Good morning Insiders!
We’ve got a wonderful guest post this morning from one of our female voices in youth ministry, Brooklyn Lindsey. This is great encouragement, so dive in…
My husband was preaching last week. I was listening. At the end of his sermon he prayed: “God, if I were you, I wouldn’t choose me. But you do. You already have. And it changes everything.”
When he prayed, the words shot through me, not to my heart, but into my gut. That place where I know there is going to be a change taking place.
Bracing.
Oh God…you’re speaking to me.
If I’m being honest with you God, I’d say that too. If I were you, I wouldn’t choose me to do any of this. I don’t feel worthy, or capable, or worth it at all. But you did choose me and sometimes (maybe a lot of times) I forget that.
But why are you speaking to me?
I’ve been going through a process of focus, simplifying and re-directing back to the paths that lead me to good things. I’ve been sorting through the crazy-makers in my life and minimizing them. I feel pretty good about all of this.
Heck, I’ve cleaned up my desk, returned phone calls, written things on time, prepared ministry programs, spent time with teenagers, connected with hurting people, loved my family, spent time with my kids, made my most important relationships priority, dug into some great books, implemented and adjusted strategies, and celebrated more than I wallowed.
But it was clear to me after I heard those simple words that maybe I needed a reminder and a gut check to get me going again. Because I have felt abandoned even after hundreds of messages and conversations reminding others that we are not alone.
I needed to say this out loud.
God has already made the choice to love me.
God has already chosen me to be salt and light.
So it’s time to embrace it (again), this gift of grace.
Maybe you’ve felt this way.
Condemned when you’re not.
If you do, maybe these things will help you:
1. Say this out loud: “I AM LOVED.” You have been washed. You are no longer slaves to sin, but you’re a beautiful part of the Jesus family.
2. Write it down: “I HAVE A PURPOSE.” Start digging. Unearth the creativity that gets squelched in fear and monotony. Break out of it. Do something random. Go for a walk, get in a boat, wander around in a place you’ve never been, listen and breathe and let go in order to really grasp the way we’re held by the Creator.
3. De-glorify BUSY. It’s not your god. Kill “I’m so busy” from your vocabulary. Your God is grander than the time that you wrestle with each day. Take one step at a time. Don’t go too fast.
4. Look around. Take inventory of your life. How has this love, this knowledge, this calling, this important work, changed everything? Take a look at it and ask yourself, How has this changed me? Let it be fuel for your next steps, your next words, your next thoughts.
5. Go. You know that one thing that you keep dreaming about. Your intentions are to do it, to take care of it, to talk to someone about it. You believe in it. It lights your face up when you talk about it. While all of that is great, it will only begin to happen as you take steps toward it. Your direction will begin to move toward the place where you want to be, so take the first step. Whatever that looks like.
I’m thankful for gut-check prayers.
God, If I were you, I’d tell me it’s time.
A new person is alive, and we can move in that direction.
~ Brooklyn Lindsey
Good stuff or what?! Thanks for reading, and even more, thank you for your awesome commitment to help students grow closer to Jesus.
- Amber