Redeemed, Restored, & Renewed

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I grew up going to church every Sunday. Attending church did not mean I automatically was going to heaven. Nor did it mean I would escape the difficulties that life presents.

At some point in my life, I still needed to say yes to Jesus.

That day came at 14 years of age. I began to sense God’s presence stirring my heart a year earlier. I was invited to go to church with the boy I was dating at that time. Holy Spirit called me, and I answered.

I would like to tell you that I served God with intention at that time. I did not. My relationship with Jesus was up and down for several years. Finally, at 18, I was baptized and started attending church more regularly.

As a teen, I made some unwise choices. Those choices would define me. I struggled with my identity and the shame that came with those decisions. Shame would define me for many years. Too many.

In life, we have choices to make. Accepting forgiveness and receiving healing is one of the best decisions one can make. Thank God He sees our brokenness and extends His healing hands to us.

Psalm 147:3 NASB

“He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”

God would heal my broken heart and wrap up my wounds—the word wound in Hebrew means an idol or a pain. When we hold onto our pain, it becomes an idol. We refer to it and allow it to form and fashion us. Shame fashioned me. God needed the complete surrender of my pain so that He could heal my broken life.

I did surrender my pain to Him. Little by little, I would surrender the pain I had held onto. I would allow God to speak truth into the belief of the lie that I was less than. Shame dictates our worth.

When you allow your brokenness to define you, you are unable to accept God’s love. When you believe what the enemy has told you for years, a barrier from truth is erected between you and God. The only way to combat the lies is with truth. God’s word is our truth.

As I began to let go of the shame, I began believing God’s love for me. I found this scripture in 2 Cor.

2 Cor 3:4-5 NASB

“Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ. Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,”

I would memorize this scripture and speak it to myself until I believed it. I began to trust that I was adequate because of who God is within me. My confidence is in who Jesus says I am. I am His beloved daughter. Now, that is truth to stand on! Shame no longer defines me.

March 16, Hearts Being Healed will be hosting our annual conference. It’s our 20th year. I encourage you to attend this life-transforming conference. If you desire to heal from your past wounds, Hearts Being Healed is a conference you won’t want to miss. It is a day filled with hope. The testimonies of women’s lives being restored will inspire and encourage you to seek healing. God’s desire for you is redemption, restoration, and renewal.

Colossians 1:13-14 NASB

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

God wants you to trade in your pain for something better. Would you say yes to Jesus? I did those many years ago. It was the best decision ever!

There is no better trade-in!

Isaiah 61:3 NASB

“To grant those who mourn in Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

When you say yes to Jesus.

Psalm 40:2 NASB
“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud;
And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.”