God has a plan for your life and a purpose for your future.
No matter what you’ve been through or what’s been done to you, if you’re still breathing God isn’t finished with you yet! Sometimes we just need to be reminded. Other times we need to be persuaded to believe it’s true.
In her new book, Your Life Still Counts, my friend and author, Tracie Miles shares how she convinced herself that God couldn’t use her. There were too many things she had done wrong. But over time as Tracie came to know Christ she realized she was the perfect candidate for His transforming power. Through her brokenness Jesus could show off His grace and goodness. The very things Tracie believed “disqualified” her from ministry are now some of the most impactful parts of her life’s mission and message. Today, I invited Tracie to share some encouragement I think all of our hearts need to hear:
“Have you ever felt like you had nothing special to offer God? Like maybe He doled out the spiritual gifts to everyone else and forgot to give any to you? If so, I want to challenge you to think again.
God has divinely designed a unique purpose for your life. And, you are the only one gifted to fulfill it!
But, before we can discover and embrace what God has gifted us to do, we need to do a little looking back instead of just looking forward. The reality is that God has equipped us to minister to others through the experiences of our past.
But most of us don’t want to look back. We want the past to be the past, and keep trudging ahead. We don’t think about mistakes or hurts. We’d rather bury them in our hearts than talk about them with God, much less anyone else.
But when we do that we prevent our faith from fully blossoming, and we get caught up in trying to figure out how our skills and talents might serve God. What if instead, we look back and discover how our life can serve as a shining testament of His power?
We need is more than gift-assessment; we need a life-assessment to help us discover how our journey has equipped us for God’s divine purposes.
With each situation you have experienced or endured, you have been equipped to serve God.
Your experiences have been used by Christ to strengthen you and your faith. And now He is calling you to be an example of what He is capable of doing. Not just a witness for Christ, but a witness of His power in your life. Because your life matters to God, you do have something of great significance to offer Him – and it’s you.
No one can tell your story of healing, redemption, and purpose like you can.
Even if your experience is similar to someone else’s story, your perspective of what happened and your witness to the power of God’s intervention will be different and unique.
Second Corinthians 1:4 says, “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.” Your experiences do not nullify your purpose in life; they prepare you for the purpose God destined you for. They do not void you from being able to participate in ministry, but instead they equip you for it.
Your life-change, healing, faith walk, and journey of transformation could be the story that reaches the broken heart of someone who has lost hope; someone who feels like their life doesn’t matter; someone who has never believed there is a God.
No one is equipped, trained, or qualified to share your story and your faith journey except you.
You are unique. Your experiences are unique. Your story is unlike any other.
Only you can glorify God through your one-of-a-kind design by bringing comfort to others as you allow your past to become the foundation of your personal ministry. When surrendered to Christ, your past experiences will become your most profound equipping and training.
As we gather with people this Thanksgiving and Christmas, let’s look for opportunities to love on them, share our hearts and our stories, and be open to how God wants to us for His divine purpose to bring hope, comfort and love to those around us. And let’s make our lives count for Christ!
YOUR LIFE STILL COUNTS
Enter to Win
We are giving away 4 copies of Your Life Still Counts! Two of you will win two copies (one to keep and one to give away)! To enter to win, simply share your thoughts about today’s post and let us know who you would give the second copy to! [If you’re reading this via email, please click here to enter to win! All entries must be on my blog under this post.]
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I have often wondered this myself and my prayers are now being answered.
I have always believed God had a plan for my life, but at 38 I am struggling bd I don’t see the purpose. I am looking for any and all guidance to help me truly hear Him and see Him!!
I remember when going through a very painful time I believed the events taking place had robbed me of my future. It took a faith loving friend to sternly yet lovingly tell me that God was my future! That while all hope seemed lost, darkness loomed, finances depleted, confidence gone, identity shaken to the core, the truth remains that God is over it all and Lord of the second chance and new life.
I am sure this book will help remind me, lift me, and encourage me to stay focused, as to passing on a copy, well I will commit that to prayer and let the HOLY SPIRIT lead- I promise to be lead and obedient in that.
Blessings all
This sounds like a book I must read. Thanks for sharing it, and this post. What a wonderful book to win for your library.
Blessings,
Cindy
I would love to win a copy of this book, but if I am not a winner I pray that who ever does will be blessed! Thank you and Bless You!
This is so true! The past has been full of happiness and sadness both, as well as regrets. But there has been good to come out of it all. I think the worst was a very abusive relationship that I was in, which lasted nearly a decade. I was able to get out and I feel like that is my ministry to other hurting and scared women. Truly satan was at work in that relationship and tried his darnedest too keep me down and feeling unworthy. God, however, had better plans for me. Praise the lord.