Is change possible?

Have words from your past ever come back? Sometimes this happens and it's a bad thing and others well, it just might be encouraging. Today, Encouragement Cafe shared a devotional,  "Ever Felt Unworthy," that I wrote a few years ago. I don't know if God used it anybody else's life, but He spoke to my heart.

The devo opened with these words -

“She’s better than you. You don’t deserve to be her friend. She was a Baylor Beauty and you, well you’re a Riceville Reject.” These are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I thought about making a call to a friend.

Honestly, I had forgot about this, but as I read I went back in time. I not only recalled the words, but I remembered the emotions. Living with such insecurity and a complete feeling of unworthiness was hard. The battle to try and measure up paired with the feeling of endless failure left me depressed and without confidence. I lived that way for a long time. And most of the time, I never thought it would change.

Praise the Lord it has! That's not to say there aren't moments of doubt or fear, but my identity is found in Christ and I know He paid the ultimate price to claim me as His own. I could say a lot about that journey, but today the encouragement I found in this flashback is: Change is possible!

The last couple of months I've found myself in the midst of a different struggle...I tend to feel overwhelmed at times. If you're a wife, mom, employee or woman in the world today, you might experience the same. Our to-do lists never end nor do the troubles in the world. Our schedules are full and sometimes the bank account is empty. We can wrestle with worries of the future and regrets from the past. Decisions might create anxiety while times of waiting make us restless.

Thankfully, I'm not facing a major life-altering situation or illness, but friend, would you agree sometimes daily life can be a bit overwhelming? As I walk through normal days on our busy farm trying to teach our 5 kids and organize our busy schedule sometimes I'd like to hit pause. In reality that's not possible, so rather than survive this season of life I'd like to thrive.

I find myself thinking back to when our kids were little before the days of basketball, football, track, wrestling and softball. There were no games or meets, FFA meetings or youth group gatherings. Life seemed simple then, but it wasn't easy either. It could leave me overwhelmed too, which leads me to this post - I'd like for this to change. And, I have hope that it can and will.

Matthew 19:26 says, "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Jesus is referring to who can be saved, but ALL is absolute. Our great God can do all things!

In Luke 1:37, an angel says, "For nothing will be impossible with God." Because of God, a virgin gave birth. Our great God has ways that are not our ways.

Mark 9:23 tells us, "If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes." This is a snippet of Jesus' conversation with the father of a sick boy. You may notice the words are a bit different. He's clearly already told us ALL things are possible for God, but now adds a stipulation for us. Friend, you and I must believe.

We don't have to believe in ourselves, actually we better not believe in ourselves. We must believe God. We need to believe His Word.

I believe change is possible. Do you?

My words from the past remind me this belief is step one. Long before I came to that place of understanding my worth in Christ, I knew the Bible said God loved me and Jesus died for me. I knew the Sunday School answers in my head, but I struggled to accept them in my heart. It wasn't until I started seeking God's Word and crying out to Him that true transformation took place.

Clearly with God change was possible, but I had to hide His Word in my heart and allow Him to change me from the inside out. This didn't happen overnight and sometimes it was hard, but it was worth it.

I read those words from my past and I praise Him for the work He did. And, tonight I ask Him to begin again. There's more change to come. I no longer want to be overwhelmed by this life, I long to be overwhelmed with His love. I don't want to drown in my fears, but be flooded by His promises. I don't want to be burdened by my decisions, but be blessed with His plan. I don't want life to leave me defeated, but instead walk in the victory that is mine.

I don't know how long this process will last or what it will look like, but I believe the change is possible. I look forward to seeking Him, I plan on praying for change and I trust one day I will again look back and praise Him for His transforming power.

Friend, what work of change has God done in your past that can give you hope for the future? Have you accepted something as normal when God has a plan for so much more? Whatever it is - an identity struggle, a relationship conflict or the feeling of being overwhelmed, I encourage you to surrender that and seek God for change. Find promises related to your problem, replace lies with Truth and get to know God more!

Rest in these words from Jeremiah 32:17 today!

"Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth 

by your great power and by your outstretched arm! 

Nothing is too hard for you."