Devotion 3: Growing In Difficulty
I came to know Jesus as my Savior when I was 14 years old. I was in the foster care system. I had just gone back to Children’s Village for a second time in their shelter building because I had no family and no home. I hear it often, “So many people in your situation would have turned to drugs, sex, alcohol, or whatever.” Truth be told, I would have if Jesus did not meet me exactly where I was. There I was, alone. My mother was a drug addict. My father was nowhere to be found. My brother wanted nothing to do with me and he was being adopted by a family who wanted nothing to do with me. Lastly, there was my grandfather, the one who abused me, the one I blamed for putting me here. I thought, “How is it that I have spent my entire childhood being abused by this man, and yet I am the one locked up here?” I was furious. Little did I know God was saving me from myself by putting me in a place where I was free to grow in Him.
I spent my first month there weeping every day. I was feeling sorry for myself, that no one loved me or wanted me. In my second month, I met Mrs. Goforth. She gave me a Bible, she prayed with me, and she told me about the everlasting love of Jesus. Jesus intervened. He met me exactly where I was, and I gave my life to Him. I spent my third month there praying, learning about Jesus, and learning to forgive my biological family for all they had done. I can confidently say I left Children’s Village a completely different person than I was when I first walked in.
It is only through the divine power of Jesus Christ that I am where I am today. I could not have pulled myself out of that situation and become the person I am today on my own. It is only because I belong to Christ that I have any wisdom and am of any sound mind at all.
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
It is easy to be complacent, to be idle, and to stay the same. I know first-hand just how hard this life can get and how easy it is to stay in the same place, especially when we are trapped in our emotions of feeling sorry for ourselves. Ultimately, because change is hard. It is uncomfortable to know that we are not the same person we were a year ago, six months ago, or even a week ago. God has called us to do more. He has called us to grow. We are imperfect, and because of that, we have a never-ending need to change. God is the only one who is never changing, the only one who is consistently who He says He is (Hebrews 13:8), and because of that, we will always have a never-ending need for God. God is where we should get our wisdom, knowledge, love for others, and forgiveness for others. Otherwise, we are not growing, we are just filling our minds with ourselves. That is full of flesh and sin (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Today, I encourage you to allow God to intervene in your life. Whatever you are going through, whether it is a difficult season or a season of complacency, be so obedient to the Word of God that you have no other choice but to grow in Jesus.