U-turns are Always Welcome!
It’s not too often that many of us stop to think about all the time we’ve wasted chasing after unfulfilling things of this life, simply because we didn’t know (or believe) the crazy amount of peace, joy and freedom that would come over us if we said yes to a close and intimate relationship with Jesus.
When I do, it brings tears to my eyes. If God has taken me this deep and changed my life this dramatically in only a year after finally surrendering all aspects of my life to Him completely, it gives me such a deep assurance that He can truly do anything.
There comes a point in our walk with Christ when it hits us, and we realize just how much time we wasted resisting Him (and His pull) because we were chasing after the sugar-coated things that this world was offering us – things that we thought and hoped would fill our life’s voids. We obsess over accumulating money hoping that one day, having a certain amount will somehow trigger happiness within us. We glorify certain job titles thinking that gaining status through jobs will make us relevant and admired by those around us. We chase after and enter into relationships with people who don’t add to our quality of life, simply because we are terrified of being alone. All these ungodly relationships do is trigger our weaknesses and create even deeper voids.
At the end of the day, there will never be enough money, status, power or human love in the world that will make you feel truly fulfilled for the long haul. You crave an acceptance, a belonging, and a love so unconditional that can only be gotten by experiencing Jesus’ unconditional love for you – no one else’s. Nothing else can fill that void and “complete” you but Jesus.
When I think back to where I was a year ago…mentally, emotionally, financially, physically, I’m still in awe because it was only by His amazing power and grace that I am who I am today. Every so often, the happy tears at the thought of how far He has brought me bring with them a tinge of sadness. Sadness because I can only imagine how much stronger my relationship with Him would be right now, and how much further along I could have been had I been fully surrendered and Holy-Spirit-led from the jump. It makes me truly appreciate how far God has brought me, and since I’ve come this far in such little time, I’m excited for where He’s taking me next.
In a weird way, I’m still grateful for everything I’ve gone through because all those past experiences (good and bad) brought valuable lessons that will never leave me – lessons that will forever affect how I make decisions in the future. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely could have learned those lessons with a lot less heartache. But since I was so insistent on being in the driver’s seat of my own life and making decisions according to my own free will – I did things that were not in my best interest, and those things came with consequences.
Living by the desires of my flesh made it hard for the Holy Spirit to truly take over my life and guide me into fruitful decisions. I wish I’d known back then how important it is to let Jesus take the wheel. But since I was holding onto the controls so tightly, wanting to drive myself, God stepped back and let me do what I wanted to do at the time. Unfortunately, and what I eventually learned, is that no good decisions can be made in my flesh – only in and through the Holy Spirit.
God won’t force Himself on anyone if they don’t want Him. Living according to His will instead of your own is a choice you have to make of your own free will… He won’t force His plans for you onto you. What I can attest to though, is: living according to His desires for you instead of your desires for yourself becomes much easier once you understand the fact that His plans for you are far greater than the plans you had for yourself could ever be. Because He loves you so much, He wants to give you a future brighter than you ever dreamed! And once you finally choose to give up your own ways and follow Him, I promise you He’ll be there waiting to take you back in with open arms no matter how long you’ve been running from Him, and no matter what you did.
Deuteronomy 4:29 – 31 reminds us that “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.”
I know first-hand that God is a Father of clean-slate-second-chances. He didn’t count my past against me, so He won’t count yours against you either. I now know that His only concern is my present and my future. That makes me tear up with such a deep sense of gratitude; I can’t even begin to explain it.
This life we have been given is so short and so precious. So even though most of us can humbly admit that we wasted chunks of it, it’s what we do with our second chance from here on out that matters most to God. We should consider this our season of ‘making up for lost time’ knowing that as God’s children, we can never miss what God had originally planned for us. So it’s time to step into what He’s set aside for you. It’s time to get to know Him and connect with Him like never before… to live for Him like never before… to go hard for Him like never before… to receive from His Holy Spirit like never before … and get to work for Him by releasing onto others (with faith) what He’s been blessing you with.
Because we serve a loving and faithful God whose #1 attribute is His GOODNESS towards us, you can always rest knowing that His love for you is UNCONDITIONAL. Even though you spent a long time running from Him, all He desires is for you to CHOOSE to come back home of your own free will.
This scripture has really help me along my journey:
James 4:8 “Come close to God, and God will come close to you…” –
The more time you spend with God, the more clearly He shows up in your life. You may not “feel like” praying or reading the Word at times, but as long as you remain intentional about spending time with Him regularly, it will start to grow on you as you grow in Him, and you’ll start to notice His favour in your life.
For example, I started to notice that God would lead me to specific scriptures that coincided with what was on my mind and on my heart, and I would get super excited to spend time with Him the next time. There’s a different kind of thrill that comes with knowing that God will speak to you through His Word by leading you to scriptures in the Bible that are exactly what you need right when you need it. Eventually, anticipation builds to hear what God wants to say to you next!
My preferred time is in the mornings before I go to work. My mind is fresh and it sets the tone for an awesome peace-filled day. I’m also more aware of His workings, and i’m able to notice connections/ themes throughout the day that are related to what came out of my QT time with Him earlier. Had I not connected with Him before my day started, I wouldn’t have been paying enough attention to certain things to notice the connections and to realize that He’s leading me.
Indulge in Him.
Lots of love,
Valerie
#Mood
