April 17, 2021

It’s Time to Change

I have a friend who went through a time of failure. During this time, I thoroughly believe God wanted him to deal with some heart issues, sins, and attitudes he had that were tripping him up. But instead of doing this, the man did everything he could to prove he wasn’t a failure. Eventually, he forced a door open to get him out of his situation, but he didn’t change at all. I really worry for this man that he will stumble back into failure because he never dealt with the issues that got him there in the first place.

Why? Because I know the enemy will try and get us trapped back into a “failure mindset.” He has tried this with me. The only way I overcame was to allow God to bring healing to the issues in my past.

I had to choose to spend hours alone with God, praying through the issues of my heart, remembering things I didn’t want to remember.

Then came the choice to forgive..

I had to choose to study the Bible to learn new behavioral patterns.

I spent a lot of time in counseling and working with a minister trained in spiritual deliverance. There were so many knots that needed to be untied from all the years of lies, deceit, and abuse.

I did a lot of talking and journaling.

The healing and overcoming wasn’t magical by any means. It took a lot of work and, honestly, constantly choosing over and over again that I would allow God to take me through this entire process of overcoming the past and setting me free.

Even though it was the hardest time in my life, I have absolutely no regrets that I chose to allow God to take this time in my life and set me free from my past.

Until I dealt with my past, I was broken. All I had to offer God or anyone else was my brokenness---a twisted, distorted version of the man God had originally created. When I chose to agree with God and allow Him to take me through the process of overcoming my past, God was able to heal my brokenness and replace it with wholeness and the opportunity to finally find my identity in Him. That’s when things really started to change.

Memory Verse:

The Lord makes firm the steps

of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24)