Month: July 2023

Guilt is cultivated when you continually allow yourself to dwell and think about how badly you’ve messed up, your pasts, the sins you’ve committed, etc. The enemy loves to remind us of our past failures, so he can keep us thinking about them. The problem is, if we allow ourselves to fall for this trap, it allows the enemy to build what they call a stronghold in our minds.

Your best bet is to learn what is going on, and stop Satan dead in his tracks. Learn the difference between condemnation and conviction, and stop listening to condemnation. Condemnation comes from the devil, and it’s meant to build strongholds in your mind and weaken you spiritually.

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Pay attention to your thoughts and speech for “always” and “never’ statements and beliefs. If you find any, take it to the Lord and follow these steps.

1. Identify who or what you’re holding judgment toward in your heart.
2. What lies do you believe about yourself, them, God, and others because of the judgment?

Now that you have identified who and what you have believed, let’s lay it at the feet of Jesus and take back the ground given to the enemy.

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One of the hardest things I’ve been walking through for some time now is learning not to “explain myself.”

For as long as I can remember, I have felt like I had to explain, in detail, why I do what I do, chose what I chose, the decisions I made, or who I am. It’s especially hard when someone has the wrong idea about me, something I did, or has devised their own presumptions (aka rude assumptions) behind a choice I made.

These things are undoubtedly rooted in wounding that became a coping mechanism, a way to protect me and avoid conflict or rejection.

While it’s important to offer some explanation for some occasions, I felt I had to explain ALL the details so they would UNDERSTAND me or my choices completely. How does this connect with control? Keep reading. I’m almost there.

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Here’s a good rule of thumb to know if it’s a reason or an excuse…every reason MUST have a resulting action. A reason takes accountability. Excuses shift blame.

You can have RESULTS or EXCUSES, not both. You get to choose. Here are some tips for how to stop making excuses.

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If you want to know if or how much you or someone else places importance or priority on something, take note of the excuses.

“If we don’t want it bad enough, we will not execute change in our lives.” Donna Alexander

Yes. We can have hurdles, challenges, and obstacles to navigate and negotiate. But MANY “reasons” for not executing are, in fact, not reasons.

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First, you must acknowledge the hurt and/or hate you have toward the person(s). If your forgiveness doesn’t visit the emotional core of the offense, it will be incomplete. Let God bring it to the surface so He can deal with it. This is where healing takes place.

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1. You’re experiencing bursts of anger

 

If you’re struggling with unforgiveness, you’re likely bottling up your anger. Oftentimes, the person who is the recipient of the inevitable outburst is not the person who caused the stress or pain.

What to do instead: Be mindful when you start to feel anger building. Be aware of the source. If you catch yourself in the middle of an outburst, it’s never too late to do an about face. Apologize to the victim of your outburst. Take a deep breath. If you can, spend a few moments alone.

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Jesus didn’t come to judge the world; he came to save it. (John 12:47).

I write this, and I also struggle to remember this at times, which requires going by faith. Could someone love us so much as to forgive all our sins? Yes, without a single doubt. God wants us… he knows us and loves us. He gave His son for us. Sin that has worked in our life is not who we are. It does not belong.

Have you entrusted your soul to God? Then you know the good news: Your soul has been washed clean by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

Nevertheless, if you’re feeling haunted by the past, these three questions could help protect your focus:

1. Do I believe the world, or do I believe God? (Who is more powerful?)
2. Did I pray about it?
3. What does the Bible say about it?

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We are chosen. We belong to God. He waits, and He calls. We ignore Him, but He waits and He calls.

We run as far as we can from Him. We attempt to hide from a God who sees all. We attempt to shut out the Father who knew us before we were even born. But since we are chosen, since we belong to Him, He waits and He calls.

“You can be sure of this: The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him.” (Psalm 4:3)

Have you had a wake-up call? What did it look like for you?

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There’s always that one day when you think, Ok, this is bad.

So I had that day a number of times in those four years, but one day the struggle was at its worse and I realized there was no where left to turn. On that same day this huge box arrived at my door. It was a gift from my mom that had been on back-order for weeks–it was a large, standing mirror.

I took out the mirror and just looked at myself. How ironic. No, how scary.

There I was… me and my self-deception.

It was the most obvious wake-up call of my life. For a moment I hated the mirror, but then I realized it was time to face it: God is God, and I needed to hand over the reigns.

I prayed from deep in my heart for God to take over my life. In every way I can hear or see I recognized a voice that said, “I want purity for your life.” It made perfect sense in that moment, even though on a human level it made no sense.

I felt all the regret and pain funnel into some different feeling. It felt like holding a hand. And not knowing where it would lead, I fumbled and followed along in a rather awkward way.

Squeaking by, feeling pushed and pulled inside, cringing at rough landings and more mistakes… sometimes it felt like I wouldn’t survive the turbulence.

If the story up until now had been a record, this is the part where the record scratches and you hear that fuzzy sound. God had a new record for me, and it was far better than any record I could have chosen for myself. Here is part two of my testimony.

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