I'm Not What I've Done. I'm What I've Overcome.

Today I just want to share my heart about what God has done in my life since I've moved to Fargo-Moorhead. I left my hometown brokenhearted and completely let down by someone very close to me and I was grasping for hope in the deepest pit I had ever been in. I had heard of Chi Alpha from a friend and decided to go the first week of school. I went to the Underground at MSUM and found myself amongst beautiful people that believed in, trusted, and relied on a personal God. That night I rededicated my life to Christ. I continued to attend Chi Alpha and very quickly found myself amongst the best friends I have ever met in my life and I am so blessed to call them my family. Just because our hearts belong to God doesn't mean we don't face troubling times, we just have hope that better days are coming and trust God will bring us through. During what could have been a stressful finals week I instead remained at peace and made sure to spend time with Jesus every day. God definitely blessed me throughout the whole week and I have never been in such an intimate place with Him in all my life. And the best part is that I have so far to go! To go deeper into relationship and grow even closer to Him...

Amongst all the joy and peace I've received from my Daddy, I have fought Satan continuously as he tries to push me further and further from my goal. Satan's ammo was my past; memories, feelings, dreams, pain, Satan grabbed everything he could to pull me back to bury me in the pit God had rescued me from. At the Chi Alpha Girl's Night I was prayed over and found myself truly fulfilled by God with memories of the past completely swept away. I am no longer haunted by images of the past because God has blessed me with forgiveness and has repaired the cracks and has made my heart new. Every once in a while if I let my guard down, Satan tries to sneak his way in with lies from the pit of Hell. The devil tries to bring me back to my sin, make me feel guilty, and drag me further from God. When I notice this happening my first reaction is to pray; I pray God will remove anything from my heart and mind that is not of Him and he does. I am set free from my past and have been given a second chance to create a new identity in Him.

Fireflight has a song called, "What I've Overcome" and the lyrics are as if they were written straight from my heart. (There's a link to the song at the bottom of the page.) I don't know how I could better explain my current situation than through the lyrics of this song. I have such a passion for God and a joy in Him as if I have been born again. I'm free from my past since he has spread it as far as the east is from the west and has buried it in the bottom of the ocean! Amongst my Chi Alpha family I am not my past, my family does not judge me based on what I've done because that's not who I am. They see me as who I am in Christ, my identity comes from Him. I have struggled to see myself in the same light until very recently. I kept myself from forgiving myself and it blinded me from seeing the beautiful woman God has made me to be. I now see myself as His daughter who He loves beyond what my imagination can comprehend. He sent His son to die for me and has forgiven me even though I don't at all deserve it. He loves us beyond what we deserve because we are His creation, His children. He has called us to be sons and daughters of the light and has put His favor on us. We are blessed and loved!!!

Today my prayer is that people from my past could push aside what they knew of me and instead see who I've become as I am now the woman God has created me to be. This is the hard part about going home, I really don't like to go home to the people who treat me as though I've never changed. The people who gossip, sling bad names about people, who think of me as the person I used to be. Take note that from my experience, as well as my friends', people's perceptions of you are not easily changed. People may recognize a change but most continue to treat you as if you are still the same person you were before. Be careful about your words and actions as people chose to define you through them. Especially those currently in high school; your reputation sticks with you for a long time. Is yours one that you want to stick around? If not, change it NOW! You don't have to wait for the summer, next year, or college to start over. By the grace of God you can do it today. No it won't be easy, change never is, but you can be redefined by a God who is so provides healing and guidance. If this is you and you want to put the past behind you and move into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ please pray with me.

Father, I'm sorry. I've let the world control me and I no longer look to you for guidance. Please forgive me for the sins that have buried me and have brought me apart for you. Jesus would you come into my heart and put all the broken pieces together and fill the cracks and crevices so that the devil has no power over me. I pray that you are near to me and would speak to me so I can walk in your ways. Daddy I thank you for the work you are doing in me and I lift up your name for the great work your are doing in my life. God put people in my life that will help me walk with you and lead me into a personal relationship with you. Set my heart on fire. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

May God bless you abundantly and set you free from your past in the name of Jesus. God Bless!

Love,
Paige

Here's the link to Fireflight, "What I've Overcome"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKonnpA71yE