So here we are. At the precipice. The Lord has done so much in me during my time here at Bethany. I am amazed at how much I have learned, and grown in the past month and a half that I've been here. I have been learning so much about patience, love, and joy. One thing the Lord has really been teaching me this week though is that I am not who I used to be. As I have grown in Him, the old me has fallen away. It's like Paul said: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17). I am seeing that be so evident in my life as of late. I've even had people mention to me that they had seen change. It is so beautiful, especially when satan tempts us with the things that we used to love, things we would do, think, or say without giving it a second thought. Suddenly God has brought us to such a beautiful place of healing, and wholeness, a place only He can bring us, and shows us that He has truly changed us. Now what we used to want, we no longer desire to want it. We fight the urge to be the way we were, and we run to the Lord, instead of away from Him. We know that He understands our struggle, and He wants to help us, we just have to be willing to let go of our problems, to stop trying to solve them for ourselves, and instead seek Him, and ask Him to work in the situation, and He always will.
So this is my encouragement to you. Time and again the devil will try to tell you that you haven't changed. He will even use people close to you, people you love and trust, to convince you that you are still the same person, stuck in the same rut of sin, and that you will never change; things will never get better. THAT IS A LIE! You have victory in Christ Jesus, walk it out! Trust the change that you've seen in yourself, the change that the Lord has done in your life! It's real, and you do not have to live in sin anymore! You do not have to be miserable in your thought life, or do things you know are not pleasing to the Lord (and will ultimately hurt you), you do not have to say things you know that you shouldn't just because "that's who you are, and you'll never change." these are all lies that satan will tell you, they are things he's been trying to convince me of in my own life. But satan is a liar, a deceiver who will try to convince you that you do not belong to the Lord. Listen to the Holy Spirit in your life, he will speak to you, He will show you how proud He is of how far you've come. He will continue to work in your heart, and grow you in unimaginable ways. The thing we tend to miss the most about God is that He isn't focusing on our faults, our slip ups, our failures, but in fact He is cheering us on in the ways that we please Him, He is wanting to help us go further in our walk with Him, He is so incredibly proud of you. So never ever forget, the Lord is working in your life, and He is so pleased that you are willing to fight so that you can grow, and learn more about Him, and the amazing love that He has for you.
Blessings and Love,
Chrissy
