"It is finished."
How awesome are those words? Especially coming from your Savior.
Jesus encourages us in John 16:33 to take heart, because He has already overcome the world. He's our Redeemer.
The Lord continues to reveal to me how beautiful His redemption truly is. I recently heard a sermon by Dick Reuben, a Messianic Jewish teacher, who paralleled the traditions of guilt offerings and the annual Passover sacrifice to that of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It was mind blowing. He unraveled hidden connections that fulfilled scripture beyond the four gospels.
From the Jewish priests' immersion in the ritual bath, to the process behind the changing of priesthoods, to the wood and bronze altar for sacrifices in the temple... Jesus' baptism, life, and sacrifice as our Great High Priest fulfilled scripture and God's purpose of redemption far beyond what my mind could possibly conceive.
"I'm not important or of any value"
"I'm unworthy of love"
"I'm a horrible person undeserving of anything good"
"I'll never be enough"
In this, God sets my feet on solid ground, puts a new song in my mouth, and calls me to share this deliverance with others (Psalm 40).
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. There is no question why the Lord has placed such a burden on my heart for these girls in the Dominican Republic. Though my life can't even begin to relate to what these girls may have experienced, I do know what it is like to believe satan's lies. I know what it is like to feel alone, worthless, and unloved... but I fortunately did not have the lure of prostitution in front of me.
If Jesus set me free, how can I not share this and lead others in the truth of the Lord?
Just as Jesus fulfilled His purpose on earth, God has called us to fulfill His purposes in this world. I do believe we've all been given callings to be carried out through Him, and these callings may grow and transform as we travel through and emerge from our personal seasons of testing and trials.
I wouldn't be who I am today had I not experienced the pain of rejection and triumphed over the lies in my past... and this is only the beginning.
Romans 8:28 says,
He is our Healer, our Wonderful Counselor, and our Redeemer. He heals our brokenness and uses it to bring others into His Kingdom. Whatever you've gone through, whatever you're going through, and whatever lies ahead, God can transform it all into something beautiful.
How awesome are those words? Especially coming from your Savior.
Jesus encourages us in John 16:33 to take heart, because He has already overcome the world. He's our Redeemer.
The Lord continues to reveal to me how beautiful His redemption truly is. I recently heard a sermon by Dick Reuben, a Messianic Jewish teacher, who paralleled the traditions of guilt offerings and the annual Passover sacrifice to that of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It was mind blowing. He unraveled hidden connections that fulfilled scripture beyond the four gospels.
From the Jewish priests' immersion in the ritual bath, to the process behind the changing of priesthoods, to the wood and bronze altar for sacrifices in the temple... Jesus' baptism, life, and sacrifice as our Great High Priest fulfilled scripture and God's purpose of redemption far beyond what my mind could possibly conceive.
These truths inspire me to look for how God is fulfilling His purposes all around me and wooing a broken and lost world back to Himself.
~
In 2010, I felt a stirring in my heart to go deeper. Up to this point, I had been growing in the Lord through my campus ministry for two years and felt like I had reached a point where I needed help. I remember praying, "Lord, break me... reveal to me my brokenness."
Mind you, this is a dangerous prayer. He answered... and my prayer quickly became, "Lord, HEAL ME!"
God revealed to me issues from my past that I simply could not deal with on my own, so I sought help through counseling. For the next two years, I opened up and became vulnerable for what seems like the first time in my life as God scraped out, cleansed, and bandaged my inner wounds.
Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful childhood and the love of both my parents. I have been incredibly blessed, and as Psalm 16:6 says, "the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance."
However, we still have an adversary, the father of lies (John 8:44), who repeatedly whispered untruths to me as I grew up.
My family has moved six times and some transfers were easier than others. Our move to Maryland was especially difficult. Not only was I in the most awkward physical stage of life, I had also just left my friends in Lakeland, FL and had to start all over... in middle school, no less.
My 8th grade year, in particular, brought deep hurt in the form of betrayal and bullying. After 7 hours of rejection at school, I would return home and collapse at the bottom of our staircase in tears as the front door closed behind me. My mother tried so hard to console me. This happened every day without fail for several months.
There were moments when I questioned why I was even born. I couldn't understand why I was being treated so horribly or called such unspeakable names. I was so desperate to be accepted and tried winning the girls' approval which only brought more heartache.
I eventually made new friends and became involved in extracurricular activities in high school, but I never let go of my fear of rejection. I put up strong walls to protect myself from ever being hurt again and tried filling my God-sized void with temporary fixes. With a mask of perfection, I hid my brokenness, my fears, and my sadness.
This only scratches the surface to my past, and honestly, I'm no different than you. We all have scars, wounds, and fears. We all are broken. Living in a fallen world does that to you. However, it's what you do with your brokenness that ultimately defines who you will become.
Ten years later, I sought the Lord's healing. Through counseling, God carried me through deeper brokenness, helped me jump over my self-made walls, and began to cancel the many lies I believed as a little girl.
Mind you, this is a dangerous prayer. He answered... and my prayer quickly became, "Lord, HEAL ME!"
God revealed to me issues from my past that I simply could not deal with on my own, so I sought help through counseling. For the next two years, I opened up and became vulnerable for what seems like the first time in my life as God scraped out, cleansed, and bandaged my inner wounds.
Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful childhood and the love of both my parents. I have been incredibly blessed, and as Psalm 16:6 says, "the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance."
However, we still have an adversary, the father of lies (John 8:44), who repeatedly whispered untruths to me as I grew up.
My family has moved six times and some transfers were easier than others. Our move to Maryland was especially difficult. Not only was I in the most awkward physical stage of life, I had also just left my friends in Lakeland, FL and had to start all over... in middle school, no less.
My 8th grade year, in particular, brought deep hurt in the form of betrayal and bullying. After 7 hours of rejection at school, I would return home and collapse at the bottom of our staircase in tears as the front door closed behind me. My mother tried so hard to console me. This happened every day without fail for several months.
Easter 1999 (7th grade)
There were moments when I questioned why I was even born. I couldn't understand why I was being treated so horribly or called such unspeakable names. I was so desperate to be accepted and tried winning the girls' approval which only brought more heartache.
Easter 2000 (8th grade)
This only scratches the surface to my past, and honestly, I'm no different than you. We all have scars, wounds, and fears. We all are broken. Living in a fallen world does that to you. However, it's what you do with your brokenness that ultimately defines who you will become.
Ten years later, I sought the Lord's healing. Through counseling, God carried me through deeper brokenness, helped me jump over my self-made walls, and began to cancel the many lies I believed as a little girl.
One by one, the Lord spoke truth over these lies (Psalm 51:6), delivered me from fears (Psalm 34:4), and truly set me free. He taught me how to love and accept myself the way He loves and accepts me.
~
Ok, so why did I share all that?
Because Jesus said, "It is finished."
His will was always to love, heal, and draw us back into His embrace.
His will was always to love, heal, and draw us back into His embrace.
For me, this transformation certainly did not happen over night... nor is it close to being over. Just when I think an issue is resolved, God presses His finger on another point in my life. I'm a work in progress. It takes hours of hard work, prayer, and communion with God. It takes surrendering my pride and letting forgiveness and mercy wash over me... daily.
In this, God sets my feet on solid ground, puts a new song in my mouth, and calls me to share this deliverance with others (Psalm 40).
If Jesus set me free, how can I not share this and lead others in the truth of the Lord?
The very lies the Lord delivered me from are what the girls' program is aimed at canceling. God didn't set me free to sit back and enjoy it for myself... He set me free to lead others in freedom. He has chosen me, He has chosen these girls, and He has chosen you.
Just as Jesus fulfilled His purpose on earth, God has called us to fulfill His purposes in this world. I do believe we've all been given callings to be carried out through Him, and these callings may grow and transform as we travel through and emerge from our personal seasons of testing and trials.
I wouldn't be who I am today had I not experienced the pain of rejection and triumphed over the lies in my past... and this is only the beginning.
Romans 8:28 says,
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."I don't think God places painful experiences in our lives to hurt us, yet He allows them to happen. God uses what the enemy intends for evil and destruction, and redeems it for His good according to His purpose... that is, if we let Him.
He is our Healer, our Wonderful Counselor, and our Redeemer. He heals our brokenness and uses it to bring others into His Kingdom. Whatever you've gone through, whatever you're going through, and whatever lies ahead, God can transform it all into something beautiful.
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