Friday, April 3, 2015

No More Excuses....

A fantastic new blog series I just starting following is #LiveFreeThursday over at Suzanne Eller's site. And yes...I know it's Friday. But sometimes I just can't pull it all together! I feel like it was really important to me to post under this topic so here it is. Even if it is a day late....

Where to start? Well, I guess for years I have struggled with accepting my identity in Christ. That I am fully forgiven, fully loved, fully redeemed without anything on my part except receiving Christ (and this is no little thing either!) is kind of mind blowing. I've grown up with the mindset that I have to do my best, try my hardest and then I can rest. So here I am, trying to fix everything and pull it all together before letting Jesus take the reigns of my life.

If I were to make a list of my excuses, I'm sure that it would be longer than my arm-and then some. But today I'm naming the ones that are impacting my walk with Jesus. Because, after all, we're called to freedom. And on the day that Jesus died to set us free, I'm declaring that freedom.

My excuses:

That I'll truly believe that I'm a child of God when I feel it (which is ridiculous, I know. But this has been more of a sub-conscious excuse I'm starting to realize).

I'll believe I'm set free when I feel good enough.

I'll be joyful when my family stops falling apart.

I'll follow the call of Jesus when it's safe.

I'll believe I can be a youth leader when I'm more qualified.

All excuses....The beautiful verse of John 10:10 says that Jesus came to give us life. I already am set free, I already am forgiven, I ALREADY AM a child of God, no matter my feelings or my doubts. Even though my family has it's rough days, there is still love. There is still joy! I am choosing to follow Jesus now, and not when it's safe. That has been an excuse that has been killing me. Jesus is calling us out. Let me follow Him.

If I listen to these excuses I will never be good enough, smart enough, qualified enough, free enough, safe enough or simply together enough to start living life. And then I will look back at my life and realize that I've had freedom all this time.

I'm breaking the chains of these excuses. I'm being who God made me to be. May we have the courage to live this out.

On Good Friday, Christ died so that we may live. He died so that we may be free. As we look to the glorious Resurrection of Easter Morning, I'm praying this freedom is evident in our lives.

Psalm 107:14-15, "He has led them from the darkness and deepest gloom, He snapped their chains. Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for them."


LIVEFREETHURSDAY

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