from mess to message
photo purchased from Shutterstock
“God desires to change us from the inside out. Renewing our minds, starving our self-destructive tendencies, and teaching us to form new habits.” ~ Beth Moore]
It's time for healing, time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
But I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Sanctus Real - Whatever You're Doing
I’m so angry right now. I just want all of this to go away. I have so much on my plate right now and I cannot believe that God is allowing me to have all of this at once. I don’t know how I got here. How did my life end up in such a mess? So much chaos at one time. Why? What is the point of all of this?
Those are the words and questions I recently heard from someone in my bible study group, and those are the words and questions I vividly remember articulating when I was in the midst of my messy life back in 2001 when my world crumbled beneath me. What I can tell you now that I didn’t know then is this, our messes can become our messages if we cooperate with God, do the hard work to fix our brokenness, and allow him to work in us.
“To God, our journey is JUST as important as our destination!”~ Beth Moore
The first thing we all want when trials come, is an immediate fix or resolution. None of us want to hurt or struggle. We certainly don’t want to be in that place of pain and struggle for long, nor do we want to surrender to something or someone we can’t see or touch. These are the moments where our faith meets the road or where we meet Jesus.
“We want Christ to hurry and calm the storm. He wants us to find him in the midst of it first.” ~Beth Moore
In our trials and pain is where the depth of our faith is tested, it’s where we decide to dig our heels in and be prideful, or where we surrender and let God lead, and this is exactly why God allows the messes and the chaos. These are the moments when our mess can become the soil that nurtures our growth, where the roots of our message are developed and nurtured by his word and are anchored in him.
photo by Sven Vahaja @yakfarmer
The journey to our message, (also called our testimony), can be the pivotal moment in our lives where our faith becomes personal, where we meet Jesus, for real. I’ve been a Christian my entire life. For as long as I can remember, I remember loving him and being loved by him, but what I didn’t know then that I know now, is that, until we’ve been in the trenches with no way out but ourselves or Jesus, we don’t have our message/testimony yet.
Our messes can become our messages.
I want to be sure you understand, I’m not saying that everyone must have a rock bottom moment or an earth-shattering story in order to have a message or testimony. Anytime any of us fully surrender to Christ and give our lives to him, it matters, but most of us don’t escape this life without trials, and those are generally the moments that nurture our message/testimony. That’s where our faith gets really personal.
It is sad, but such a true statement about our human nature, that when our lives are going smoothly, and life is good, we become complacent in our faith. We get comfortable and take it all for granted, often times not even thinking about our faith or that we need a savior or a relationship with God. If we do have a relationship with him, it’s often shallow at best.
Often we keep God in the peripherals, only inviting him in when it’s convenient. But when our lives are a mess and we feel angry, confused, broken, betrayed, hurt, and lost, all of the sudden we wonder where God is and how he could allow us to be in this terrible place. We question his love for us, and we have the audacity to accuse him of betraying us because after all, we are people of “faith.”
When the layers upon layers of lies and betrayal were being peeled back, and the truth of my broken marriage and life were being revealed, I remember being so angry at God. I remember accusing him of allowing me to be made a fool of. I even had the pride and audacity to accuse him of loving men more because after all, King David was an adulterer and terrible father to his daughter, yet God called him, “ a man after his own heart.” Samuel 13:14 (KJV)
photo by Evan Dennis @evan__bray
We blame God for everything we are going through, and we doubt his faithfulness and goodness. Yet, in the pit of darkness, in the depths of addiction, in the filth of our muck and mire, and in our brokenness and pain, those are the very places God will go to find us. That’s how much he loves us.
We will all experience hardships whether it’s because of life in general, the fallout of living in a broken world, or by our own doing, and even sometimes because of choices others make that bring chaos and pain to our life.
“No matter whose fault, God sends us through storms so we can land in a place we never would have otherwise.” ~ Beth Moore
The pain I have had in my life, the lies and darkness I was drowning in for so many years, the pain I still have from the rejection of my son, it’s all part of the necessary storm I had to go through to find my own personal testimony. I couldn’t see how much I needed Him until I was in the pit of pain and suffering. I couldn’t really understand the pain of rejection until I experienced it in the ways I have.
Now, I have an even bigger heart for the broken, especially broken homes and the women and children who walk that journey. I have a desire to share my story so women can be empowered and encouraged. My testimony took years to develop, and I’m still being refined through the fires, but what I am certain of now is that God is in the fires with me, and he gave me my mess to develop my message.
My mess has become my message.
photo by Joel Muniz @jmuniz
What the enemy meant to break and to keep me trapped in darkness, hopelessness, and despair, God has redeemed. He has given me a new story to share. He has pulled me out of the muck and mire of shame and hurt so that I will use my testimony to encourage others and witness of his goodness and faithfulness.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
The following story about Elisabeth Elliot is a perfect example of God taking a mess, an absolute devastating trauma, and turning it into a message. All because Elisabeth invited God into her pain and chaos. She trusted him to have a reason for her pain and suffering, and while she didn’t find the reason immediately, God did guide her as she faithfully sought his lead.
“If all struggles and sufferings were eliminated, the spirit would no more reach maturity than would the child.”~ Elisabeth Elliot
“Hard times come for all in life, with no real explanation. When we walk through suffering, it has the potential to devastate and destroy, or to be the gateway to gratitude and joy. Elisabeth Elliot was no stranger to suffering. Her first husband, Jim, was murdered by the Waoroni people in Ecuador moments after he arrived in hopes of sharing the gospel. Her second husband was lost to cancer. Yet, it was in her deepest suffering that she learned the deepest lessons about God. Why doesn’t God do something about suffering? He has, He did, He is, and He will.
Suffering and love are inexplicably linked, as God’s love for His people is evidenced in His sending Jesus to carry our sins, griefs, and sufferings on the cross, sacrificially taking what was not His on Himself so that we would not be required to carry it. He has walked the ultimate path of suffering, and He has won victory on our behalf. This truth led Elisabeth to say, “Whatever is in the cup that God is offering to me, whether it be pain and sorrow and suffering and grief along with the many more joys, I’m willing to take it because I trust Him.” Because suffering is never for nothing.” Elisabeth Elliot Quotes-by Debbie McDaniel
~ Beth Moore
What a shame it would be for me to have gone through all that I have been through, knowing what it’s like to experience God’s grace and his peace that surpasses all human understanding, to know of his mercy, goodness and faithfulness, and then keep it to myself. What a shame it would be for me to have the message of hope and healing that I can offer to other’s waking a similar path, but instead I keep it to myself and watch others in pain and offer them nothing.
“I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40: 1-3 (NIV)
God can give purpose to your pain. There is a message in your mess, but you have to trust and surrender to what you cannot see in order to be restored. Restoration and developing our testimony is a process, and God uses it to build our trust, our faith, our patience, and our humility.
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 (NIV)
To hear Elisabeth’s amazing testimony click on the following link. Elisabeth Elliot
Something to Consider: What’s your spiritual journey? Do you have a God story? Do you remember when God made your faith personal? What was your life like before knowing Jesus? What is it like after deciding to follow him? If you don’t know Jesus, do you have someone you can talk to if you want to know more? Please let me know if you don’t and I would be happy to schedule a call with you.
