I've Been Through the Fire and I'm Thankful

There’s no such thing as too broken.  Or too damaged.  Here you are telling yourself that you’ve been through too much to love someone the right way and have a good relationship.  Here you are telling yourself you will never be a person of high regard because your past is too incriminating. Here you are saying you aren’t worth a certain amount of money because that’s just not where you come from!

Trust me when I say this- “I’ve been through the fire.”  I’ve been beaten.  I’ve been sexually abused.  I’ve been verbally ripped to shreds.  I’ve done the low life in the bars.  I’ve done it all.  I’ve seen things, felt things and heard things that no one should.  But I am no longer a victim of any of it. That fire, I walked through it!  Those men, they are gone! Those words and bruises, don’t mean a thing! 

Do you know what it would mean to me if you had the perfect family, married your high school sweetheart at age 21 and never drank a sip of alcohol and then tried to tell me that God can change my life? Nothing! What an amazing and gracious life that would be but my pain is beauty and so is yours! Now let me ask you, do you know what it would mean to me if you were broke, homeless, and addicted to heroin but now you’re married and successful and tried to tell me that God can change my life?  Then you’d get my attention!  Your life would be a testimony for what God can do for me.  

Your brokenness is what reaches people.  Your humble past and honest truth will help others open up and be honest with you and themselves! Every pain I ever had, had its purpose. In the midst of it, I felt rough and in those moments looked even rougher.  But all of it has made me beautiful. The power I drew from my circumstances and the confidence I have from knowing I got through it is beauty.  God showed me how perfect he was in my times of weakness (2 Cor. 9-10). The worth I see in myself and the abundance that I know awaits me is flawless.  I would have never sought this wisdom if I hadn’t gone through the fire.  Don’t let the past destroy you.  Let it strengthen you! Your pain has a purpose.

Warning: Diamonds are formed under immense heat and pressure. ;)

The Walls Must Come Down

“I’m just comfortable here in this decent paying job and in this ok relationship.  Sure I’m a little bored at work and my boyfriend gets angry here and there but I make acceptable money and at least my boyfriend isn’t an alcoholic or on drugs!” 

How many times have you reasoned with your thoughts as to keep yourself right where you are? How many times have you convinced yourself that you are happy?  How many times did the devil tell you that you are happy just to keep you from the destiny God has for you?

Let me smack you with some truth! We are only as good as we believe ourselves to be.  We only get  what we think we deserve. And these walls are built by our own experiences through parents, society, relationships, outside sources etc. But you don't have to live like that anymore! God didn’t build these walls! These walls aren’t even REAL!  The walls MUST come down!

Did you know that God wants you to step out of your comfort zone and see you grow?  He wants to take you to new heights and places that you never dreamed of.  You serve a big God that can do big things!  God has equipped you with everything you need to have an amazing life. The bible says “he who has started a good work in you is faithful to complete it!”  Don’t you know that you are God’s child and he has blessed you with so much to give you an amazing future? God’s kingdom is not about earning and deserving. It is about believing and receiving.  Be open to what God has for you! Accept his undeserved gift of life and love with a grateful heart!

2 Corinthians 9:8 says “and God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having more then you need, you will abound in every good work.”  Start believing this for yourself.  Start receiving it before it’s even in sight. Take a hammer to the walls, take a leap of faith and let the Lord catch you on the other side where an abundant life lies.  

Make the Change

Many of us are happy getting up doing our normal lives.  It’s comfortable. Day in and day out and making the best of it.  But then other days you wake up and say “there’s got to more.”  Well, at least that’s what has been happening with me the last 2 years.

I read a quote that said “It’s only when Christ dwells within our hearts, that we discover who we are and what we were intended to be.” After I read that, it totally made sense to me why I have been having these tugs at my heart to be “more.” I have been delighting in my relationship with God and he without a doubt dwells in my heart and is showing me my purpose.  So why am I still in the same place?  That’s the difficult part….change.

I keep having opportunities to make a change.  I have opportunities to get out of the same mundane things that I’ve been doing, yet I won’t take the plunge!  Why?! I keep battling that question myself. Then I realize- I’m scared.  I’m scared that when I get there I won’t like it or I will fail or it won’t really be where God wants me.  So there I sit, in my same comfy seat and don’t make a move. 

Is that what God wants for us?  To just be comfortable?  To just be happy right where we are forever?  Of course he wants us to be joyful and thankful in all of our circumstances. But to stay complacent and not ever grow?  In fact, I KNOW that’s not what he wants! 

Think about your earthly father, does he want to see you locked up in your same old life or does he want to see you grow and be successful?  For most of us, it’s the latter. So imagine what your all loving, amazing Father in heaven wants for you! The bible tells us over and over how God wants us to be abundant in all things.  These are the words I need to focus on when I freeze thinking about change. These are the words I need to meditate on!  God wants it ALL For me! He wants to see me reach my full potential and I’m not talking just financially.  I’m talking about in love, relationships, children and my career. He wants the same for you too!

Jesus said to us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that you may have life and have it ABUNDANTLY!”  Then he said “For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and give you a future.” 

What an amazing word from your creator. THAT’S what he wants! And that’s more than enough to take off the security blankets and make the change.