Ignorance is bliss, right? I mean, we don’t know what we don’t know. What’s the harm in that?
Unfortunately, ignorance can actually harm us. It keeps us from living the abundant life Jesus promised in the Bible.
Lack of awareness prevents us from reaching our full potential and receiving all the blessings God has for us. Unfortunately, I lived in ignorance for years.
When I share my testimony, I’m never sure the best place to start…
Maybe when I was sixteen and I heard God’s voice for the first time?
He told me I had an important mission for Him. Scrawny and unpopular, I grew up in a tiny cabin in the woods with no electricity and running water. What could I possibly do to change the world? I just couldn’t see past the hand-me-downs and free school lunches. I literally had nothing to offer.
Maybe my story starts in college when I felt called to counseling. I graduated with a BA in Psychology, determined to move on to grad school so I could become a family therapist.
Yet God decided as a new wife, I needed to experience marriage and family before I tried to help others. Finishing my undergrad degree 8 months pregnant temporarily took grad school off the table. I never followed-up.
So maybe my story starts when I first learned about the power of prayer after birthing two children into a scary world. Though I didn’t recognize it until years later, God gave me the heart of an intercessor, which began with desperate petitions over my babies. My passion for prayer has grown exponentially since then.
I could see God moving in my life here and there, but I didn’t understand the big picture. And I had no idea how much satan despises God’s children.
We have an enemy who knows our calling and potential before we even understand it.
Satan steals and destroys – he’s an identity thief.
His entire goal is to keep us from becoming the person God designed us to be. So, he orchestrates situations that wound us, and he tells us lies that we latch onto and live by. Little by little, strongholds grow around us.
But we don’t recognize what’s happening because it feels normal.
We think we’re fine. We can’t see what’s going on, how tightly we’re locked in chains. We have no idea there’s another way to live.
Satan is really good at hiding his traps and the bonds he tightens around us. He’s good at convincing us things can’t change – this is just the way life is.
And that’s why I’m so passionate about sharing my story. I had no idea I was a captive in so many areas. I had no idea I was broken, that I didn’t ‘work right’ and needed some divine repairs. That I have the ability to get free.
We are not fine. We are broken and bound.
It’s not our fault we’re stuck – we didn’t do this to ourselves.
Hurt people hurt other people. We live in a fallen world, and we have an enemy who will stop at nothing to hinder our impact for the Lord.
When we’re trapped in toxic thinking, when we don’t deal with our wounds, we’re less effective for the kingdom. Because of these strongholds, everything we say and do is filtered through a skewed lens.
Without freedom and healing, we can’t be the person God designed us to be.
We’ve got some things we need to address, no matter the discomfort.
We need a Healer to repair our hearts and minds so we can become the best version of ourselves and succeed in our calling.
I’m not talking about ‘having it all together’ and ‘figuring everything out’. We won’t reach perfection while we’re on this earth, and God delights in using imperfect people to accomplish His will.
We’ll always have weaknesses and flaws. But we can also thrive while we’re on earth!
God rescued me! I didn’t know I was stuck – I couldn’t see.
One area I was blind to was just how critical and judgmental I’d become.
After a few years in Alaska, I began to struggle with seasonal allergies, so much so that I had to keep an inhaler on me at all times, and take prescribed medications. Why was this suddenly happening to me when I hadn’t dealt with allergies in thirty years of my life?
This lasted for a few years, until one particularly tough day as I was whining to the LORD about my situation, He said very plainly “This is happening because of the judgements you’ve made against a family member.”
That stopped me cold. I took a few minutes to ponder what He meant, and I could quickly see multiple places where I had criticized this person.
At first, I wasn’t sorry. But I desperately wanted to be healed, and I knew judging people was wrong, so I began to repent of all the things I’d spoken against that family member. I felt such love and compassion fill my heart!
As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes sin can affect our bodies. My allergy symptoms diminished after I repented. That was the last year I had to get on prescription medication. Since then, I’ve had very few problems with seasonal allergies.
As I allow God to expose more hinderances in my heart and mind, He keeps healing me. I don’t live that way any longer!
What in our lives still holds us back from all He has for us?
Let’s dare to address the wounds, face the pain, and combat the lies. Let’s go after God’s best for us, tearing down strongholds and any lofty argument or lie that comes against the knowledge of God.
Let’s fight for our freedom. It starts with awareness.
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