This distorted perspective also affects how we see ourselves. We look in the mirror, and instead of seeing one loved and forgiven by God, created in His image, empowered to influence the world for Him, we see something else. We see images from the past....
If this sounds familiar to you, then I need to warn you about something: Distorted images are not only shaping your perspective but are also hindering your possibilities. If you see yourself as insignificant long enough, you'll start to act accordingly. If you see yourself as ugly or worthless, it will affect how you relate to your family and friends, your God, and your world....Rather than make your own unique contribution in the world, you may pull back and settle for mediocrity. But this is not the real you. (pp. x, emphasis mine)
Jud Wilhite is right. Often we let our past or our struggles define who we are.
You are not your sin. You are a unique creation of God, and when you let your past say what your current character is, then your joy disappears and you face a constant reminder that you feel like a total screwup.
Doubt that's the way God wants you to live.
Instead, He wants to your past to teach you about who HE is, not who YOU are.
He wants you to know that even through your mistakes He has been a faithful, forgiving, and loving God. He doesn't want you to spend your years of life walking with Him doing buttkicks because of all the things you did before you started walking with Him. Tell me what that does except give you a nice bruise on your heiny and a huge pain in the booty.
Instead, He desires a heart of true repentance. A heart that moves forward daily, further and further away from the person you once were to the person who has created you to be. He doesn't want you to sit down on the timeline of life and forget to move on.
God's will for your life is not to look in the mirror daily and regret everything you have done. He wants to you to look in the mirror and imagine what you can do and who you can be.
Don't get me wrong. Repentance is KEY in our relationships with God. But once we thoroughly apologize for our sins and commit to avoiding those pitfalls next time, God forgives and forgets it.
Those struggles that we have been through, the sin that we have allowed, can bring us closer to Jesus if we let it.
Let your heart dwell on lies long enough and you will start to believe them. Knowing how detrimental this is to us, God wants truth down to the deepest parts so that we realize that we have the freedom to overcome in the name of Christ Jesus!
May He open the eyes of our hearts to what we could be
instead of who we were.
8 comments:
wonderful post!
Wow! Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to look in the mirror differently next time.
Sounds like a great book! Thanks for sharing. I will add it to my list of "summer" reading... (Funny, it keeps getting longer and I can't keep up!)
Blessings!
great post!!
Oh, this is gonna be a LONG comment.
The VERY first time I actually Heard God speak to me (in my heart but as clear as if He'd been in my car!), I was asking to be forgiven for a sin I had allowed to define me for far too long. And I said something to the effect of "Oh, God, please forgive me.. when will it be enough?" And God said "When YOU quit reminding me!" Ouch. And AMEN.
Sunday in church God spoke to my heart about how much He loves me. (So figure that, Seth left us almost 8 mos. ago, and I feel MORE loved by God.) One of the things I've realized lately is that God is who He is. He is UNCHANGING, and UNCHANGED. All the things I know NOW about how good God is and how much He loves me and how I can trust Him, were true years ago when I was insecure and really hurting.. So what was different? ME! So all the things that I STILL have to learn about God? They are ALREADY true! I know, Duh. But it's been an amazing revelation for me..
And now that I've posted on your comments..
Love ya, girl!!
I am guilty of this DAILY. Exactly what I needed to hear my friend :) thanks
I am so glad I found your blog. I hardly slept at all last night, partly because of what your talking about here. Hubs and I have been trying to adopt since the fall of 2004. 1st little girl was a friend of a friends and the mother was killed in a car accident. Long story there but the state took her from the home she was at in the middle of the night and we never saw her again. Second little girl is in Honduras. We found her through a church mission trip in Huntsville, AL. After months of paperwork and phone calls, we find out that the country wont allow us to PICK a child. At this point folks start to tell us about your ladies that can't keep their babies. We lost a baby girl in one of these situations in May 2008. Mother decided to try to parent as loosing 2 older girls to the state...starting to see a pattern here. We been waiting for China for 3 years and they tell us it could be another 3. I see people everyday having kids that can't feed them and care for them. Families going to China that already have 3,4 or 5 kids in the home. I am totally broken hearted. Yes I pray. I don't even feel worthy of that sometimes. Like He shouldn't have to heard me grumble and cry anymore.
Oh well. Thanks for listening. I couldn't say that to anyone who knows me. I am the happy girl with the bright smile and try not to let anyone see me any other way. Put on your happy face kind of thing. Please pray with me for Gods will for my life especially for a baby. Thanks again.
I am not sure how I found your blog, but I love this post and just what I needed to hear today:) I believe God knew I needed it too;) Thank you!
Allison
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