"YOUR PAIN DID NOT REVOKE YOUR PURPOSE"

Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before you were formed, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart." These words, spoken to Jeremiah by our wonderful Creator and Father, were not just for him; they remain true for us today as well. Before we were ever formed, God had a picture of us in His mind. That picture was the solution to a problem. YOU are the solution, the key to a problem that exists today.

You were created to make an impact. You were created to live purposefully, and through the powerful testimony of your life, many will be empowered to live with purpose as well—many who are stuck and imprisoned by past hurts, hindering traditions, and negatively inherited mindsets. You are their solution, the very key that will unlock the prison gates they’ve been trapped in and help them to gain their freedom. But that freedom can never be realized if you allow the pain you've endured in the past to become an obstacle that keeps you from impacting their lives.

You see, the devil knew there was something special about you from the very beginning. He didn't have access to God's thoughts or plans, but he wasn't blind. He saw your tenacity. He saw your drive. He saw your stubbornness. He saw how wise you were, even as a child, and that's when the attacks started. He knew that if he could wound you deeply in your childhood, he could debilitate you and make that purpose planted within you become so cluttered and smothered with pain that you'd never be able to dig it up and use it to impact others. And he almost succeeded… But God!

God has been carrying you all along. He never left you! He never forsook you! And He wants you to know that YOUR PAIN DID NOT REVOKE YOUR PURPOSE! What happened to you was unfair, unjust, and downright wrong. You did not deserve to be treated the way you were treated. You did not deserve to have those horrible things happen to you. You should never have been placed in the unhealthy environments you were placed in. And while all of that is true, there is an even greater truth that you have been blind to. Despite all the horrible things you've had to endure, YOU ARE STILL HERE! You survived, and you still have the potential to thrive! The only reason you're not further along is that your focus has been on your problem—your pain—when your focus needs to be on the solution—Jesus!

Psalm 121:1 tells us, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” You need to understand this deep down in your core: God is your help, your fortress, your rock, the only one on whom you can depend!  That if God is for you, who can be against you? That the weapons may form, but they will not prosper! Yes, the pain was horrible… But it did not prosper! The attacks were gruesome… But they did not prosper! You are stronger than you realize and more powerful than you could ever imagine.

And God didn't bring you this far just to abandon you now. He is simply waiting on you to turn to Him. So, as soon as you realize who you are, whose you are, and start seeking God with your whole heart, you will find Him, and He will blossom you into the beautiful, powerful Oak you are. And when you are fully connected to God, it is then that you will finally be able to live to your full potential and walk in your power, knowing with great confidence that you can do ALL  things through Christ who strengthens you.