Have you heard the phrase, “God accepts you as you are.” That sounds so nice, but if you dig deeper and break down that phrase it’s just not true. As you read that you might be thinking to yourself I’ve heard that so many times or even my whole life.
The problem lies in the word accepts. When you accept someone you believe or come to recognize (an opinion, explanation, etc.) as valid or correct. If God accepted you as you are there would be no need for Jesus. He wouldn’t have needed to die on the cross for our sins, because the idea of being accepted means you don’t have to change your thinking or the way you behave.
The reality is “God loves you as you are.” On the surface, the two phrases sound the same but if you break each phrase down, you can see they have two different meanings. God loves you as you are, not as you should be, not as you could be, or not even as you must be. The word love changes everything. He loves you through all of your successes. He loves you through all of your ugliness. He loves you through all of your shame. He loves you even through everything you try to hide. He sees it all and God still loves you.
Here’s the best part God loves you enough not to leave you the way he found you. So that means that no matter what your past is, no matter what mess he found you in, He loves you so much that he doesn’t want you to stay that way.
One of my favorite phrases right now is “God will make your mess, His message.” (insert mind blown emoji here) This is so true. It’s your testimony. Your story to share with others and it might just inspire them or give them hope that whatever their circumstances may be, you came out on the other side and they can too. By being open and vulnerable about your experiences, you might just open yourself up to something you never imagined you would be able to do. If you don’t believe that just look at the image on the top of this blog. Yeah that’s me, I never thought I had a story to even share, let alone write it down or speak to groups of women about it. But here I am, killing it. I don’t say that to promote anything I’ve done. It has all been by the grace of God that any of this is possible. I’m just excited I get to share how God has worked through my life and that he has taken ashes and created something beautiful.
I pray that this blog today was an encouragement to you and can help in your daily life. Always know I am available to pray with you or just be someone to talk to when life gets hard. E-mail me at megan@churchanywhere.us if you need prayer!
Talk to you next Monday!