“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”.
-Romans 8:35-37
Elevation sure has changed my life, but the real reason my life has changed is not just because of church, not just because of good messages, or awesome youth leaders, but because of God’s love. When I was growing up my mom and dad had a lot of issues and I was in the midst of it all. My parents got a separation when I was 9. And my life has been an on-going battle since then between God's destiny for my life or giving into the bad circumstances that would ultimately determine my destiny.
In the last couple of months God has been pouring His love out on me and showing me the pain that I was carrying inside. I have come to realize that I can’t do anything without Him, regardless if I am on the mountain top or in the valley. In the past I believed that I couldn’t conquer the hardships that I came face to face with, and that God couldn’t hide me under the shadow of his wings during the hard times because It always seemed that I would get knocked down again. God showed me that I wasn’t trusting him with my life and destiny and that it was my choice to trust in Him or not. The reason why I felt defeated was because I was letting myself be defeated, I wasn’t taking a stand and sticking my foot in the mud and saying I wasn’t going to move; only go forward.
When you truly want to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit for your life you will always come to a wall of resistance and at that point you can either trust God and stand your ground or let go of your faith and be crushed by the test. The message about the leading of the Holy Spirit that we talked about this last week really showed me that you need to go through the wilderness before you can come out of wilderness that there is a purpose for everything that you go through. Elevation has opened my eyes to see God and His love clearly. It has taught and discipled me to know that Christianity is not about feeling but about faith; not about church going lukewarm half-hearted religion, but about a radical love relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of lords.
”Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us, and I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
– Romans 8:37-39
Charity Thomas
1 comment:
Incredible Charity! You have been such a blessing! I love watching God's hand on your life and watching you grow. Thank you for sharing. Dusty and I love you!
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