POST | Stop Looking At Where You Came From!

STOP LOOKING AT WHERE YOU CAME FROM!

“...we were made in His image, stop looking at where you came from!” —Lecrae (Man Up Anthem).

God made man in His image and likeness, but He formed man out of the earth, from the ground, the dust, the dirt, the mess...you get the picture?

We've all been through some negativities in life; things that were unfavourable, painful, messy, and even life threatening. We've all at one point or the other been hit hard by life, knocking us down into hopeless situations, leaving us feeling helpless. It may all seem unfair and unnecessary, but not with God...He makes a purpose out of EVERYTHING we've been through.

“2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT) We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

“Romans 8:28 (NLT) And we know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together FOR THE GOOD of those who LOVE GOD and are called according to HIS PURPOSE for them.”

For every pain we go through in life, there is a purpose. But we may NEVER realize that purpose if we respond with the wrong attitude. One of which is having a victims mentality. That is a defeated mindset. If we keep focusing on the pain, we never get past the pain and allow God use it for our good, to make us better according to His purpose for us. The right attitude allows the pain to make us BETTER and not BITTER.

As I look at my own personal life, I've been through a whole lot, still going through a lot currently, and will still go through some more in the future. I've been through tough times, challenges, rejection, pain, hate, hurt, failures, trials, temptations, depression, loss, attacks, traducement, life threatening situations,...just name it. Looking back at my life now, I laugh at most of them because I see how they all played a part in making me become the person I am today. I can really laugh hard and make fun of it now, but then, trust me, it wasn't funny at all! I won't say more than that. But God uses bad stuff to make something good out of us, we just have to let go and let God!

“James 1:2-4 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

Like me, many of us have been though a lot and even more. I get it. Some have been through the hurt, pain, rejection, loss, depression, abuse, failures, addictions, messy situations, life threatening situations, broken homes, and every unimaginable negativity. It can be really tough dealing with the aftermath, but doing so WITHOUT GOD could drain you of life...literally. God indeed has a purpose for our pain, and it is to make us better and not bitter. But we have to ALLOW Him use the NEGATIVE to DEVELOP us more and more into His IMAGE...get the PICTURE?

I once watched Joyce Meyer talk about the sexual abuse she went through for years as a teenager in the hands of her father. She said sometimes when she thinks about all the messy situations she went through and the abuse, she thanks God for allowing her go through all that mess, because she's so sure if all that didn't happen to her, she wouldn't be the Joyce Meyer we all know today who has been a blessing to millions...including me. That's deep right? God comforts us in times of trouble and pain, and He expects us to comfort and help others going through the same situation we've been through. He didn't make us survivors to become victims. He made us SURVIVORS to become SAVIOURS!

“2 Corinthians 1:3-6 (NLT) All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.”

All that we've been through wasn't designed to break us, but to STRENGTHEN us. But without allowing God work in us through all that mess, we end up with BROKEN LIVES. So STOP focusing on the past. KEEP MOVING FORWARD! God specializes in making something out of nothing. If He formed man out of the dirt into His own image, then He can use all the negative stuff we've been through in life to make us who He wants us to be according to His purpose for us. His plan for us remains of good and not of evil, to bring us to where He wants us to be, full of joy. Regardless of what we've been through or what we are going through right now, GOD IS STILL WITH US AND YES, HE IS STILL WORKING!

With God, we can ALWAYS find a purpose in our pain. He uses our pain to make something good out of us in order to be a blessing to people around us...ask Joseph. So end all that pity party and STOP LOOKING AT WHERE YOU CAME FROM!

—Dikky.

#FocusOnChrist