YOU {Be Inspired with Emily}

Similarities.

Mistakes.

Accomplishments.

..opposites.

Lately all I’ve been seeing are opposites. Serious. I’ll see a grand accomplishment, then I’ll turn around and see a mistake. I’ll have people come up to me and tell me things I don’t want to hear, but things that I need to be told. Raise your hand if that’s happened to you ;)

I don’t even really have a basis for what I’m writing about, but all I know is I have WAY too many thoughts in my head. Too many thoughts in my head, that can’t exactly STAY in my head. And when that happens, I spill them on paper. I write them out so they make more sense.

Have you ever wondered if YOU, yourself, and YOU alone are making, or can make a difference in someone’s life? Have you ever really thought that YOU can have an influence in someone’s life?

When you really think about it, you absolutely can. The words you say, the attitude you have, the way you carry yourself, whether positively or negatively, can influence soo many people.

I’m a person who believes strongly that we were ALL created uniquely. I believe we were all created individually, fearfully, wonderfully, and for a specific purpose. I believe He has called EACH of us to be not only ambassadors, but disciples. I believe He has called us to be on mission for the Kingdom. And I believe that through His work in our lives, we can disciple and BRING more to praise and know His great name. Um. How cool is that?

To know that through Him, WE have that opportunity.

YOU.

You. You’re one person. If your name is Hannah, God didn’t call you to be a Sarah. He didn’t call you to be a Heather. He called YOU to be Hannah. And if your name is Ashley, He didn’t create you to be Rebecca. He called YOU to be Ashley. And if your name is Lauren, He didn’t call you to be Katie. He called you to be Lauren.

To hear that is one thing, but to believe that He  created YOU, fearfully and wonderfully, uniquely and individually, is another. He calls each of us to a different role. To have a different name. And He created each of us to have blue eyes or brown eyes, blonde hair or brown hair. He created some of us short, and some of us tall.

I know I probably sound like a children’s book author, but sometimes the simpler, the better. Sometimes words just need to be simplified to be absorbed and understood clearly.

But really, you are YOU. And He wants to use YOU.

How often have you doubted yourself. Thought you weren’t smart enough, good enough, pretty enough, capable enough, etc.?

How often have you looked yourself in the mirror and thought to yourself, “If only I was ____, THEN I would be ____.”

Because that’s what the world wants you to do. The world wants you to think you’re not good enough. And do you know who is fighting for control of this world, society, and YOU? The devil. All he ever craves is negativity, sin, temptation, and darkness.

All he wants to see is you fail. He wants to see you fall down, think you’re not good enough, and look yourself in the mirror and think, “If I was ____, then I would be _____.”

He wants to see lights burn out, rather than stay lit forever. And he’s fighting every day for you to give in to that temptation, that sin, and that evil.

But hello. Can I please introduce you to the most fabulous, amazing, wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace? Can I introduce you to a King who became a man, came to Earth, and saved us all from a death we deserved. He has stayed the same through all the Ages. His love has never changed, never failed, and never fallen short. He wants the exact OPPOSITE of what Satan wants of you. This mighty King wants to see you rise above the valleys you’ll fall into. He wants to see you look yourself in the mirror and say, “I am His, and I am ME. I’m beautiful to Him. I’m wonderful to Him. And I am capable through Him.”

This King, this Savior, and this Counselor is not just my Jesus. He is YOURS too. He wants YOU to know that even when there is pain in the night, joy comes in the morning.

Nothing. No height nor depth can separate us from His love. His love never fails. He knows we make mistakes, but He displays NEW mercy every day.

And this mighty King? He no doubt has a PLAN for you. A plan for you. If your name is Sarah, He doesn’t have Rachel’s plan for you. He has a plan for you. A purpose for you. And He has written your name on the palms of His hands. Because He wants to USE you. He wants to USE you in mighty ways for His Kingdom. And He is fighting every day for you. Every battle you face is a battle that He has faced too. Every bit of pain you endure, He has endured even greater. Every fight you undergo, He has fought too. Every sleepless night you’ve had, He has too. Because He never sleeps, never gives up, never stops fighting, never stops carrying, never stops loving, forgiving, and saving. And, He works EVERYTHING together for OUR good. Even the sucky things you have to go through, He works them for YOUR good.

Therefore.

He can use YOU. Because He not only has created you fearfully and wonderfully, He has created you to be strong, equipped to fight the battles you will face. He has equipped you to be a lantern in the midst of darkness. He has created YOU to light up the dark with His love. And He has created you to be unique. Unlike any other, talented and special, beautiful and wonderful, smart and funny. And He has created you to influence SO many people through His grace and power.

He created you to be different so people would see a difference in you, and see that that difference is because of Him. Like whoa.

Sometimes, the truth needs to be said in simplicity. And that’s all He wants. His Word sometimes never makes sense to us because we just can’t grasp how simple some of it is. It’s just story after story of His grace and forgiveness. Story after story that includes details that we all fight today. In the 21st century. There is absolutely NOTHING that happened yesterday, today, and will happen tomorrow that He hasn’t experienced Himself. How comforting is it to know that every battle we face, He knows exactly what it is like. He knows what it feels like to hurt. He knows what it’s like to bear another’s burden. For crying out loud, He bore the burden of ALL OUR sins. Um. How undeserving of His grace does that make us? Absolutely.

So every thought you have, every burden on your heart, every fear you hold, every insecurity you have, YOU can lay them down at His feet and trust that He will carry you. Because He is fighting for YOU not because He has to, but because He loves you.

“He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.”

So why can’t we offer up our lives as living sacrifices to Him, for Him to reign in us?