I’ve been struggling…. I haven’t known how to say this but I am here to give it another try…
For years I have been on an endless search to figure out what my message to the world is.
What is that tiny seed of knowledge that God has shared with me that He wants me to cultivate, grow and share?
In 1st Corinthians 12, Paul shares with us that we all have spiritual gifts. That the Holy Spirit works through us so we can help each other.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV
What exactly are we supposed to be helping each other do?
Well, Paul says we are to care for each other…
“This makes for harmony among the members so that all the members care for each other.” 1 Corinthians 12:25 NLT
How do we grow strong in our love for Christ as one body and share His love with the world around us?
“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:14-16 NLT
Some people just know what their spiritual gift and message is…
…but some of us, like me, have to dig deep to figure out what theirs is.
It seems as if our message is ever evolving as we are always growing and learning through different seasons of life. Would you agree?
What I mean by “message” is how we as individuals share the message of Christ.
That is the message we should be sharing….
Because we are all unique in who we are, our messages are going to sound different. This is awesome as we are able to use our own individual gifts and voice to reach more people.
We can use our story to reach people who relate to us.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 talks about how we are each individual and diverse yet He is the same and the Spirit works through us individually as He sees fit. I am fascinated in how we are all so different, will speak God’s message differently, but it will all mean the same thing.
And what is the message we are supposed to share? Jesus told us…
“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16 NLT
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39 NLT
We get to share this by living a life in Christ and being lights to the world for Him.
(I looooove this next verse so inspiring!)
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
So we need to speak from our hearts the message that we have been given Christ and share that with others. Use our own gifts and words to share this with others. It sounds simple enough but the enemy gets in there and starts screwing everything up.
Satan creates challenges to distract us, confuse us, with the ultimate plan of stopping us from sharing the Good News to the world!
The enemy has totally messed with me. I have changed “my” message so many times and have been so confused, frustrated and on the verge of giving up trying to share anything. But thankfully God has always pulled me through because…
God never gave up on me, and he has zero plans to give up on you either!
The message I want to share gets all muddled up when I start to rely on myself and my own desires. I’ll get selfish and start to make my words all about me and what I can do instead of God and what he does…
Our sinful nature is why it’s so important to keep our heart in check with God with what we are working on, and that we always ask Him to lead us in all that we do.
When we give ourselves to God on a daily basis, before we start our day, work, project, or tasks we are giving Him the control to use us as a tool for His good work. It’s a win, win.
We get to give all the glory to Him and trust that He will use our work for His purpose. The responsibility is off our shoulders and onto His. He gets to decide what our message will do and who it will reach. It’s so beautiful and freeing!
With all this being said, today I am sharing with you the message I believe He is using in my life right now to help me grow and to help others too. I am filled with pure joy that He is using me, even in the challenges…especially in the changes. I feel safe and secure because God’s got it – me and my work that is.
I am learning how to live a grace-filled, authentic and intentional life.
(I hope that really speaks for itself but if not I am going to explain it right now…)
Live – To live for Christ. There is nothing else to live for. As much as I love my hubby, my kids, my family and friends they can’t save me, protect me or heal me like God can. There is no greater calling than to live for Christ…
“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?” Luke 9:23-25 NLT
Grace Filled – To love others the way God loves others. To treat others the way we want to be treated. Love! Love is described well in the fruits of the Spirit as well. It covers all sins. To allow for each other’s differences and move on. Knowing that you are not perfect and that God knows that. That is why we have Jesus and we get to lean into Him and receive forgiveness for our sins.
“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 NLT
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” Galatians 5:22 NLT
Authentic – To be real with me, with you, with others. To stop pretending I am anyone else but me. To accept who I am in Christ and know that I am loved, cherished and a confident woman in Christ. Not being ashamed of sharing Christ but being real and sharing how He has worked in my life. So that He can use and share my story with others to bring glory to Him.
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.” Luke 9:26 NLT
Intentional – To be on purpose for Christ. To serve Him, my hubby, my kids, my family, my friends, my church family, my followers, the strangers I meet. To wake early, start my day off with Christ, and follow His lead for the rest of the day. To put my goals and dreams aside and to pick up His goals and dreams for my life. To lean into Him in every challenge and blessing.
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT
My prayer and hope are that this message of mine speaks you your heart in some way or another. We are all just sinners saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. And not one of us is better than the other.
We who chose to believe in God are made new and perfect in his eyes. And that is all I hope you ever understand from me.
Never will I purposely put someone down, make someone feel less than and think that I am better. I will screw up, I will hurt others, I make mistakes but thankfully I have a loving and gracious God who will make things new again and gives me unconditional, eternal love and forgiveness.
I love you, sweet friend. If you need to talk and are hurting. If you feel like you are not good enough to be called a Child of God. If you feel you’ve sinned so badly that there is no return to Him…
…you are WRONG – You ARE good enough!
You, me, the perfect looking gal on Instagram the ragged homeless woman in the city streets, we are all the same to Him. Loved and His.
Please reach out to me if you need prayer or just a shoulder to lean on. I can’t say I can fix you, that’s Jesus’ job, but I will give you love and light from Him, only through Him working through me.
God Bless you. You are good enough!
