Mar 14, 2014

The Great Exchange

Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain, 2013

So I had a dream this past week were the Hand of God was literally reaching down and giving me gifts that were beautifully wrapped with bows, shimmering with glitters, and bedazzled with jewels. And my hand was reaching up giving him burnt up rags, soiled items, stinking junk, and shriveled up balls of nastiness. And I remember each of the the items I was giving to God were shame, guilt, self-hatred, low self-esteem, and the list goes on. It was such a beautiful dream!! And it made me thing about this post that I wrote 4 years ago almost to this date.

And this dream all came about because over the past couple of weeks, I tackled thoughts I battled with for a large portion of my life, rejection which stems from deep seeded roots ( Read my posts The Uprooting). That rejection produced low self-esteem, self-consciousness, and feelings of never fully feeling accepted or liked. And not fully valuing myself caused me to be in a slew of unhealthy, toxic romantic relationships and friendships. But the more I seek the Father and allow Him to pursue me with His love, the more I know and come into full confidence of who I am. Enjoy the post y'all.

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Can I just keep it real with y’all for one second. Ok, so this week [which was 4 years ago] has been a bit of a trying week for me. I feel like all areas of my life took a hit mentally. Whether it was my academics, family life, relationships, or whatever, my mind was all over the place. The Lord isn’t playing when He tells us renew our minds, not once a month or once a year, but daily (Romans 12:2). [Renewing our minds is something we will always have to do. If we think about academics, 4 years is how long it takes to get a degree or become an expert in a specific field. So one would think since this post was written 4 years ago I would have mastered renewing my mind and not have to work at it daily. But that is not the case with the things of God. We will always have to submit our minds and flesh to be renewed. We are always in need for our dependence on God and the Holy Spirit].

This awesome quote by the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher, sums up the immense power our thoughts have:

"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. And what your character for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become."

Now that’s real. And frankly the enemy [Satan] wants to keep every single one of us from understanding the magnitude and weight our thoughts truly hold. But honestly, our thoughts become our destiny. And I know, that sounds like a ridiculous rhetorical fallacy, but Mrs. Thatcher is speaking the truth. Let me give you an example to make it clear that this is not a slippery slope fallacy. So I think sometime during the summer I was watching some Olympic track events. And one young gentleman was just killing it on the track, but all of a sudden he took his eyes off the ground ahead of him and just barely turned his head to the right to see where his competition was, and in that instance, the competitor on the left sped right past him, and then 2 others. So the gentleman didn’t even qualify anymore he lost the gold, silver, and the bronze. The commentators later stated that Olympians are guaranteed to lose when they try to check out their competitors and take their focus off of their task. And why would that Olympian even be worried about where his opponents were? Well, a thought of failure probably came into his mind; he was probably thinking he wasn’t going to win (when in fact he was winning). So he decided to see where his competitors were to see how much quicker he had to run. That thought of failure ended up altering his actions and his destiny (well not for all of eternity lol, but for that competition at least).

I don’t want to be about that life. I don’t want silly thoughts to derail me from the greatness happening right now and that is yet to come. I want to succeed in every task God places ahead of me. So as soon as thoughts of doubt, discouragement, or negativity came to mind this past week, I went straight to the Father. I do not, and will not ever make time for negativity to enter and remain in my atmosphere. I had to remind myself of God’s word and all the truths He has spoken over my life, my family, friends, and my surroundings. Check these verses out.

“God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!” That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you—under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing…He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes…“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble.I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!” -Psalm 91, MSG

How awesome is that?! Reading and believing this as the Truth makes every ounce of negativity or ill thinking erode away. The simplicity of that just baffles me. All I have to do is believe and receive. What a great exchange!

Here is evidence of this exchange, God says I should cast everything, every care, worries, and concern, on Him and He would give me rest (1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28). And the most important exchange that ever took place in all of history was Jesus taking on the sins of the world and giving us His righteousness in exchange (1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:12). Now that right there, sounds like an unprofitable plan for Jesus. Yet, He does it. Cray Cray, I know. But God’s love is so deep and expansive that He would take our yuckies and give us His goodies. Not once or twice, but every single time we ask for it! :D. Why would I not want to run and rest in that every moment of every day? Why should I let my thoughts get the best of me and hinder me from His good and perfect will? I will not! So every time a thought comes into my mind and opposes the Truth I will take it captive and force it to obey the Truth (1 Corinthians 10:5).

I encourage you all to join me and do some exchanging. Take all your yuckies, present it to the Father. Now, with out-stretched arms, receive His perfect and pure gifts. He wants to trade you, with no strings attached. No work involved. All He needs is a heart full of surrenderance and trust in Him. So, what do you say. Join me.

For all my visual learners out there. Here's the great exchange :)

2 Corinthians 5:21