With the power of Jesus we can overcome so many things in life. And for some of us there are some things in our life that used to hold us a slave to them. What is it that you have been set free from? How often do you remember that, and thank God for it? How often do you ask God to use you to help set someone else get free?
A lot of times I write about what God can do for you, ways He can change you. But today I would like to take a little different perspective. Today I would like to ask you to think about what it is that He has done for you. I'm not trying to get anyone to think of a very ugly or painful past, please understand that's not my point. But I do feel it's very important to remember where we came from. It strengthens our faith to remind ourselves how faithful God has already been to us. And it can also help keep us humble, because we have to remember where we could still be if it wasn't for God's grace and mercy. The other reason why our past plays such an important role in our relationship with God is because He may want to use it. As I've stated before, I don't think it is wise to think we can go back into something right after God has rescued us from it and try to pull others out of the same mess. There needs to be time for healing and for God to give you strength to fulling overcome that thing. Remember, there was a time when you were once held captive by it. But once we have been restored and we know God has broken those chains, we need to begin to ask the question "how can you use my past to help others". Our story never needs to stop by saying "we were healed" or "we were set free". Instead, this need to be the end of one thing and the beginning of another.
I woke up today with the lyrics "I'm no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God" running through my head. And it made me think back to the days when I was a slave to fear. I was a slave to fear and sin and doubt and so much more. But today I hear God saying the words "no longer". And because I am "no longer", I have the ability to help others be "no longer". I have something to offer them because of my experiences...and it's called hope. And that hope can only be found in Jesus. If you are no longer a slave to something, then you also have a calling on you. Jesus came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18), and today He uses people like you and me to do that. Yes, His Spirit still moves and does what only it can do, but we are the hands and feet of Jesus. So who better to use to help those that are in deep over their head in sin then a bunch of people who were once in deep over their heads too.
There is a saying to reads "experience trumps knowledge" and it some areas this is so true. You can read how to do something, or you can know how to do it because you've had to do it. For example, you can learn how to survive in the woods if you ever got lost by reading about it, or you can know how to survive because you once had to. What is your testimony? What are the words you can share that will help someone because you've been there? Who would God have you reach out to? These are all questions that I encourage you to pray about. You may be on the best walk with God now, but it doesn't mean it's always been that way. And He has someone out there that only you can relate to. Help them no longer be a slave to whatever has it's grips on them....
God, thank You for rescuing us from the endless list of things that You have, but don't let our stories end there. Help us to be Your hands and feet. Put a burning desire in us to not just be satisfied by our own redemption story, but put a passion in us to help other create their own redemption story. Help us to love those who are still entrapped by sin, and find a way, through Your love, to reach out to them. Holy Spirit, guide our steps, our words and our actions, and protect us as we reach back into what was once our mess to help a brother or sister in need. In Jesus name, Amen
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