Body Lease Agreement: https://shorturl.at/klnv9

Just how much do you hate your body? How much do you dislike your own skin and the reflection you see? How long are you going to punish yourself, sitting your own self in time out, not allowed to fully enjoy this life you have been given? You don’t get to climb that mountain! You don’t get to swim in those waters! You don’t get to go there and do that. Why? Because you don’t like the way you would look doing it and you’re overwhelmed with the fear of what others might think.

So you don’t do all you could be doing. So, you sit it out. So, opportunities pass you by. So, you live a little less than you could. So, you like yourself a little less every day.

What if this summer could be different? What if we changed the script in our head and the choices we make, and this time we do it out of love?

Yes, try love this time.

Girls, it is absolutely ridiculous how we try to hate ourselves into change. You are this beautiful, magnificent work of art which God himself called a masterpiece, yet you’re dang mean to that masterpiece. Your body is not some after thought in the creation of you that doesn’t matter. YOU MATTER. Your body matters. What your body can do matters. How your body feels matters. God cares about it.

You know why God cares so much about that body of yours? First … because it’s a vessel for his power.

2 Corinthians 4:7 “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[ This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

You are a fragile jar holding great treasure. And honey, when you hold the great treasure of God’s Spirit, you, the vessel, are of tremendous value. But remember, you are fragile. All 37 trillion cells of you are intricately woven together in a divine design, so totally and completely breakable. Your body can be broken, and the truth is, sadly, we’ve been dropping the fragile jar.

How? We’ve failed to love the vessel. We’ve failed to care for the vessel. We’ve hated the vessel, punished the vessel, neglected the vessel, even hidden the vessel. This fragile vessel containing the great treasure of God’s power is YOUR BODY. So yes, it does matter what you put in it. Yes, it does matter what you do with it. Yes, it does matter how you talk about it.

The truth is, for the vast majority of us, our vessel deserves a whole lot better than we’ve been giving it. We’ve been living like it’s totally disposable, putting junk in it. We’ve been living like it’s some sort of burden, when really, a working and functioning body is often the blessing we overlook.

Over the weekend I was in the bay with my dog swimming. This particular bay is filled with coral, which can be very sharp. A piece of that sharp coral created a tiny cut in the side of my foot. After feeling the sudden pain, I immediately looked to ensure I wasn’t bleeding out, calling the sharks in for dinner, and the cut wasn’t even visible. I continued on throughout my day, forgetting about my encounter with the coral, until later that evening, my foot was suddenly so sore I couldn’t touch it. That tiny cut had gotten infected, now causing tremendous pain.

Isn’t it crazy how something so little can bring such pain? Trying to apply a bit of ointment and flinching with every touch, my husband says, “Pain is good.” Boy … what kind of weird-o are you? What do you mean pain is good?

For the past 12 hours, I’ve been asking God exactly what he wants to say to you through me today. I’ve been seeking his promptings for this devotional, praying it would meet you where you are and be precisely what you need to hear for your next step. And I believe what you hear next is the divine answer to my prayer over you. Listen closely to see what God is revealing to you.

You have been afraid of something. You have been stuck in indecision because you don’t want to make the wrong choice, so you haven’t been making a choice at all. But did you know not making a choice is a choice? When you chose to do nothing, you’re choosing to do nothing. And choosing to do nothing just kicks the can down the same road where things don’t magically get better, they often grow worse until we deal with them.

DEAL WITH THIS.

Yes, face down the thing you’ve been too afraid to do anything about. God doesn’t want his girl stuck here in this indecision for one more day. You know what’s worse than actually doing what needs to be done … Overthinking what needs to be done. Have you been piling the regret of another day where you didn’t do what needed to be done onto the weight of what you’re already carrying, and then you wonder why you can’t move forward. Girl, you can’t carry another day of regret. Those shoulders weren’t made to carry the weight of all this indecision building up.

GOD HAS ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF THE THING YOU’RE SO AFRAID OF.

Did you hear that? This thing that you’ve been going back and forth on, dizzied with your circles of fear and what if’s, has already been taken care of by your great big, all-knowing, all-powerful, relentlessly loving God. And he’s done it for you, personally. But you will never know just how perfectly he’s already taken care of it if you keep running from it and refuse to deal with it.

I mentor a precious woman who has been in a continual battle of indecision for a long time. She wanted change, but she was afraid of change. The fear of rejection and the fear of failure had kept her stuck in a situation that was sucking the life out of her. This weekend she shared with me an encounter she had with a snake, and although she didn’t fully understand what God was showing her, she knew she was supposed to share it with me and others.

Oh yes, you see, she was supposed to share it with me so I could tell YOU too. This encounter with the snake was for each of us.

A snake was at this woman’s doorstep. A large snake. Fearful of the snake, she grabbed a hatchet and threw it at the snake. She missed. The snake didn’t move. It only raised it’s head and looked at her, shaking its head from side to side. She threw the hatchet again and cut off a piece of its tail. Again, the snake didn’t move. Two more times, she threw the hatchet, each time the snake only looking at her and shaking its head, not trying to get away, until finally the blow that killed it.

Then she noticed, absolutely no blood coming from the snake. None at all. Completely dry. How could this be?

The snake was clearly alive, yet it did not strike, it didn’t even move. And now when cut in half, it didn’t bleed.

I asked God to reveal to me what this could mean, and immediately, the Spirit showed me this: The thing you’ve been afraid of has already been taken care of by God. It has no life in it. You have been offering the fullness of your life because of your fear over something that has no life. You haven’t been living up to your potential because you’ve been stuck in indecision,

Are you stuck in a waiting period, just hoping God has heard your prayer? You’ve prayed, but you haven’t heard God’s answer. You’ve sought him, but you haven’t seen him working. What do you do in this space between asking and receiving? What do you do when you’re trying your best to believe God is working, but you see absolutely no proof of anything changing yet?

I’m in that space too. Sister, you’re not alone. I call it a gap. A gap between when I think would be the right time for this to change, and when God says it’s the right time for it to change. One thing I’ve figured out in my adventurous journey with God is, his timeline is often very different than mine. The time zones are different in Heaven y’all. Don’t you know time moves differently there, and I guess when you’ve seen the end from the very beginning, you just aren’t stressed about the gap between.

So, I want to talk to my sisters who are in this gap with me. Those who are in the space of praying but not getting their answer. Seeking but not seeing him work. Asking for things to change, but still waiting for that change. I’m going to share a personal conversation between me and God, and I hope it brings peace to your gap.

My youngest daughter is the most beautiful little thing you’ve ever seen. She will light up any room with her infectious joy and radiant smile. Since the moment we met her at an orphanage in Mexico, we knew she was absolutely overflowing with potential to do big things with her life. 4 years ago this week, at 17 years old, this gorgeous soul we’ve had the blessed opportunity to raise, walked out of our home and just never came back.

The path she’s been on since has been a hard one, one we would have never wished for her. One that doesn’t seem to align with her dreams and her potential. So, I did what any mom would do, I put God on a timeline. What? You don’t put God on a timeline? Is that just me? It looks like this: “Lord, guide her back home safely today.” Today would come and today would go. No change. So, eventually, I stopped my continual request for today’s, and I started giving timelines of holidays. Lord, fix this by Christmas. Christmas would come, and I would be so disappointed over that empty seat at our table. Some days I would be hurt, some days I would be angry, some days I would be confused, some days I would doubt, but most days I would just extend the timeline for God. “Okay God, so you didn’t make Christmas happen, but Easter … I’ll give you until Easter to fix this mess and fix our family.”

4 years of me putting God on a timeline which he hasn’t seemed to care about. 4 years of me battling the questions of does he not hear? Does he not care? Does he not plan to do anything at all?

A few months ago I was writing a devotional on the story of the crippled man laying at the pool of Bathesda awaiting healing in the bubbling waters. The devotional was about the power of Jesus to change anything and everything in our lives. Things that were too far gone. Things that were absolutely hopeless. Things we had given up on. Jesus walks up to this man and tells him to get up, and guess what happens … the man miraculously and instantly gets up!

In an instant everything in this man’s world changed. I had been waiting on our family’s “instant”. Lord, make it happen. There’s a timeline on this and I’ve been extending it every time, just waiting. Maybe you feel the same way. And maybe your timeline is like mine … blown!

Again, Heaven is in a different time zone than here on Earth y’all. We must understand that!

Do you ever feel like you do all that you do for nothing? Like everyone takes you for granted and no one gives you the credit you deserve?

Whew, that can make us some bitter women! I cleaned this house all day and not a single one of you said thank you. What, you think I’m your maid? You’ll start appreciating what I do when I stop doing it up in here!

Oh girl, bitterness doesn’t look good on you.

Or what about at work? You show up early AND you’re the last one to leave, but no one recognizes your hard work. You’re looked over and passed by. Kinda makes you want to give less than your best, doesn’t it? Makes you want to stop doing all you do so they see nothing gets done without you, then they will learn to appreciate you.

What about in your relationships? You’re always the one to call. Always the one to care. Always the one going first. So you’re thinking about not calling, not caring, and waiting for them to go first instead. Yeah, you’ll show them!

Anyone feeling that way today? Anyone feeling like you give a whole lot more that you get? Anyone have bitterness brewing within them just knowing you’re getting shorted? Well, isn’t it just like God to show up and speak directly to you when you most need it? Look at this scripture tucked away in his word for you, written by a man named Isaiah who felt the same way you do right now.

Isaiah 49:4 “But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

Oh girl, go ahead and insert your true feelings right in the middle of this verse. I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Ain’t nobody thanking me for all I’ve done around here. Nobody appreciates me the way I ought to be appreciated. They don’t pay me what I’m worth. They don’t recognize all I’ve been doing. I deserve better than this!!!! …… Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand and my reward is with my God.

I don’t have to storm through the house today in a mad rage throwing around all the dirty laundry that no one else does. I don’t have to stomp through the office today to ensure everyone sees my extra workload and overwhelm. What is due me is in the Lord’s hand, my reward is with God.

I can trust God to reward my hard work. I can trust God to delight in my extra effort. I can trust God to repay me with mercy, grace, blessings and favor, for what no one else sees or recognizes. And honey, when God promotes, there’s no one that can hold you back. When God blesses, no one can take that away. When God raises you up, there’s no bringing you down.

So right here, in your real life circumstances, surrounded by what feels like being overlooked and unappreciated, you show up with nothing but your best today KNOWING everything that is due you will come from God’s hand. Go above and beyond today, yes for people who may never say thank you, because your true reward was never from them, it was always from God!

20 years ago one of my mentors told me a story of a woman who was miserable in her job. It’s a story I’ve always remembered for the lesson it taught me. This woman hated her job. She dreaded going to work every day. She felt underpaid for the work she did, so she always did the minimum work she could. If they weren’t going to pay her more, she certainly wasn’t going to work harder. She didn’t like the people she worked with, so she never talked to them. Every day she would stomp her way through her work day and count down the minu...

Right now, at this very moment, you are being led. Lovingly led into good plans for your future. Led onto the right path to get you there. Led through valleys and dark shadows to bring you to the place your creator designed for you.

Who is leading you? It’s Jesus, your Good Shepherd.

Here’s the thing about a shepherd, they go ahead of their flock, and they lead them. They show the way. They clear the path. The sheep simply are called by the shepherd’s voice to follow him.

A cowboy is much different than a shepherd. A cowboy drives his herd. He pushes from behind. Maybe you’ve seen it in the movies, or you’ve watched the cowboys of Yellowstone driving their cattle. Cattle don’t follow well, they only go where they are forced to go.

So, the message today, girl don’t be a cow. God isn’t here to force you into anything. He doesn’t want to push you and make you go here and do that. He’s been trying to call you and lead you. You were created to follow him.

Jesus says in John 10:14 ““I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.”

What you need to know is, Jesus, your good shepherd, has already gone before you in this. He’s not asking you to go anywhere he hasn’t already gone for you. He’s not pushing you and proding you, Sis, he’s calling you forward towards him. He’s leading you to the fullness of life he came to give you.

Jesus doesn’t expect you to be perfect in your journey. He KNOWS you. He knows sometimes you wander. He knows sometimes you get scared. He knows sometimes you overthink this whole thing and get overwhelmed. He knows sometimes you go charging off in your own direction and you get stuck in a hole. He knows all of this because the shepherd knows his sheep.

And you know him. You have to know Jesus will come looking for you time and time again. You have to know Jesus has not given up on you. He’s not mad at you. He’s not punishing you. Get to know the nature of your good shepherd. He’s a care taker. He’s a giver. He’s willing to give his life for you. He’s willing to lay everything down for you. And he’s relentlessly searching for you to bring you back close to him so he can lead you to the goodness that is ahead for you.

What’s ahead? Green pastures and flowing streams, my friend. Goodness. Provision. Blessings. Favor.

How do you get there? Follow the shepherd.

Lonnie and I are currently on a 4 day roadtrip from Dallas, Texas back to the turquoise waters of our Florida Keys. On roadtrips we love to talk about our 29 years of marriage, and remember back to the way things used to be, and how everything was all pieced together to bring us to where we are today. Our memories are growing a little fuzzy of how one thing led to the next, so we’re trying to revisit it all so we don’t forget. We don’t want to forget how God has been so faithful.

Yesterday we began talking about the season of life that we loving refer to as “Struggle and Stupid Decisions”. Our baby was less than a year old and Lonnie was getting out of the Army. We didn’t have jobs or a plan. Back in the day when the internet was rather new, I discovered a business that was looking for help, and most importantly, they wanted to pay for that help. Seemed perfect, because we needed a paycheck pronto!

We were promised the moon if we would move to Kansas City for 1 short month’s training, then we would we paid to open an office in Dallas. It all sounded just perfect, so we went.

God is using your deepest pain to launch your greatest calling. The very thing that threatened to take you out serves to bring you in closer. Maybe from where you are today, you can look back and see for yourself how the hardest times brought you to a greater purpose. And if you can see it for your past hardships, perhaps it makes your current hardships more of an assigned mission than assigned misery.

One of the greatest threats on my life happened at precisely this time, 28 years ago. Today, I will share my story with you, not for pity or praise, but to show specifically how God uses pain for a purpose, a mess for a message, and chaos for a calling in all of our lives.

I was a 19 year old newlywed, living on love and ramen noodles in Georgia with my cute, young husband. We had just settled into our lives together months before, and I had landed a job as a receptionist at a real estate office. On this particular morning, I had decided to have my husband take me in to work early. I remember sweet moments before leaving our little apartment. I made his breakfast and sat on his lap while we shared eggs and orange juice. I kissed him goodbye, and walked into a virtually empty office to await the official office hours to begin.

At this early hour of the morning, there was only one other person in the office. His name was Lew. He was a gentle older man whom everyone loved. Lew had asked me into his office to help him fix his voice mail. When I stood up to leave his desk, everything went dark. Kindof like when you stand up too fast and your blood pressure drops, but times 100. I suddenly became dizzy and disoriented, and the darkness and spinning just wouldn’t go away.

Lew got up to get me a drink of water, and when he returned, he found I couldn’t control my hands to grab the cup. Now, what are the odds that good ol’ Lew would just happen to be a retired Army medic who knew a medical emergency when he saw one. He immediately called 911 and worked to keep me calm.

An ambulance took me to the Army hospital at Ft. Stewart, and there they saw I had lost all control of my body. My speech, my coordination, my balance, my vision. Everything was gone in an instant.

I distinctly remember 3 thoughts going through my mind:

* Was I going to see Jesus today?* Did I tell all of my family that I loved them?* Was that nurse really cutting my pretty purple bra right off of me?

Soon my cute little husband arrived and stood by my side, helpless to do anything to stop what was happening.

It was decided a larger hospital was needed, so they loaded me in another ambulance and told cutie husband to meet them an hour away in Savannah, Georgia. He went home to grab a few items, while they sped off with me a hot mess in the back.

They tried to take a short cut on back roads, then came to a low bridge with a large tree laying across it. Precious time had been wasted and they had to turn around.

I remember the paramedic telling me I was so lucky to be the very first person to ever ride in this brand new ambulance. Minutes later, there was a loud noise from the engine and we were broken down on the side of the road. The brand new fan belt in this brand new ambulance had just broken. So much more precious time wasted as we awaited another ambulance to pick me up and start again.

By this time, cutie little husband had already arrived to the meeting point in Savannah, but there was no Pamela. What was he to think? I’m sure his mind raced to all the possible scenarios of me not making the transfer. But, I finally arrive, with continually worsening conditions.

The battle you’re in right now has already been won by God. He already has a plan. He’s already seen the end. He already knows the victory ahead while you just know the struggle you continue to be in.

We can get so overwhelmed in the fight, but God has never been overwhelmed. He’s never been worried about the odds. He’s never been backed in a corner with no options. In fact, the greater the odds against you and the smaller the chances for you, the bigger God gets to show his power. And maybe, just maybe, as the odds seem to be stacking up against you, threatening to overwhelm you, God is reveling in the fact that his power will be that much more evident when he brings you through this.

As your chances get smaller and smaller, as the clock is ticking and time seems to be running out, as every last idea you did have fails, maybe God is holding the one thing that will work, and he’s about to turn it over to you. Are you ready for the thing that will work? Are you ready for God’s plan that will lead to victory?

Welp … you’re probably not going to like it in the beginning.

Gideon was facing a battle. A battle of his 32,000 men, versus the Midianite’s 135,000. He was outnumbered over 4 times in what would be a hand to hand combat. Impossible. Overwhelming. Ridiculous. Yet, God called Gideon to gather his soldiers.

And God is calling you to gather what you have. Stop convincing yourself that what you have and what you can do will never be enough. Stop dismissing yourself from what God wants to do in you and through you, right in the middle of overwhelming odds. And girl, stop giving up when the numbers first start going against you. When things first get worse, you can’t assume defeat is certain. What if God is just preparing you to see his impossible work through this, and first, he wants to remove any doubt in the way.

Gideon was grossly outnumbered facing a battle that would require a miracle. But God asked Gideon for a step of faith that would sound absolutely ridiculous.

Judges 7: 2-3 “The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”

Gideon’s numbers are going backwards, and maybe that’s what has been happening to you. It’s getting worse instead of better. The odds are stacking against you instead of for you. Your chances are diminishing and so is your hope. But, my sister, God is still working!

Now Gideon has only 10,000 men to face 135,000 of his enemies. He’s outnumbered over 13 times! 1 against 13? No one moves forward with those odds. Nope, not even God. Even God says 1 against 13 wasn’t good enough. So, what does God do?

Judges 7: 4-6 “But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.”

And with this, God told Gideon to let the greater number go and only keep 300 with him. Wait, what? God made it even worse! Gideon’s original 32,000 went to 10,000, now he’s down to just 300!

Sometimes life is straight up hard. It’s not fair. It doesn’t make sense. We want out of it, but there doesn’t seem to be a way out, just through.

But you’re tired of going through this. You’re tired of this hardship. You’re tired of this struggle. And you’re not sure how much more your heart can take.

I hear you, my sister. Some have reached out to me recently and I want you to know you were on my heart this morning. Your situation was on my mind. I talked to God about you, and I asked him what he wanted to say to you today through me. And this is what he gave me.

Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

That brokenness you feel within has summoned God Almighty to drawn in close to you. He is here. He is right here with you, right now. Your spirit feels crushed. Your hopes have been diminished. The light of your joy has temporarily gone out. But God is rescuing you!

You may not see it right now, and you may not feel it today, but I assure you, God is rescuing you.

Somehow, someway, he is going to get you through this. He isn’t going to leave your side, you will never be alone. His supernatural strength will be given to you. His divine direction will be flowing through your spirit. His presence will be all around you. And let me tell you something, THE ENEMY FLEES IN HIS PRESENCE!

Deuteronomy 28:7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”

So, Sis, here’s what you can’t do in the middle of this. You can’t give up. You can’t crawl in that hole and pull that rock over your head. You can’t believe the lies that tell you it’s always going to be this way.

God is drawing close to you in your brokenheartedness, and the enemy simply cannot remain in his presence. When you show up with God, the demons of hell go running!

Now maybe you don’t know how to show up with God right now because you’re out of the words to pray. You’re out of the energy to try anything else. You’re at the very bottom and the way up seems absolutely impossible. The good news is, it’s not your perfect prayers, or a 3 step plan followed that you need here. You need God and God draws in close to the brokenhearted. He rescues the crushed in spirit. God is on the move to you, you don’t even have to be on the move to him.

He’s near you, Sis. He’s here going through this with you. He is actively rescuing you in this. His presence with you is causing the enemy to flee.

Who wrote these words, “”The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

It is believed to be David, or someone close to David writing about his life. David went through many hardships and struggles. When the King is out for your life, you’re in trouble and you have something to worry about. But 3 times King Saul tries to seize and kill David, and 3 times he failed. Why? Because God protected David. God gave David supernatural battle plans. He hid him and protected him. He gave him favor in battle and made impossible things happen.

When David’s newborn son died, God was close to him, and soon gave him another son named Solomon. This baby grew to become King Solomon.

God worked in loss. He worked in chaos. He worked in battle. He worked in struggle. David’s entire life was proof of God’s presence and res...

What if you could be wildly successful in this new month of life? What would that look like for you?

Did you know God has success designed for each of us? You know those good plans for our lives he talks about in Jeremiah 29:11, yeah, those plans are for success. The problem is, we’ve twisted success to mean things that take us farther away from God instead of closer to him.

Success is not always overflowing business … not if that business wears you out. Success is not always toned legs and an ab or two that pops out on your perfectly flat tummy … not if that becomes your identity. Success is not always a list of goals achieved … not if that becomes your obsession.

Success is actually the same for you and I. Regardless of where you live and what you do, and how different it may be from where I currently am, we share the same success. Success is knowing and doing God’s will. Success is walking in the flow of his divine power to be right where you’re supposed to be naturally. Success is becoming who God created you to be.

This is success.

You know why? Because who God created you to be is who you really want to be. By design, all your desires are directly connected to God’s vision for your life. When you’re living as who God created you to be, you feel different, you show up different, and life becomes different. You feel good in your own skin. All this time you’ve been wanting to trade skin with someone else and have a life that looks more like theirs, but it’s your skin that fits just right when you’re growing to become who God created you to be.

Nothing feels better than living in a trajectory of your God granted destiny. Nothing feels better than walking in your purpose. Nothing feels better than watching your life transform to become what God envisioned when he created you.

This is success. And I’m telling you, YOU WANT IT!

You want to wake up with purpose.

You want your every step to be guided supernaturally.

You want to love the life you live and the woman you are in that life.

And I assure you, God wants that for you.

God is not playing some wicked game of cat and mouse, dangling success in front of you, only to take it away from you before you get there. He’s not trying to trick you into a life you will be miserable in. He’s not punishing you or withholding from you.

Mamas, how badly do you want good things for your own kids? How much do you want them to be successful? Don’t you want them to find their people, find their groove, and walk boldly into a ridiculously good life? Think about that, then know God feels the same way, and even more, about you.

Now here’s the real eye opening moment. As much as I want these good things for my children, I can’t give it to them. I can’t always help them find their people. They’re going to go through heartache and let down. They will choose the wrong people, then try to fix the wrong people and lose themselves along the way. (Oh wait, am I just speaking from personal experience here? Maybe there aren’t any other moms who have watched their daughters try to fix every broken boy on a bad path, then be drug onto a bad path herself. Or maybe I’m not alone in this at all.) I can’t always give the perfect advice for the choice they should make, because quite honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know which career will be best for them. I don’t know where they should go to school or where they should live. I don’t know what they should do from here.

Were you once doing well, going strong, making major progress and then you got tripped up? Something stopped your progress and you’ve been a bit stalled since. You lost your get up and go. Your motivation is now low. You say you will, but you won’t. You get your hopes up that this time you’ll stick with it, this is it … then you’re disappointed once again with another start strong and stop quick.

Or maybe you’re just now shaking off the past little hiccup in your journey and you’ve started again. You’ve made a little progress, but deep down you’re worried you’ll fail again. You know your own track record and feel it’s just a matter of time until you mess it all up.

Have you ever wondered if maybe God gets frustrated with us? Imagine God has this great plan for your life and you’re missing out on it because you’re tripped up and can’t seem to stick with the plan. How does God feel about this? What does he have to say to you about it today?

God wants you to know he’s in the business of redeeming and restoring, then refocusing. He’s got your number and, ring ring ring, oh hello, he just called it!

Look at Peter. Most of us know the disciple Peter for one thing … denying Jesus. You remember the story, Jesus is preparing the disciples for his own crucifixion which was ahead. Peter says “Jesus I will go with you even to death.” And Jesus says, Peter before the rooster crows, you will deny you even know me 3 times.

And Peter failed Jesus, not once, not twice, but indeed 3 times. 3 times he denied Jesus. And when he heard that rooster crow he remembered what Jesus had said. Can you imagine his shame? Can you imagine the reality of his failure?

But here’s the thing for us to remember and apply today. Jesus knew Peter would fail, and he chose him anyway. This was no surprise to Jesus. And God knew you would screw up too. He knew you would get lazy. He knew you would waiver in your commitment. He knew you would get distracted and lose your focus. He knew in advance every misstep you have taken and will take and he is choosing you still. GOD IS STILL CHOOSING YOU. He hasn’t thrown his good plan for your life out the window. God has chosen you and he wants to work with you through your failures and use them as a set up for your comeback. He sees your struggles and says “ahhhh, I can help her with that! I know exactly what to do.”

God wants to partner with you. With his limitless power and your God given potential, you can do the impossible … but you can’t do it on your own. You’re going to kill yourself trying to overcome your past and future failures on your own. God wants to restore you. He wants to help you. Won’t you surrender to him and recognize YOU NEED HIM. You will always be a work in progress this side of heaven. Go ahead and make friends with the process.

Now, shed the shame. Failures and shortcomings come with a natural measure of guilt and shame. But your failure is not the end of your story. Peter’s failure wasn’t the end of his story. He had this epic public fail that we’re still reading about today. Gosh, aren’t you glad to know your failure probably won’t even be remembered 5 years from now. If Peter can overcome his failure, I’m pretty sure you can too. Shame and guilt are and indicator of where you went wrong and what you can do different. It’s temporary. Recognize it, then shed it. But here’s what the enemy does. He comes in and takes that natural shame and guilt you feel and attaches it to your identity. The enemy takes your failure and says YOU ARE a failure. He’s a liar. He’s a manipulator.