Sept 20: Don’t Let Who You Were Define You…

Affirmation: I am compassionate. I care about myself and others.

“When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied.” (Matthew 9:27-31) 
God is with you…He cares about you.

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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Personalize the truth of this verse. This is a promise from God, your Father and your Creator. God is with you and He cares about you.

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,”

‭‭Nahum‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/111/nam.1.7.NIV

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

Guidepost 8: Cultivating Calm and Stillness and Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle

Putting Things in Perspective

The first aspect of calmness is putting difficult situations into perspective. This means viewing the situation mindfully and rationally. When we get anxious, we tend to catastrophize. We tell ourselves that our current situation is a complete disaster and the worst thing to ever happen to us. Putting things in perspective involves challenging catastrophic thoughts by questioning their validity. Is the situation really a disaster? Will you even remember it happened in a week, a month, or a year? What will the situation’s actual impact be? (Turn down or turn off the heat.)

These come the book, Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. It is a short, but powerful book.)

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews

The Guided Decision 

I will seek wisdom

Sometimes the questions are complicated, but the answers are simple.

Ask and it will be given to you, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened to you. Matt 7:7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will guide your steps. Prov. 3:5,6

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff 

                   September 20

Don’t let who you were name you, define you, hassle you, or control you. God decides who we are, not your past.

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

If you’ve been in church long, you’ve probably heard a lot of testimonies about people who used to be drug addicts or who are caught up in destructive cycles. They talk about how they were spiraling out of control, and then they met Jesus, and everything radically changed. It’s amazing, to be sure. We hear the stories and remember God can turn around our lives in the most miraculous ways. These stories remind us that who we’ve been doesn’t dictate who will become.

But wouldn’t it be great to hear more stories from people who are doing just fine, maybe getting a B minus in life and then they decided to live a better story? They didn’t want their life to be defined by their jobs, so they started measuring their days by the love they gave away instead of the money they made.

We don’t hear enough stories of transformation from being people who found their self worth one day and then did an internal overhaul driven by love. They might’ve stayed in the same job and lived in the same community, but the way they interacted with the people in their lives changed everything. The stories are even more relatable for many of us.

Many of us might not need to be delivered from a life of drugs and a gambling addiction but from something even more insidious – finding our worth in success or approval. When Jesus invited us to follow Him, He invited us to become new people. His invitation was for all of us to leave behind who we were so we could start bringing loads of love to everyone we encountered.

God decides who we are, not our past.

What do you think God thinks of you?