Use what you got!

You cannot lose what you did not earn. Let that sink in for a moment. I absolutely love what this implies to who we are in Christ. Mark said this in his sermon yesterday. He doesn't claim it as his own phrase, though he isn't exactly sure where he heard it (my guess is seminary).

I had nothing to do with my salvation. That might seem controversial to some, but if I am to take the Word of God as 100% truth (and I do), this is what I must believe. I did not earn it by my own merit and I surely cannot lose it. The peace and comfort from this is so comforting to a worn out and tired soul. It is the balm that soothes and brings peace and oh so much joy.

Ephesians is a beautiful book that explains who we are in Christ (mentioned 40 times throughout) and also how we are to live when we are in Christ. Read what Chapter 1 verses 3-5 says-"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will." Y'all, this is amazing stuff right here! Before time even began, before God spoke everything into existence; He knew I would be His. He had it planned. It isn't by accident that I am His. What peace! He didn't give me His gift of Jesus because I loved Him first. I couldn't love Him before He loved me. He loved me first. Period.

I give this intro because there is so much peace, comfort and joy in truly believing this. My life, your life, is not by chance. It has been planned from before time. Even the "bad" stuff. I put "" around bad because even what we consider bad or hard times are in God's perfect plan and He uses them for His glory. His, not mine. But verse 3 provides an even greater nugget of truth that I am convinced, if we lived like we believed this truth, that our communities and world would be rocked with such tremendous power through the Holy Spirit to which the world has never seen before. So what am I pointing at exactly?

We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. Every stinking one of them. Not some, not a few, not most...EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. We are without excuse. So what exactly are spiritual blessings? Here are some examples – love, joy, peace, adoption as sons/daughters, grace, forgiveness, and the list could go on and on. There is so much offered by God to us when we are His own. My question for us today, is why don’t we live like it? Why, when we look at those who claim to be Christian, do we see so much brokenness and despair? Why are so many struggling with depression or anxiety when we are called to not be anxious and told that God will never leave us? I know that there are medical reasons and true chemical imbalances that require certain medications/treatments so that is not what I am referencing here. However, I have confidence if we lived our life actually believing the promises of God, truly knowing who we are in Christ, studying His word, and committing it to memory, that the number of those suffering would drastically decrease.

I think we really fall short in the studying of the word and committing it to memory parts. Y’all this is key to replace bad thinking that has been ingrained in our heads for so long. With the exception of true medical imbalances, Christians have no cause for depression or anxiety. We really don’t. I know we all go through hard times and season where our faith runs thin. I am not necessarily speaking to those times unless we stay there. If that becomes our home, then we are sinning. I was a wreck after each of our miscarriages, especially after delivering Gideon and getting to see him and hold him. That was a tremendous valley for me. Most days just getting up and breathing seemed to be all I could do. Outwardly I might have looked ok but I was dying inside. However, I didn’t stay there. I continued to read His word and let it saturate my heart even though I didn’t feel like it. God in His infinite grace and mercy was with me and through His love fleshed out in those around me, I came out stronger with more faith than I did before. That is how He uses “bad” situations in our life for His glory.

I know this is a long post, and there is so much more I could say about this but I want to challenge you and myself to do a heart check. Are you struggling with something that God has clearly stated in His word that we shouldn’t struggle with? If so, what are you doing today to walk through this? Don’t stay defeated. Don’t make this struggle your norm. Read His Word, cry out to Him in prayer, meditate on the truths of who you are in Christ and watch Him work in your life. You have to do your part. If you are struggling but never pick up your bible except on Sundays and Wednesdays, things aren’t going to magically get better. We have to be diligent by being faithful even when we might not “feel” like it. Call me/text me. I am here too. None of us needs to be stuck in defeat when there is freedom and grace just waiting for us. Every spiritual blessing y’all. Let’s live like we have them because we do. I love you all. Till next time.