the depth of His love. He doesn't get tired of hearing me talk. He doesn't think I'm annoying. He comes to my rescue and holds me when I'm alone. I'm never lonely with Him by my side. His love NEVER stops. No matter how many times I mess up, He still loves me. When I think about how He loved me when I didn't really even know how to love Him, I'm amazed.
5. God wants me. He has a plan for me. Each day He reveals another step to that plan, and each day I'm in awe of His power. He doesn't just love me, He adores me, and I have a future in Him.
6. God changed me. He changed my thoughts, my moods, my words, my actions, and ultimately my whole life. He is moving in me. He isn't finished with me and is somehow, despite my failures, making me into what He wants me to be.
7. God blessed me. He has given me more than I could ever imagine!! I'm not referring to money or things. He has blessed me with friends, family, love, joy, and peace. He has given me a purpose and wonderful passion to pursue my dreams. He has opened my eyes to see what really matters in life. He has opened my eyes to see the needs of others and not be self-centered. He has changed my perspective on so many dimensions.
So there's my list. You know what the best thing about my list is? He will do all that for you! He loves you as much as He loves me! It's NEVER too late! You're NEVER too far gone. Just like the prodigal son, even if you come home smelling like a rotten pig and completely broke, your heavenly Father will run to you and give you another chance! Actually, I think Jesus likes it when we blow all that we have and come home to Him completely hopeless. It is then that He can get the glory for the Supernatural intervention, because it's obvious to others that we couldn't have saved ourselves. It had to be Him! So go make your list and check it more than twice! (;
Monday, November 16, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
Wanted, Not Wasted
T.D. Jakes preached a message about how everything you are going through is happening for a reason, "nothing will be wasted." He pointed out how Moses was in the wilderness 40 years ALONE before he was in the wilderness 40 years with the children of Israel (Acts 7:30). Moses was raised in a palace. He knew nothing about the desert. If he had not messed up (murdered the Egyptian) and fled to the desert, he would have continued to live in that comfortable place, ignorant of God's perfect will for his life.
Sometimes we see our sins as weights, black marks on our lives. The truth is that God knows we are human, and we will mess up. In His awesomeness, if we let Him, He will use our mistakes, our sins, to bring us to where we need to be in Him. Once we repent, those sins are under the blood. The blood of Jesus not only covers those sins, but it redeems us, according to Ephesians 1:7. One definition of "redeem" is, "to make something that is bad into something better." The blood doesn't change the sin, it changes us. It makes us (something "bad," because we are flesh) into something better! How powerful is that?!
There's a song I love by Lauren Daigle called, "How Can It Be?" She sings, "You plead my cause. You right my wrongs. You break my chains. You overcome. You gave Your life to give me mine. You say that I am free. How can it be?"
If you allow yourself to truly believe in the power of the blood of Jesus, you will be amazed. You'll be in awe. It really leaves you wondering, "how can it be?" It breaks me down to think about how He not only loves me and saved me, but also redeemed me. It makes no sense how Someone so powerful would love me that much.
Nothing will be wasted. You, your sins, your trials, are not wasted. God is using them to show you something, to make you into something He needs you to be (James 1:2-4). It might be the change you need to reach your lost family. It might be the change you need to reach your neighborhood. Or, it might be the change you need to reach an entire nation! Whatever it is you are going through, let the blood of Jesus redeem you, let Him break your chains, and set you free, so that you can be what He wants you to be. You are not wasted. Your trials, your pain, your storm, is not wasted. You were called into this desert place because you are wanted. He wants you. You may feel like your life is wasted. That is a lie from the enemy. Rebuke those thoughts! You must allow Him to transform your thoughts, your mind. Romans 12:2 says that we must be transformed with a renewed mind... only then can we accomplish what His perfect will is for our lives.
Your life is just beginning. Step into His Grace. Let Him set you free and feel His love wanting you.
"You say that I am free. How can it be?" ...because I am wanted, not wasted.
There is nothing like the freedom you find in Him. When you are free from the past, you are open to what He has for you in the present. When you are open to Him in the present, you have a secure future. The enemy's only tactic is to remind you of yesterday, because He knows that you are covered with new mercy every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Now, look in the mirror and say, "Jesus has redeemed me. I am free. I am wanted, not wasted." Say it until you believe it, until it is stuck in your mind, because it's true! God's Word never fails.
Sometimes we see our sins as weights, black marks on our lives. The truth is that God knows we are human, and we will mess up. In His awesomeness, if we let Him, He will use our mistakes, our sins, to bring us to where we need to be in Him. Once we repent, those sins are under the blood. The blood of Jesus not only covers those sins, but it redeems us, according to Ephesians 1:7. One definition of "redeem" is, "to make something that is bad into something better." The blood doesn't change the sin, it changes us. It makes us (something "bad," because we are flesh) into something better! How powerful is that?!
There's a song I love by Lauren Daigle called, "How Can It Be?" She sings, "You plead my cause. You right my wrongs. You break my chains. You overcome. You gave Your life to give me mine. You say that I am free. How can it be?"
If you allow yourself to truly believe in the power of the blood of Jesus, you will be amazed. You'll be in awe. It really leaves you wondering, "how can it be?" It breaks me down to think about how He not only loves me and saved me, but also redeemed me. It makes no sense how Someone so powerful would love me that much.
Nothing will be wasted. You, your sins, your trials, are not wasted. God is using them to show you something, to make you into something He needs you to be (James 1:2-4). It might be the change you need to reach your lost family. It might be the change you need to reach your neighborhood. Or, it might be the change you need to reach an entire nation! Whatever it is you are going through, let the blood of Jesus redeem you, let Him break your chains, and set you free, so that you can be what He wants you to be. You are not wasted. Your trials, your pain, your storm, is not wasted. You were called into this desert place because you are wanted. He wants you. You may feel like your life is wasted. That is a lie from the enemy. Rebuke those thoughts! You must allow Him to transform your thoughts, your mind. Romans 12:2 says that we must be transformed with a renewed mind... only then can we accomplish what His perfect will is for our lives.
Your life is just beginning. Step into His Grace. Let Him set you free and feel His love wanting you.
"You say that I am free. How can it be?" ...because I am wanted, not wasted.
There is nothing like the freedom you find in Him. When you are free from the past, you are open to what He has for you in the present. When you are open to Him in the present, you have a secure future. The enemy's only tactic is to remind you of yesterday, because He knows that you are covered with new mercy every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Now, look in the mirror and say, "Jesus has redeemed me. I am free. I am wanted, not wasted." Say it until you believe it, until it is stuck in your mind, because it's true! God's Word never fails.
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