Heart Change

When I was 17 I read Isaiah 43:1-2.

" But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

Verse one grabbed hold of me and I realized that Christ had a claim on me. I was His. He wanted me as His own despite all my failures. And it didn't stop there. He loved me enough to redeem me. I immediately decided this passage was going to be my life verse. It will always be dear to my heart and always encourage me, but my life has greatly changed since then. I feel like I am a completely different person now.

So as my life has changed I feel my life verse must also change. God has been taking me through a heart change this past year. It has been a very hard and very beautiful experience. I feel I have gotten past the hardest part and am now coming into a time of rest and communion. I feel excited and ready to pursue God as my first love with all that is in me. I am scared because I know He has called me to ministry. I know that the more I am obedient to Him, the more He will stretch me pull me out of my comfort zone and call me into action. This terrifies me. But the Lord be my help.

I have begun to travel down a road. This road is one that I am determined to press forward on. I will not stop no matter how difficult it gets because the farther down this road I travel, the closer I get to my Jesus. And that's all I want.

It is easy for me to look in the past and still feel the pain. But the past is gone and only a tool that the devil uses to distract me from goal. This being said I'm sure you can guess what my new life verse is. Philippians 3:12-14.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Amazing verse, huh!? This is my heart, and I feel so passionate about this. I want everyone I know to experience the pull of Jesus and the desire to pursue Him. I'm ready for this. God has been preparing me my whole life for His calling. The starting gun has been shot. I'm in race. I'm off an running and I'm not turning back. Jesus, be my strength and courage.