I use to always think that I could not come to Jesus until I
was pure and clean, without any blemish basically. I thought that in order to
be “God material” I had to fix myself first. This is one of the lies that I use
to believe that prevented me from being who God needed me to be. This lie is
the farthest from the truth. In fact, this is exactly what the enemy wants you
to believe. Sisters, this lie will cripple you if you are not careful. When I
admit that I am a mess, absolutely nothing without Jesus is when Jesus comes to
me. I do not have to have it “all together” to be a child of the highest King.
God is attractive to me because I am not all that attractive. In my brokenness,
Jesus appears. But I had to “let” him,
which is the operative word.How did I come to this realization? Not on my own for sure. I
will tell you that I had to go around many mountains and live a foolish life, every
day the Lord guides me. I made so many mistakes and dumb ones at that. Heck, I
still mess up so many times BUT I now know the truth and it did/does set me
free.
See, back then I did not think God heard or cared about his lost, messy
kids; the ones who were roaming around this life negatively living life, absolutely
broken. I thought he only truly helps and cares for the kids that obey him in
everything and live this “holy” life. I thought I had to be perfect to call
myself a Christian. I did not think I needed to involve God in my life because
I lived a “messy” one. I thought how could God help me out when I am selfish,
mean, rude, bitter, and hurting people? How can he help me when I keep
drowning my sorrows in alcohol? Or when my heart is so full of pain, shame or pity?
How can he help me when I was so ugly to my husband and kids? Until I started
spending time with the Lord and truly understanding his character and his great
love for me is when a light bulb went off. Until I cried out to the Lord asking
for forgiveness, for another chance is when he just came and sat with me. He
put his hand in mine, picked me up from the floor and whispered that he loved
me. Jesus was always with me BUT I did not understand that he doesn’t dwell in
the environment I created for myself. He is so patient and will wait until I “want”
to include him in my life.
The many intentional days that I sat with Jesus, he
reassured me that I am “God material” and that I do have a spot in his kingdom
(Galatians 3:26). Jesus showed me what my specific instructions were on this earth
in his commandments and all throughout the Bible. Day by day Jesus showed me
how to live an abundant and victorious life (John 10:10). He also showed me
what he loves and what he does not (Psalm 97:10 & Romans 12:9). He started
replacing all those lies I had been told over the years by that evil snake and
replaced them with HIS truth. But you see, I had to read his truth in order to
see all this. I could not rely on pastors each Sunday, Joyce Meyer books, or
any others to give me this truth. He wanted me to sit with him and need him. He
told me in his word that I do not have to be perfect and that is how it all
changed. The bible shows us many verses that deal with the thought of this “perfectionism”
if you struggle with that (1 John 1:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Romans 8:1-39,
and James 3:2).
The more I spent with my Father, the more he showed me that
I was his material. He showed me that I do matter and that I do have purpose (Jeremiah 29:11). I
believe what Jesus has been doing all along was/is molding me. He wants to mold
each and every one of us but the problem is we show him we do not need him so he sits back letting us do what we want.
To be his is to believe he died on the cross for us and rose
again 3 days later. To be his, we realize we are nothing in our own strength
and need him to come into our lives. To be his, we take our eyes off of
ourselves and keep focused on him. We are no longer live in bondage, we let him
change us. To be his, is to read his word and apply it to our lives. To be his,
we love, sacrifice, endure and find true joy in serving him and others. To be
his, is to develop a relationship with him. I could go on and on, I hope you see my point.
Sisters, we ARE God material and I encourage you to stop
believing lies people are whispering in your ear and most importantly stop listening to any foolishness the devil is saying. All that is of God will produce good, never evil. God is not of evil. He is pure and righteous. Open up your heart and his word and start
to figure out for yourself who God is and I promise you your life will change.You are a child of God, it is now the time to act like it.
In Christ,
Monique Smith
Prayer Starter:
God, we hide things occasionally from you that we need to
admit. Forgive us. Have mercy O’ gracious Father. Give us the courage to speak
up, surrender and the strength to face the disappointment and move on with you.
Replace all those lies we have believed with your truth. Jesus, may we yearn
for your word each day. May we desire to sit with you and learn to love the
things you love and hate the things you hate. You are molding us. You love us and we stand in hope and faith. Thank you for your grace and mighty arm. In
Jesus’ name. Amen
