Sometimes you spend your whole life hearing about the power of Jesus without truly understanding it.
Sometimes God allows you to go through things in life for the sole purpose of building your trust and personal relationship with Him.
We often hear about God bringing people out of darkness and trials but you will never truly understand the power of Jesus Christ until you are brought to a low point in your own life when you feel like you are completely alone and have no one to turn to and no one to comfort you. Suddenly your relationship with God moves from claiming to be a Christian to living like you’ve been redeemed.
About a week ago I realized that I haven’t shared my personal testimony on the blog, and to continue with the vulnerability thread of my last post, I decided that I should share it unabashedly because God has been entirely too good for me not share it. I’ve never had any desire to share this particular, very personal chapter of my life; however, I feel that now enough time has passed for me to really reflect, open up and hopefully encourage someone in the process.
At the close of a certain chapter in my life, I found myself ecstatic. Life was moving along just as I had hoped it would. Everything that I planned for my life had come to pass in the best way possible. I was driven. I was focused. I was excited about the many possibilities and opportunities. I had so many plans for my life, so many dreams, so many goals that I wanted to accomplish.
Seemingly out of nowhere, several serious situations arose in my life. I can honestly say that I have never felt more hopeless and disoriented in my entire life. All of my plans and goals seemed to crumble in an instant. My life took an incredibly unexpected turn. I felt so purposeless, so completely void of understanding. I can still remember staying up night after night crying out to God for some semblance of direction. I was emotionally wounded and trying desperately to make sense of the turn my life had taken. Yet I can truly say that I am thankful that God took me through that particular season of my life.
I have realized that sometimes we must endure seasons of breaking.
I have found that when you find yourself broken, confused and purposeless that God will pour into you in an unprecedented way that will leave you in awe. I can tell you that from experience I know that God is undoubtedly the Prince of Peace because I have felt peace in the midst of confusion and pain. I know that God is the mender of broken hearts because He made me whole again. I know that God is the lover of my soul because He wrapped his arms around me when I felt worthless. I know that God is the sole answer for any circumstance because He has proved it to me time and time again.
Jesus is the greatest thing that can ever happen to you. I promise you this: If you allow yourself to trust God without hesitation He will take your relationship with Him to a level that you never dreamed was possible. In spite of challenging situations, God was with me. He has never left me. He gave me new life again and that, my friends, is something that I hope I will never stop celebrating.
I decided last week to share this intimate story with you because I want you to know that God is so real and that He is, as the Bible so eloquently puts it, an “ever present in times of trouble.” My life currently reflects that of an individual who has been redeemed. Not just a Pastor’s daughter who has witnessed God move in the lives of others, but instead one who has experienced His love to an insane, almost unreal degree. God is so good. We say this often. It has become a cliché of sorts. But, God truly has been so good to me.
You will never fully understand the love of Jesus Christ until you’ve reached a point of desperation. The phrase “God is love” has no meaning until he has given you renewed purpose and passion and you live that.
Choose Jesus.