Some Beautiful Paths Can't Be Discovered Without Getting Lost

Have you ever looked yourself in the mirror and not like what you've become?  Sometimes, that same look can motivate you to make some changes in your life.  Sometimes, it can just turn into bitterness because you know you're not yet strong enough to handle change.  Either way, it's good that you at least recognize it.  I'm going to share something that helped me get back on track.
At the beginning of the summer I got off track of my bible study, meaning it was non-existent in my schedule for a long time.  I started over-indulging in bad habits, not taking care of my responsibilities,  & eventually had become a shadow of what I once was.  I felt defeated & stressed, but convinced that there was no harm done since I was among friends. I told myself all kinds of lies to make myself feel better about who I had become.  That is.. until God stepped in again.  He shook me to my core, once again. He placed someone in my path that I hadn't spoken to in a long time in order to show me something huge.  He said, "How you are living, MATTERS."  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  How have I been living?  What type of example have I been setting?  I immediately felt so guilty.  I was down on myself for a while, but I kept remembering the phrase, "Just because you don't sense God's presence doesn't mean that He is not there.  Remind yourself that God is with you and He is greater than any feelings." I knew what I had to do and had a new found fire in my belly to get it done.  Since school has started back for the kiddos (praise Jesus), I've taken responsibility for my bad choices, started back my Bible study, started a new plant based diet, am exercising again, and am working towards getting back to my true self.  Step number one was to change my lifestyle and habits.
I was reading through one of my favorite Christian wife blogs and came across these verses she had highlighted. 

Galatians 5:24 - "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.
You are not the lusts of your flesh. You are not the lusts of your past. You are not chasing anything. You are no longer led by your feelings. You are not who you used to be! You are a new creation because of HIM!

Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

What I got from that is this:


You are not your past.  Remember that when you begin to see your path headed towards old habits. 
You are not how you used to behave and the places that you used to go.
You are not stuck in the same rut you used to be so comfortable in.
Don't allow a temporary set back to convince you that you are not worthy of His Grace!


Alot of times, we hold onto bad ways of thinking and living, but still claim to be a Christian.  No more!  Not for me. We are all works in progress, but the key word there is PROGRESS.  You have to continue to take steps forward each day on the path towards Jesus, if you ever expect to get anywhere. Your conviction (guilt) will keep coming back to haunt you if you don't. That's the Holy Spirit talking.  It's not enough to just know about Jesus. Even the devil knows about Him, right? It's time to really live it.  How you're living right now, MATTERS.
So, I challenge you today to look at who you follow on social media and who you are in relationships with in real life.  Do those people contribute to your walk?  Do they empower you or drain you?  Do they support you or drag you down?  Many of us will be so quick to go on an unfollowing spree from bad examples or bad influences, but will keep up our own bad habits night after night.  Or, we will sit on our high horse and bark about how people should be living, when we ourselves know we don't have it all together.  WHAT?? Following your path in no way entails telling others what they should be doing.  What God calls us to do is SHOW them.  Lead by example.  Love the people who are different from you.  When someone doesn't support you, that's OK!  You know why? Because we can keep right on walking down our path, setting that example, and hopefully one day they will see the light.  Show them the love of Christ through you.  You may be the only example of love they have seen that day, that month, or even that year.  Ultimately, it's not up to you to change their heart.  Only God can do that. 
What you can do is unfollow those negative people on social media and in real life.  Choose more uplifting and positive influences to be present in your day to day.  You can purposely choose to listen to uplifting praise music.  You can set aside time to read that Bible study instead of that post. You can join a small group at your church and have some real life, face to face, God fearing Christian people in your corner.  Trust me, you're gonna wish you had those kinds of people around when times get hard.  Get real.  Make a stand.  Stop letting conformity run you over like a Mack Truck.  Stop allowing the pattern of this broken world to dictate how you live your life.  Live how He wants us all to be living!
Social media is a constant distraction in today's world.  It takes up a ridiculous amount of most people's day.  If you can scroll for an hour, you can do a Bible study for an hour. This alone proves to us that we have plenty of time for Jesus.  Actually, time to read isn't even a problem these days, since you can listen to podcasts or audio books if your hands are too busy to hold a book or phone.  What we lack is the desire.  Once we change our priorities around, we will see that lack of time is just an excuse.  I know, because I've said it a hundred times.
When you realign your path to go towards what's really important and tell HIM that you're ready, He will help you!    Matthew 7:7 tells us "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you"  God wants to help us in our times of need, but he also wants us to pray and talk to him when the good times roll around.  Let Him help to renew your spirit and mind.  He can help you in your marriage.  Your example can help to inspire your children! God can move mountains.  All you have to do is ask and have faith.
So again, I challenge you. 
Who do you follow?  What path are you going down right now?  How are you living? 
If you're not happy with your answers to these questions and you're wanting to rid yourself of the guilt, then call out to Him.  Stop worrying about your past and change your future.  It MATTERS!