God is always helping me to learn more and more about myself. I believe that if I am willing to learn, and choose to be open to seeing and hearing - God will speak to me always.
Not too long ago, I asked God to show me any lies that I still believe. Something can get stuck in our minds as a result of...anything... any type of experience - good or bad. God has helped me to become aware of lies that were in my mind... lies that I believed so fully that at first - when God was showing me "this is a lie" my reaction was "no...that is reality".
One lie in my mind that God is revealing to me right now... is that I am bad. It's a lie that I have addressed in the past, but is apparently still down in there. (Layers...right? my friend Ginny would remind me of the fact that healing happens in layers at this point) I know where it comes from - there were plenty of times that I was told that I was bad...and other times that I heard that repeated in my mind after something negative happened...reinforcing the lie.
I am praying about this lie... I want it out of my mind. I am asking God to help me to get rid of it forever and replace it with his truth. So... I started writing down some verses (many of which I have written in the past...multiple times) and two verses in particular stand out like a light in the dark.
Psalm 18:28... (NIV) You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
This verse stood out to me about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago and it has been a favorite since then. I especially like the wording of the NIV because it says "my God turns my darkness to light"... He turns the darkness in my life into light!!! That is so exciting to me!
1 Peter 2:9... (NLT) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal
priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can
show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness
into his wonderful light.
This is a new favorite...like in the past week or two. I LOVE how it says that I can show the goodness of God because he called me out of the darkness and into HIS wonderful light!!!
My life used to be filled with darkness, and I never would have thought that I could have so much of God's light in my life. God called me out of the darkness... and I answered that call because I did not want the darkness. I was drawn to his light...I wanted more than what the darkness promised me.
I am sharing all of this because... I feel like God wants me to. Just a few days before I left the U.S. to come to Tanzania I had a powerful, life-changing experience with obeying God when he wants me to share something... even if it seems pointless. It can be life altering for one person...and that is all that matters.
God loves each and every one of us...me...you... so much. He has a wonderful, perfect plan for our lives. He desires a deep relationship with us... for us to know his perfect love. This is the truth about me, and you... that God loves us and loves for us to love him. He is not angry at us for messing up, he is not angry at us for not being perfect. He does not look at me and see a mistake, something bad... he looks at me and sees his beautiful daughter! He delights in me and smiles on me... he sings songs over me. He created me, very specifically...and had a plan for my life before I ever existed. He LOVES me!!!
