enough

The last 4 years have been an onion peeling process for me.  As I pursue my relationship with God, He reveals the lies that I have believed about myself for years, layer by layer.  And the best part is that He replaces those lies with the truth...His truth about me!  This is a lifelong journey...exposing the lies, believing the truth, and walking in the truth.  New beliefs.  New thought patterns.  New behavior.  I'm a work in progress and I am so grateful that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it!  (Philippians 1:6)

This week, God exposed another layer of lies.  I will never be good enough.  What I can do is never enough.  I am not enough.  Lies, lies, lies!  I asked God to show me the situations in my life that the devil used to make me believe those lies.  I was surprised at the memories that came in a torrent.  Many were in relationships.  Some were in job situations.  From childhood to this past week, I can recall times when I believed the lies.  God said release forgiveness into each one and let go.  Ahhh, freedom!

I know I'm not alone in this.  So many of us believe that we are not enough and we will never be good enough and we can never do enough.  I have measured my "enoughness" by the responses of those that I value to me and by comparing myself to those same people.  Talk about setting myself up for failure! 

But, there is hope, my friends!  God says we are more than enough!  He sent Jesus, His only Son, as a sacrifice for our sins because He loves us AND so that we can be more than enough with Him!  (John 3:16)  We are saved from our sin by GRACE, a free gift from God to us!  We don't have to earn His grace!  (Ephesians 2:8)  When we allow Jesus to live in and through us, we measure "more than enough" on God's tape measure every single time! 

God hand-crafted each one of us.  Each of us is unique and fearfully and wonderfully made!  (Psalm 139:14)  We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in ADVANCE for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)  He had a plan and a purpose for each of us, before He even created us!  And with that plan in mind, He lovingly created me and you; weaving into every part of us what we would need to fulfill His plan. 

My friends, I pray that God is giving you deep revelation as you read this.  From the very moment of your creation, God made you MORE THAN ENOUGH for the good works that He has called you to do.  Let that sink into your spirit and then live knowing the truth...YOU ARE ENOUGH!!!

seeing through the eyes of Jesus

Recently, the question was posed to me, "What if you could see yourself the way that you see others?"  The question stuck with me and I've been pondering it.

Many years ago, I prayed that God would help me to see people the way that He sees them.  He answered me in ways that I never would have imagined.  He gave me a deep love for people and eyes that see their gifts and potential.  He gave me eyes that see the best in other people always.

Today, my prayer is similar.  God, give me eyes to see myself the way that You see me.  My human eyes look in the mirror critically and see only flaws.  Those same eyes look inside of me and see my glaring impurities, imperfections, and failures.  But, God sees me through eyes of love and grace.  His eyes see my sin covered by the blood of Jesus...forgiven and forgotten.  His eyes see the person I am becoming rather than the person that I am or the person that I have been.

Jesus looked at people here on earth with those same eyes.  He hung out with the people that society called the worst of the worst.  He saw them with eyes of love and grace and forgiveness...and their lives were changed forever!

That is the desire of my heart!  That I would see others AND myself through the eyes of Jesus!

grief

Grief is not a word I want to live by, but it is a word I want to learn from.  Grief is suffering, distress, and deep sadness over a loss.  Grief is grief, just like sin is sin.  There aren't different sizes or rankings.  It could be the loss of a relationship, or a loved one, or a possession that brings grief.  The situations are varied, but the pain of loss is very much the same.  There is no grief formula or time limitation.  Grief lasts as long as it lasts.  It might look different on different people, but that doesn't mean they are hurting any less or any more.

Here is what I've realized in the past week that my family has been grieving the loss of our Kid Canine (KC).  Some days are better, and some days aren't. Some days the memories bring smiles, and some days they bring tears.  Some days I need to be distracted, and some days I want to talk about her and cry.  Every person grieves differently.  Every day the grief is different.

One of the hardest things for me this week has been the comparisons.  Feeling guilty for being so devastated when there are people around me fighting hard battles, some for their lives.  Comments from people who mean to be consoling, who think they are helping me put my loss in perspective, have put me back in that place of comparison and guilt.  The best things that we can do for a person who is grieving is listen to them and love them right where they are.

My prayer is that this time of grief in my life will make me more compassionate rather than hardhearted.  Quick to listen and love, and careful with my words.  I pray that God will make me into a person who will sit beside the grief stricken, listening and loving, for as long as I am needed.  I know that in all things (even grief) God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose!  (Romans 8:28)  And I know that God is working in my grief for my good!