Why Me? Why not me?

Christ Brings New Life20 You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe[d] don’t have any power over you. 

I've encountered a lot of hurting people in my walk with God.  And I have had the honor to walk along side them in their times of trouble. But, honestly I find myself wondering at times why they are confiding in me. Some things are easier than others to carry with them, but there have been times where the troubles seem to be too much for me to bear.  In those times I find myself asking, "Why me?"

But in response to my first question, I am faced with another question, "Why not me?"  What makes me so special that I feel like I shouldn't have to do these hard things?  The answer is Christ. Jesus died for me.  He died to pay the price to reconcile me with God, to make me new, to make me powerful in the strength of his Holy Spirit.  I often forget the last two things.  

My memory holds the truth of who I was, but my life now reveals the truth of who God has made me.  Often times, I find myself at odds with who I think I am and who God tells me I am.  Such a conundrum.  Reconciling the old me with the new me.  But the fact remains that the old me is DEAD, no more, gone and buried.  The new me is alive in strength of the same Holy Spirit who lived in Jesus.  Best of all, it was  a free gift to me from God... no strings attached, no repayment needed.

I used to slip into "Stinkin' Thinkin'," when someone would come to me for counsel.  It goes a little like this... "You have nothing to offer them... You don't know how to help them... This situation is beyond your scope...don't they know who you used to be?"  That enemy has no new tricks, but there I was, falling for them all.  Oh my sad, sad brain; that chooses on any given day, to think back to those days before my life was changed and make decisions or choices from that place.

How then do we go about life in the new reality of who we are?  How do we tap into the power of Christ to live out our lives daily?  It took years of conditioning to become the yucky-me-I-used-to-be.  And for me personally, it has taken some time and work to become who I am now.  For me the change began in my mind.

2 Corinthians 10:5 ...we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ...

Romans 12:22 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

When I read these verses years ago, it hit me.  Am I holding every thought captive to the obedience of Christ?  Am I weighing whether this thought I am having is from God, in line with his Spirit and with the Word of God?  I realized all too often I was just letting my mind wander back and forth, from the old man to the new man. And in the meantime, I was living my life by my feelings or from my own thoughts.  Since I already knew what a "great job" I had done before I gave my life to Jesus, I realized this had to change.  I started reading my Bible, and searching for encouraging scriptures.  I wrote them out and taped them to my bathroom mirror.  It's a practice that I continue to this day.

One of the verses that has been in circulation on my bathroom mirror this year.

And so began the renewing of my mind, as I flossed and brushed my teeth every day.  I would change out the scripture every few weeks to another that I had found, but I soon realized that my thoughts about myself were changing.  I realized my view of the world, of other people and my circumstances were changing.  That voice in my head, that would put me down was getting quieter.  Some days it didn't even show up, but when it did, I would ask, "Is this what God thinks of me?  Is this what God would have me do?  Is this in His word?"  I was thinking differently, and with the mind of Christ.  

The beginning of Proverbs 23:7 says "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."  Stop, and assess the harsh thoughts we have about ourselves. "You can't do that...  You're not as pretty as so and so...  You're getting fatter... You're getting older...  You're not going to be able to complete that project in time... etc..."  Can you imagine if someone said these things to you?  I don't know about you, but it would take all I have in me not to punch them!  We wouldn't say these hurtful things to others.  So why then, do we not extend ourselves the same kindness and consideration we would gladly give to others.  Why do we allow the enemy to have this kind of power over us in our thought life?  This has got to stop.  You were made for more than that!

I have been able to use all those experiences meant to destroy me in life, for the good and glory of God, in my ministry with other women.  God, who so gladly extended me mercy, kindness and understanding, has taught me to do the same to those who have asked me for counsel, or have confided in me their hardships.  I saw that they needed someone to do it for them until they could learn to do it for themselves.  In doing so, that action has revealed to me the answer to my first question, of  Why me?   

Why not me!  I too have struggled with the core issue of believing what God says about me vs. what the enemy says about me.  Who better to share my struggle and victory with, than with another woman who is walking those same steps?  And the glory of God's work is that in sharing my hardships and victories, God shows me in the kindest and most loving way possible, who He's made me to be and how far He and I have come together in our relationship.  God is alive.  He is a gentleman.  He has shown me these things over these past 10 years.

A life completely surrendered to Him is rewarded with this knowledge: The old has gone and the new has come.   I am holy.  I am blameless.  I am powerful.  I am righteous.  I am healthy.  I am prosperous.  I am forgiven.  I am worthy of love.  I am worthy of good things.  I am His beloved.  Whether I feel it, or whether I believe it completely, at the time, is irrelevant!  Why?  Because He is the Truth and The Way.  

As Christ is in heaven, so am I on this earth.   What a truth!  What a wonderful realization!  And when you wake up in the morning with this kind of bad hair day, it helps to remember who you really are.  :)

Thank you God for bad hair days.  Just another reminder of how much I need you.
Even in the little things.