I had a very dear friend recently tell me: “…I may have it backwards but I feel I need to figure myself out on my own first before I let other people tell me what I need to be doing with my life.” [they were referring to religion and God]
1. this broke my heart. and 2. got me thinking…
don’t a lot of people think this way? even if they don’t verbally say it, a lot of us are guilty of living out our life like we know what is best for us. we make our own decisions before even turning to God. I know I do.
what about our:
salvation.
redemption.
inheritance.
we forget these things God has already in advance promised to us… before we were even conceived. He redeemed us before we even existed. He set us free the day Christ sacrificed his life for ours. for us so unworthy.
we forget this. daily.
but the beauty is God knew we would forget. He knows we will still sin. He restores us daily. and His gift is priceless and beautiful. so why do we try to figure out who we are apart from Christ when we were already in Christ the day we were born? It is impossible. when we try and put our identity in anything other than Christ we fail. the outcome is always the same and never changing. I did this for 23 years of my life… It wasn’t until I finally gave up on myself and chose to trust in the Lord that then I found myself. I found the Christ in me who had been screaming to be get out and shine.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light.” Ephesians 5:8
live as children! the kidos here in Romania have taught me so much already. They live life with such innocence and joy. They are transparent, they let us see all of who they are. They love without fear and if there is fear they show it and who do they turn to- their mamas and daddys. They don’t try and hide out of the light. they run to the one who they know will protect them and love them no matter what.
This is what Christ asks of us… when we fear, when we have doubts, when we don’t know who we are anymore, God tells us to run to Him. To love Him. To trust in Him. He is our protector. He is our provider and He will never fail us.
He is how we overcome the darkness of the world. and He is why I love and why I breathe. He is my identity. I challenge you to take that next step. breathe. follow and jump all in… you won’t regret it.
