I’m turning 60 at the end of this month.  It’s hard to believe. What an amazing life I have lived! Although for those of you who know my story, you know it has been far from perfect. My one saving grace is my Creator, Jesus Christ, because I know even though it is impossible for the leopard to change its spots, the Creator of the leopard can!

By the grace of God my story does not end with my failures, and I am confident that He who began a good work in me will complete it (Philippians 1:6). Why? Because I am in Christ, and that means I am a new creation. The old things cannot be held up in my face any longer. Every morning I meet with Him and He reminds me I am now HIS, and I am no longer who I was (2 Corinthians 5:17).  It is the presence, purity, and power of Christ in me that gives me a whole new spiritual DNA.

I emphasize “every morning” because I believe it is a daily conscious choice not to be dominated by unruly imaginations that contradict God’s truth, not to listen to the accuser, but rather to crowd him out by choosing to listen to my Shepherd instead.

it really is okay to feel the pain, but in Christ I don’t have to allow the pain or past failures to define who I am. I began to give Jesus the reason for holding onto that pain, and He began the work of transforming me into His likeness. To know Jesus (have a close walk with Him) is more satisfying than any relationship I could ever have – and makes all other relationships even more beautiful and sweet than they already are.  Jesus alone makes me blossom and bloom!

How about you? There may be facts about your journey, too, that people will try using to define who you are. Just because it is a fact does not mean it aligns with TRUTH. There can often be a difference between a fact and the TRUTH. Perhaps your facts tell you that you are unworthy or shameful, perhaps that you are stuck and can go no further. Maybe your fact is that you are a gossip, an alcoholic, a drug addict, adulterer, addicted to porn, or that your life is a lie.

The TRUTH of what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you is that He is a good, good God.  He can be trusted to take your confusion and pain. He wants to set you free from the body of sin you carry. The truth about you is that in His sight you are lovely! He delights in you, and He chooses not to see who you are today inside the mess and fallenness, but who you are in eternity, in your full maturity, in all that He created and designed you to be. He can change your spots if you are willing to allow Him!

Don’t allow the grief of previous disappointments to keep you from where you are going. Allow God to keep writing your story. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done ON EARTH as IT IS in Heaven – we can pray for that truth to be brought down into this reality, and for you to receive the healing He now offers.   What would your tomorrow look like if you committed to be intentional about allowing His truth to heal your soul, no matter how long it takes? You can make it to the other side of your pain!