We can all remember them; those times when you felt so low that you had no idea how you’d make it past that point. There was so much pain that it consumed you. At this point in my life, I did not know Christ. As some of you reading this may know, I only found Jesus two years ago, and since then my life has been radically changed for the better.
It’s tough to think about my past sometimes. There’s a lot of “I wish I hadn’t done that”’s, but once I accepted Christ, I was made into a new creation. I was made holy and pure in His eyes. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, a new creation has come. The old has gone, and the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
One of the teams on my squad recently had the opportunity to perform during a school assembly, so they decided to reenact a performance to the song “Everything” by Lifehouse (the video of the real performance is below- please watch it!!) I was brought to tears when they performed it. All along, Christ was constantly pursuing me, hurting with me, reaching out to me, and I turned away every time. It’s such a powerful statement to see it right in front of you, knowing that it was even more painful for Him at the time than me watching this reenactment.
It hit me that God literally does not care where you are at in life. He wants you where you’re at to heal you and make you whole. He does not care what you have done in your past or what you are currently in, because He can redeem and restore all. There is no sin too great for God’s grace. By thinking that you have a sin too “bad” for God’s grace, you are literally saying that the cross was insufficient. Let that soak in..
God loved me at my darkest hour just as much as He loves me right now on the World Race. And that’s the amazing part about His unfailing love. He just wants you. You cannot do anything to make Him love you any more. There is no shame is Christ. You are accepted, you are holy, you are pure, you are redeemed, you are secure in God’s unfailing love.
During our time in Los Guidos, we heard a testimony from one of the church members. When he found Christ, he was on the bathroom floor close to death from using too much cocaine. At that point of his life, he was a drug dealer who had just dealt crack to a 12 year old, assaulted and killed for a living, and God loved him just as much then as He does today. By the grace of God, he is now 4 years sober and using his testimony to help others escape from that life.
We have heard several stories just like this in Los Guidos. Stories of hope, redemption, restoration, second chances (and third, and fourths..), and God’s unfailing love. You can’t hear the story of this former dealer and hear where he is now and tell me that God isn’t real, or that His love and grace can’t change a heart. I am not the person I was two years ago, and I praise God for that every day. If you haven’t, or have, accepted Christ into your life, I strongly encourage you to watch this video. This is happening every day in your life, all you have to do is run into His open arms and accept His love into your life. It is and always will be the best decision I ever made.
God bless,
Jenna
