BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

Oh, sounds like a lesson on finances. Nope, this is a lesson on self-worth! Today we’re digging into the story of my favorite disciple. The one whom I most identify with. The one quick to speak, first to get up and go, and first in line to create a big ol’ mess as a result. Maybe you identify with him as well. Peter is characterized as strong willed and courageous; however dangerously impulsive. Anyone else here ever gotten themselves in trouble because they speak before they really think about what’s about to come out of their mouth? Have you ever wanted to somehow just suck your own words right back up, rewind time by a few minutes, and think again before you speak, before you jump, before you mess this up? That was Peter. Quick to show up, quick to volunteer. Eager to get to work and make things happen, and sure to make a mess. But Jesus loved him. As we dig into the most infamous part of Peter’s story, let us all remember this … Jesus chose imperfect Peter, hand selected him as one of his 12 disciples, his best friends who he would live with and personally teach. He knew all the great and noble things about Peter and his greatest faults when he chose him, yet he chose him any way. He not only chose Peter, but he chose him first. (That right there would teach … Jesus still chooses you with your flaws and imperfections. You don’t have to fix yourself up first, he will use you just as you are!) So lets fast forward to the end of Jesus’ ministry. Peter and the other disciples have witnessed Jesus do the impossible. They knew he was truly the son of God – he was the savior of the world – they had no doubt of that. They saw him raise the dead, they witnessed him heal a blind man and a crippled man. They were there when he turned water into wine and cast out demons into a herd of pigs. And now Jesus had gathered these men whom he would leave his ministry to and prepared them for what was to come. Let’s put it this way – things were about to get bad, real bad. Jesus is preparing his best friends for his crucifixion. Peter, the quick to speak and impulsive quickly stands up next to Jesus and says, “Lord I am ready to go with you, both to prison and to death.” And in Luke 22:34 Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” Can you imagine being Peter in this moment? Called out in front of everyone. I’ve always read this scripture and the story that follows of Peter straight up denying Jesus 3 times that night and thought, shame on you Peter – how could you do that? You were warned and yet did it any way. Not only once, not even twice, but you did it 3 times! And then sure enough, just as Jesus said it would, the rooster crowed. Oh come on now dude – pull your head out. To me, it was always just a story of the downfall and shame of Peter – never was it anything to be applied to my life. But what if this is a story included in scriptures because it does apply to us? What if we can learn from Peter’s mistake? I’ve always believed I would never deny Jesus. If a gun was pointed to my head and I was told if I confessed the name of Jesus they would pull the trigger, I would still claim Jesus. So, quite honestly it’s been easy to put myself on some sort of “holier than thou” pedestal saying I would never do what Peter did. But what if we have denied Jesus? What if the rooster has crowed on us too? What if I have denied him and you have too? What if it happened again yesterday? How you ask? I have a two thoughts on that. First, when we take CREDIT for our talent, our job well done, our own success, thinking so well of our selves – aren’t we denying God? I mean HE is the one who gave you that talent.

John 1:16 – Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. GRACE – the free and unmerited favor of God. We have received grace in place of grace already given. Let me explain what this means … yesterday you woke up with grace from a mighty God, and today he gives you more grace. His grace is general goodness that blankets your life, covers your shortcomings, and stretches the distance between where you are and where you can be. This is his grace. It is yours, all yours. And you receive grace in place of grace already given. His grace isn’t a one time deal. He looks at you as his loving creation, his daughter whom he chose and he offers you grace. Another opportunity to get it right. My sister, there’s a grace over your life. There are things in your past that should have dragged you down and killed you. Perhaps things that should make you totally incapable of even getting out of bed today. It doesn’t make any sense how it all worked out, but somehow, someway it did. You were able to buy groceries. You were able to find a house. You found that job. You got out alive. You woke up when you planned to never wake up again. You found the strength. When all the odds were stacked against you, when everyone doubted you and counted you out, here you came. Why? There’s a grace over your life. You’re walking in grace. Now here’s the problem, we often miss the grace in our life because of the problems. But don’t you miss that grace in place of grace today. It’s there. A line in my journal on the topic of grace says “The presence of trouble doesn’t destroy the potential for triumph.” I’m sure that’s a TD Jakes quote. The presence of trouble today doesn’t destroy your potential for triumph. In fact, the very trouble you face today may be a setup for your breakthrough. It may be a test … are you really ready for the next level? You’ve been praying for the next level – God please give me a promotion – God please let me make more money – God please grow my business – God please grow my family. And God says, alrighty I hear your request, here’s some trouble. Here’s a mess. How are you going to handle this? Because how you handle it determines your readiness to rise to the next level. He wants to bless you. He wants to give you the opportunity. He wants it ALL for you, but he’s not willing to give you anything you’re not really ready for. There are seasons in life where God’s grace is proven by the open doors and opportunities. Oh, I love that season. There’s an opportunity, oh there’s another one. Open door, open door. One thing works and then the next thing works. Don’t you love it when everything lines up perfectly? It’s like the hint of fall time in the air after a long hot summer. That first smell of pumpkin spice, that new snuggly sweater. Oh yes, that season. Don’t we all love the season where God’s grace is proven by open doors and opportunities. But how many of us know SEASONS CHANGE. Oh yes they do. Since the beginning of the world it’s been so. Whatever season you’re in right now, it’s in the process of changing. Everything is changing. Then there’s the season when God’s grace is proven by the fire I went through … and I’m still walking! I walked right through that fire and by the grace of God, I came out on the other side. No one believed I could, heck I didn’t even believe I could, but God’s grace brought me right through it. Who’s ever been there? Oh it hurt didn’t it? Sure it did. You still felt the pain of your circumstances. You still heard the whispers of the enemy telling you this was it, you would never make it out of this fire. BUT GRACE WAS ALL AROUND YOU.

I wonder if anyone is listening this morning that feels plain ol’ tired and you’re beginning to think life may never get better. I wonder if anyone is listening that feels beat down from the daily fight. Is anyone listening that feels outmatched, discouraged or stuck? Yes, you’re listening? Great. You’re right where you’re supposed to be. Today’s devotional is titled “Just What You Need” and you are about to get some guidance from God! Oh yes, it may be just what you need! In the book of Judges chapter 6 we read about a young man named Gideon. A man just doing what he could do to survive. A man who had been beat down, attacked and fighting to simply have food to eat. Gideon was part of the Israelites who had escaped slavery in Egypt and were now wandering around in the desert starving. In verse 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” Now this must have been confusing to Gideon because it sure didn’t feel like God had been with him. I mean everything had been going wrong. Everything. And why would God call him a hero? He had done nothing. He felt so helpless threshing his wheat, hiding just trying to find a way to eat. But yes, God called him a hero. A mighty hero. God had a plan for Gideon and who he would need to become was something much more than he currently was. God has a plan for you and you may need to become much more than you currently are. You may need to rise up to the potential God has placed in you, the God given potential buried beneath years of playing little and settling for less. God sees you for who you CAN be and he calls you out to step into your potential. The real you, the authentic, best version of you is in there and God is calling her out! Are you ready to become more than your currently are? Are you ready to step up to the next level of living? Let’s look at how Gideon responds to God. God says, “hey you, mighty hero, God is with you!” Gideon says “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” That was a fair response. Look around, we’re starving here. If you’re with us, why is this happening?!!!! Have you ever asked God why? Oh I sure have. Have you ever gotten a good answer? Yeah, me neither. In fact God’s answer to my questioning of why looks a whole lot like his answer to Gideon. Gideon says hey, if you’re with us, why has all this happened. God doesn’t skip a beat and says “GO WITH THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE – I”M SENDING YOU.” Oh snap. No explanation. Just go with the strength you have. I believe God is saying the same thing to you and I today. I’m not going to explain why all this has happened, that’s why it’s called faith. Will you move on before you understand why, or will you beat yourself silly and stay stuck right there for the next 10 years trying to figure out why? That’s your choice, but understand this, God is calling you on. GO WITH THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE, I’M SENDING YOU. You must trust me and go do what you can about the situation with what you have. What you have may not be a whole lot, but that’s exactly what God wants to use to change your situation. You must go and do what you can with what you have. I love Gideon’s honest response in verse 15 – “But Lord,” “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe, and I am the least in my entire family!” Gideon felt like he was nothing. Like he was the least likely to be able to do what God was asking. There were a whole lot better candidates than him. And this is the way our God works. Indeed. He doesn’t choose the equipped, he equips the chosen. Oh what could we do if we had the courage to go with the strength we do have? What a difference we could make. What an impact.

Where do you find your worth? Where do you find you identity? Do you find your worth in the kids you’re raising? Ahhhh, be careful my friend, prodigal sons and daughters come from even the best of families and if your worth is tied up in them, you may be heading for the clearance rack. Is your identity wrapped up in what you do? You are a nurse, you help people. You are a teacher, you guide children. What happens when you no longer do that job? Who are you then? I’ve seen runners completely lose their identity through an injury. I’ve seen wives decide life isn’t worth living after their husbands go for the younger, newer model available. I’ve seen the deepest depressions hit after retirement, after the success, after the finish line because then you’re left to question, who am I now? There’s much at risk here my sisters. We must get this right. Last night in BIG Life Mentoring I encouraged everyone to begin seeking the truth of who they really are at their core. I know who I am. After all these years, I finally know. I am a treasure creation equipped with every single thing necessary to rock my life. I am fully loved, lacking nothing. This is how God sees me. This is my true worth and identity. What is yours? The only thing that matters now is everything God thinks of you. How God sees you is EVERYTHING. So, how does God see YOU and what does he think of you? If we get this right, our entire world changes. If we get this wrong, we wander through life never understanding who we are. Once you understand the importance of this, then you’ll understand the battle over it too. Every day of your life the enemy plots to tear down the truth of how God sees you and thinks of you. So just in case he’s been working overtime on your value, your worth, and your identity, I’m here to remind you today of the truth. God says you are loved, even when you can’t feel a thing. God says you are strong, even when you think you’re weak. God says you’re held, even when you’re falling short. And when you don’t belong, He says you are His. And all you must do is believe what he says of you. In Him we find our worth. In Him we find our identity. This is your truth, will you believe what he says about you today? Everyday I work with women to help them step into their best life. We work through issues of weight, relationships, fears, bad habits, past hurts and future worries. At the core of each of these problems is a value, worth, or identity issue. WHO ARE YOU IN CHRIST JESUS? WHO ARE YOU IN THE EYES OF YOUR CREATOR? WHO ARE YOU IN THE HANDS OF THE ALMIGHTY? Sometimes we simply don’t live up to our potential. Sometimes we miss opportunities. Sometimes we don’t act in love. Sometimes we get it wrong, real wrong. And understand this, your God still looks at you and sees the person he created you to be and KNOWS you have it in you. He looks at you on your worst day and says “you’re better than that, I’ll give you another shot.” I know there are areas of my life where I am better than I’m acting. I was created to live and love bigger and I’m playing little. So God lovingly reminds me who I am. He offers me grace and mercy as I stumble. And I choose to believe what he says of me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says ““My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s power wants to touch your weakness and shortcoming and make you more than enough. His grace wants to cover any areas in your life where you’re not quite measuring up. Won’t you come before your loving God today and let him do what only he can do in your life? Won’t you slow down and pause long enough to see exactly what you’ve been needing is exactly what he is offering?

  As followers of Christ, we know our souls are saved. But does your life suck? You’re guaranteed heaven, but what about your life on Earth? Does it matter? Are we supposed to just endure this life, somehow drag our miserable butt through our days here while we just wait on heaven? Does God care about not only the state of your soul but your heart and mind too? YES HE DOES – Let me prove it to you. This whole thing isn’t just about someday going to heaven – this is also about having a darn good life right here right now too. Jesus said in John 10:10 – “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Yes, Jesus came to save your soul, but it was more than that. He came to give you a rich and satisfying life today. Right now. You are not intended to dread your days or be overwhelmed in your stress. What’s rich and satisfying about that? If your life sucks, you’re doing it wrong. That was never God’s plan for you. Don’t you know God has already overcome the world and that means he has made a way for you through your problems. You do not have to live one more day defeated. You can hold your head and hands up high in victory because YOU ARE ON THE WINNING TEAM. For all eternity, and hey guess what – today is part of eternity. Think about that, today is part of your eternity. Don’t save up your happy for heaven. Nope, you can celebrate the victory today. What’s really interesting is when you begin celebrating your victory, believing that a way has been made even when you’re in the middle of the mess and don’t quite see it, you can find joy in the struggle. You know there is purpose in the pain. You can live the rich and satisfying life Jesus is offering, even when circumstances are a far cry from perfection. And you know what we call that – we call it praise. Perfect life is heaven – this side of heaven it won’t be perfect. But it can be rich and satisfying. YOU ARE NOT DEFEATED. Stop talking defeated words. Stop thinking defeated thoughts. Listen to me right now sister, you are MORE than a conquer. Overwhelming victory is yours through Christ who loves you. More than a conqueror. Say that I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR. You know what that means? It means you’re not a one hit wonder. You didn’t just happen to win one little battle and now you’re set up for defeat. No, you win over and over again. You’re a champion. That’s what you are. NOW START LIVING LIKE ONE. Start talking like a champion. Start thinking like a champion. Get up and get dressed like a champion. Face down your problems like a champion. (Hey members of BIG Life Mentoring, you have access to a complete mentoring series on the CHAMPION you were created to be from February 2018, check it out … it’s one of my favorites. It’s waiting for you now in the mentoring library.) Heaven is yours, yes and hot dang do I look forward to it. It will be glorious. It will be worth the wait in every way. But a rich and satisfying life is yours today too. Don’t miss what’s being offered to you. Go ahead and claim your place in the buffet of life and take a big healthy serving of rich and satisfying today. It’s available to you. Choose it. It’s yours. The price has already been paid for it. The way has already been made. Why not take it?

You were created for a BIG Life, however you’re being tempted with settling for a little less. Right now, today, you’re being tempted with less than the best this life has to offer. Have you been settling for it? Are you walking in a life filled with cheap imitations of God’s best because you have fallen for the temptations without even knowing it? This month in BIG Life Mentoring I’m guiding the inner circle on being ‘Authentic’. Recognizing who they were truly created to be, and daring to boldly live as THAT girl. Yes, that girl. The one designed by God, equipped with every single thing she would need, the one who is more than enough, totally capable, deemed as worthy, and destined for greatness. We are becoming her. And along the journey, we are tempted. Tempted with a little less than our best and His best. As a result we drift. We drift off course, wander into a wilderness we were never intended to be in, and fall out of alignment with who we were created to be. Temptation. You are being tempted. Where does temptation come from? What does temptation look like? How can we overcome temptation so we don’t miss out on the very things we were created for? Scripture gives us a detailed account of Jesus being tempted. Yes, Jesus, the one and only perfect person to ever walk this earth was tempted too. I’m pretty sure if Jesus was tempted that means you are not exempt from temptation my sister. It’s coming for you too. Let’s be prepared, Jesus has shown us how to do this. Let’s read the story from Matthew 4: 1-11 and apply it in our own lives. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. ————– If Jesus himself was tempted, you darn well better believe you and I will be tempted. We will face all sorts of temptations in this life. Temptations to cheat. Temptations to get even. Temptations to get ahead. But ultimately our temptations will center around the same temptations Jesus faced … temptations of the easy way. Think about it, that’s what the devil was offering Jesus, the easy, quick way. Jesus, you’re hungry – here, just take the easy way and turn these stones into bread and you can have something to eat right now. You want glory, you can have everything you want right now, just bow down and worship me. That’s quick and easy, we’ll get this misery over right now. I don’t know how you’ve been tempted lately, but I bet it centers around the quick and easy way. Quick, have immediate gratification and temporary satisfaction, forget about what this means for your goals and your future, just be satisfied right now.

Someone I love desperately is on the wrong path. I dreamed of her lastnight. I dreamed of hugging her and telling her this whole mess is going to be worked out. It’s been over 3 months since I saw her. 3 months of praying. Praying for that rock bottom. Rock bottom is what we often have to hit before we make a change. I’ve had my share of rock bottoms … you know who is always at that rock bottom? Our loving God. He’s there making our worst low our new firm foundation to rebuild our lives to higher levels than we ever imagined before. We often try to rescue those we love from rock bottom, protect them from the hard hit, but I’ve been praying for it. Scripture is filled with stubborn, rebellious people who made a mess of things and hit rock bottom. Scripture is also filled with God using these same people for great things. That brings me tremendous hope. God can use faulted, imperfect me for something great. He can use my prodigal daughter. He can use you. And don’t miss this … that’s exactly his plan. His plan is to use EVERYTHING in your life, every single thing, for something good. We all know the story of Jonah – swallowed by a whale. Spent 3 days in the stinky, swampy pit of a whale’s stomach. Now why? Why did this happen to Jonah? That’s a question we all like to ask when stinky things happen to us, when we find ourselves in a bad situation. Why God, why? Jonah knew exactly why he was in this position. God had clearly told him to do something, and he didn’t do it. He was disobedient. Jonah chapter 1 in my bible is titled “Jonah Runs From the Lord.” I wonder how many chapters in the story of our lives could be titled something similar? Looking back I see it – there I was, running from the Lord again. Doing my own thing. Not intentionally, but I was just so busy, I didn’t have time to listen to God. God’s way seemed less appealing than mine. And oh there were times I was sure I knew better than God. Do you have a few chapters of running from the Lord in your story? The book of Jonah starts with ‘The Lord said to Jonah “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh.” Get up and go. Sounds familiar. Seems God wants us to get up and go – get out there and do what we can do. But what if we don’t want to? God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh. Oh but Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. The people there were mean and nasty. They would hate Jonah and he knew going there would be hard. So what did Jonah do? He avoided hard. He went the exact opposite way. He got on a boat and headed out for Tarsish. But God saw him on that boat, doing the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be doing. We can’t get away from God. He always sees us. He always knows right where we are. And guess what … nothing we do comes as a surprise to God. He knows us inside and out, he knows our rebellious tendencies, our hardheadedness, our fears and insecurities and he sure loves us anyway. He loves us enough to chase after us, even when we’re going in the wrong direction. He loves us enough to never take his eye off us, even while we’re avoiding him. On the boat, a big ol storm comes up and threatens the lives of everyone on the boat. Jonah knew the storm was because of him. Gosh, don’t you hate that – don’t you hate when you know it was your bad choice that negatively affects others? We can’t live with our head stuck in the sand assuming our choices aren’t affecting our families. Hey mama, wake up – your kids see everything you do. They are watching you. You are training them up to do exactly what you are doing. Would you wish your life for your kids? If not, you better make some changes. What you’re doing is affecting everyone in the boat with you. So eventually,

Often times we’re going through life running low on power and energy because we’ve failed to plug in to the one thing our soul most needs. What is it our soul most needs? Connection with our creator. Ahhhhh yes, when is the last time you connected with your creator? He is your power source. Are you plugged in? We’re much like a cell phone running on 3% battery power. We’re exhausted. We’re nearing our end. We’re trying to milk every last ounce of energy out of a limited resource and we wonder why it’s not getting any better. It’s not getting better because we’re seeking power in the wrong places. We’re trying to plug into someone else thinking they will recharge us. That didn’t work – what a let down. We try plugging into work seeking fulfillment in our career and we’re only more drained. And of course we try the whole “self-help” thing. I can do this on my own. I know what to do here! So we read all the self help books, we try all the tricks and we will have momentary boosts of hope, but ultimately that battery power is still sinking lower. Sound familiar? Why do we do this? Here’s why … we forget that first and foremost we are a soul. We are a soul with a body. We treat life as if we’re a body and oh, our body happens to have a soul. We feel ragged and worn down so we seek to replenish our body forgetting all the while it is our soul that most needs refreshing. You are a soul. It’s not that you have a soul – YOU ARE A SOUL. And while you walk this earth, your soul gets a body. What would happen if we started caring more about our soul? How would your life transform if the most valuable thing about you was your soul and you cared for it in that way? We will spend hours at the gym, we will spend countless dollars on pills and shakes and concoctions to try to improve our bodies, but what are we doing for our soul? I’m throwing down a challenge today. A challenge to not only the inner circle of 350 women I’m mentoring this month, but to all of our listeners … yes that means you. Your challenge is to plug yo’self in. Get charged up. Recharge your soul by plugging into your power source. We’re connecting to our creator. How? Through prayer. We’re making time to talk to him and hear from him. We’re seeking him and allowing his power to flow through us. Philippians 4: 6-7 (MSG) “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” Why is it we would rather have a challenge to deep clean our homes or go on a 5 mile hike than to spend time in prayer? We’re busy. We’re distracted. We’re rapid. And we’re missing the one thing we need most … we need to tap into our true power source. You can’t do that without plugging into him. Get charged up today. Fully charged. You were never meant to go through life as half the person you were created to be. You were never meant to run so low and be so exhausted. You are meant to live in power. Perhaps we just haven’t been tapping into that power. Understand the same power that did every miraculous act recorded in the bible is living inside of you at this moment. The power that caused the walls of Jericho to crumble and fall – the power that caused the red sea to part and stand up on it’s end – the power that caused prison chains to be broken – the power that caused water to turn to wine – the power that caused the blind to see and deaf to hear – the power that caused Jesus to walk out of that tomb after dying on t...

Who are you? I mean really, who are you? Behind the scenes, beneath the layers, who are you? Do you like you? Are you proud of you? Are you living a life you really want, or when you’re being truly honest are you a bit disappointed by it all? You’re certainly not alone if you’re not totally enthused with the person looking back at you in the mirror. Most of us wish we could be different. The majority of us struggle with an internal battle, secretly ashamed of parts of who we’ve become. So here we are, stripped down before the God who created us, asking what do we do now? What do we do now when the person we see in the mirror doesn’t align with who we wanted to be? What do we do when in a moment of clarity we hear our own selves talking and we’re ashamed of who we have become. Oh dang, I never wanted to be that person. That nagging wife. That yelling mom. That jealous woman. And here I am. Struggling. Knowing I was created for more, but I’m not. I’m less. Philippians 1:6 – And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. God began a good work within you when he first imagined you. In Genesis chapter 1 we see that God created each of us in his image. That means many things, one of which means he had an image of you from the beginning. He imagined all you could be, all you could do and the impact your life could make. With this image of you in mind, he made you and placed all the potential needed within you and put your life into motion at just the perfect time to fulfill your destiny. This is how your good work started. And guess what … you had nothing to do with it. Nothing. This was all about God’s image of what you could be. That’s why he chose you for life. That’s why he created you with your specific set of gifts and talents and characteristics. You were created for good works. You are here to do good things. You are given life to live a good life. Are you? Are you living a good life? Or are you going through the motions? Are you spending your precious days stuck in a pattern, stressing about the details, complaining about the work, dreaming of future days while your current days go unlived fully? Ahhhh, don’t let that be you. I’ll tell you where that leads … that leads to regret. And you and regret mix like water and oil. No bueno. While your potential for a good life had nothing to do with you, it was all God’s idea and his creation, you actually fulfilling that purpose and living up to your potential IS ABOUT YOU. God gave you everything you need, then he gave you free will. He gave you the ability to choose. He gave you the ability to create. If we were to look at the image of us God had in mind and the image of us we live with, I wonder how big the gap is between the two. Using our free will and choices, how far have we gone off track? Have you ever asked God to help you lessen the gap? God, help me lessen the gap between who I was created to be and the person I’ve become. God just help me lessen the gap. God started something good in you and let me assure you of this, he’s not finished with you yet! God still looks at you and sees that potential. Perhaps beneath the layers of insulation and protection you’ve created, but it’s still in there. The real you is inside. And here’s what I know … that girl is dying to come out. The real you, the you who is confident and strong and determined with a passion and a purpose, the one who will boldly use her talents and life experiences for good, ahhhhh yes that’s who you can be. The one who is courageous and kind. The one who is trustworthy and strong, loyal, compassionate and moral, honest and responsible. Honey this is the real you.

As a teenager I went to a little country church were we sat in wooden pews and people stood up and testified on a weekly basis. At the end of each service the pastor would look out across the congregation and lock eyes with someone, then ask them to pray aloud. I made the mistake of not looking away one time. His eyes locked with mine and then he asked me to pray, me the teenager with big poofy bangs, praying in front of the entire congregation. I learned many things in that church, one of which was NEVER look up when it’s time to pray. Another thing I learned in that little country church was all the old hymnals my Grandma sang. Remember the days when the song leader would say, “everyone turn to page 117 and let’s sing I Saw the Light.” You looked much more spiritual if you could sing it without looking at the hymnal so I would try my best. I saw the light I saw the light No more darkness no more night Now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight Praise the Lord I saw the light. My days of sitting in those wooden pews and flipping through the pages of a hymnal have long since passed and I now sit in a cushy charcoal gray seat and read the words on a big screen, but some things never change. I still get all choked up every single Sunday and fight back tears. I still feel God move my heart when I see others accept Jesus. And today that old Hank Williams song “I Saw the Light” has a whole new meaning. You see, 2 weeks ago when my Daddy was taking his final breaths here on Earth he said “RUN TOWARDS THE LIGHT!” He also busted out in a deep belly laugh and said “ahhhh, Jesus is so funny, everyone is laughing here.” My Daddy saw the light and he ran right to it, laughing much of the time. For today’s devotional, let’s take another look at that old song our Grandmas sang in church. I wandered so aimless life filled with sin I wouldn’t let my dear savior in Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night Praise the Lord I saw the light. Gosh, have I ever wandered through life at times. How about you? Have you been wandering and not letting your dear savior in? In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.” How much longer will we wander through this dark season of our life and not let Jesus in? How long has he been knocking on your door? How long has he been calling your name? How many times has he let your good plans fall apart so that you would finally surrender to him and let HIM establish your ways? Proverbs 6:3 says “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” To put it in words we can really understand, other translations say “share your plans with God, ask him to bless them and then you will succeed.” Success comes when you invite God into your plans. Within the inner circle of BIG Life, there are 350 women whom I will mentor this month. One of the key elements of BIG Life Mentoring is monthly goal writing. With this being the 2nd day of a new month, many are writing or finishing up their goals for September. You know what we should do … we should share our goals with God and ask him to bless them. Could this be the key missing element on your quest to becoming better and living bigger … you’ve forgotten to share it with God? How about we change that now! He’s been knocking. Oh how he’s been knocking. But he won’t force his way in. He sees your plans. He’s been there while you’re writing your goals. He knows all your hopes and dreams, remember he’s the author of your greatest desires. And he wants nothing more than to help you successfully step into all that’s available to you in life, but darn it woman you won’t let him in.

Do you ever feel like you’re 11 months pregnant with a dream? The time for the birth of your dream has way since past and now you’re wondering if this whole time you were just bloated. Like you made this whole thing up. You were never good enough. It was never really going to happen for you. Who am I talking to today? Who is to the point of being OVER IT? What was once exciting to think about is now a swollen disappointment. It didn’t happen when you thought it would, how you thought it would, now you’re left questioning if it will ever happen. Galatians 6:9 says “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” In due season? Due season? That’s just annoying right there. I’m calling it like it is. What is due season anyway? Lord we’re feeling mighty over due here, can you tell us exactly when our due season is? Only God knows when your thing will happen, but we know this for sure, it will never happen if you give up. You have one job here, KEEP DOING GOOD. Your job is not the result. Your job is obedience. Will you be obedient when it’s harder than you imagined? Will you be obedient when everyone else says it’s not going to happen? Will you be obedient when the time has come and gone? Will you be obedient when every feeling in your body tells you it’s over? When you boil it all down, this is what it’s about. All along, this is an opportunity for you to be obedient. And as you’re being obedient you’re becoming more and more like the person God created you to be. And when you’re fully ready to step into your potential, lacking absolutely nothing, it will be your due season. Can I get a celebration for due season? What you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. You’ve been obedient through the waiting and the setbacks. And now you know what it’s time for …. LABOR PAINS. Oh hold up a hot second. Did no one tell you you were going to be working so hard all this time to do good, fighting the temptation to just give up, struggling to keep going and then when it’s finally your time and God says “okay, you’re ready”, what you’ve been working so hard for isn’t going to just magically appear? It’s going to get harder now. You’re going to feel like you’re dying. Where are my ladies at that have vivid memories of labor pains and childbirth? Who remembers that sheer hopeless feeling of “oh my gosh, the shoulders are never coming out! Somebody get this child out of me now!” After all that waiting, it gets worse before it gets better. Giving birth to a dream and stepping into your destiny is no different my sister. This is hard stuff. And this is exactly why few people ever dare to live the life they really desire. Remember, Psalm 37:4 says “The Lord will give you the desires of your heart.” This doesn’t mean God is a genie in a bottle, however this does mean the true desires of your heart were first given to you by God. Those deep seeded dreams within you of what your life could look like aren’t there by accident. Your creator created your dreams as well. God is the author of your dreams. They are a guide to the life he had in mind when he create you. When will you give birth to those dreams? When will you step into your destiny? When will your life begin looking more like the life you desire? In due season. And after massive labor pains. No one prepares you for the truth of BIG living. This stuff isn’t easy. It doesn’t happen overnight. Most will fail. The majority grow weary and settle. Their dreams are miscarried. Miscarried. They didn’t carry their dream through. How many dreams have you miscarried? You didn’t hold on until your due season.

How good are you at making choices? How many clothes are laying piled on your closet floor because you struggle choosing what to wear? Is meal planning nearly impossible for you because a plan would require a decision and you’re just not sure if you would rather eat tacos or bury your face in a plate of pasta and making a commitment in advance seems overwhelming. You say you’re “keeping your options open” but in reality you’re just afraid to make a choice. Anything is possible in your life. If you want to go back to school, you could do that. If you decided to start your own business, that’s totally possible. If you wanted to move to Montana and live in a teepee, okay, you could totally make that happen. If you wanted to open a beach-side coffee shop and wear flip flops for the rest of your days and drive a yellow Volkswagen bus, I’m betting that’s possible for you as well. So, I’m not only asking what do you want for dinner tonight, but I’m asking what do you want out of life? If anything is possible, what do you want? Well the truth is, this whole “anything is possible”, leaves the majority of us frozen in indecision. There are just too many choices, there are countless possibilities, we have an overwhelm in the options, and that’s where we often get lost. But what nonsense it would be to stand in front of the buffet of life starving because you don’t know what to choose. And yet that’s what many of us are doing. We wander around with no purpose because we just aren’t sure. We’re filled with doubt, questioning every move we make, overthinking and analyzing, because the buffet of life is long and wide with an abundance of choices for us. Where do you start? Well if you’re miserable and hungry, take a bite out of life already. Everything you need is right in front of you. Anything is possible. And that means choices, choices, choices. Perhaps you’re left feeling insecure and unsure of your ability to make the right choice. Wouldn’t we rather God give us a heaping piled up plate of one specific direction for our life? Like God, what do you want me to do here? Lay it out Lord. If you’ll just show me exactly what I’m supposed to do today, tomorrow, and the next 5 years, that would be great. Let’s plan ahead. Lord, would you just take the guess work out of this purpose thing? Make it certain and make it fool proof. Does that sound a little bit like the dialogue you’ve been having? Are you so afraid that you’re going to mess this thing up that you’ve backed away and stood on the sidelines waiting for God to do everything? Well where’s the purpose in that? If God would have wanted robots, he would have created robots. But instead he created this entire universe and he put you in the middle of it with an invitation to create with him. The almighty creator says “here’s your life, let’s make beautiful things together.” He once again brings you back to this buffet of life and asks what do you want? Forget your track record of poor follow through. Okay, so you’re a world class starter and world’s worst at finishing … got it. Do you honestly think God doesn’t already know that? Do you think God can’t work with exactly who you are and what you have to make something beautiful? No doubt he can … but he’s not going to make you. All the rest of your days can be spent wondering what’s possible … or going after what’s possible. You choose. Here’s what God wants you to hear this morning … “Girl, I’ve got you. I can make something beautiful out of your mess. Your missteps add dimension and flavor to life. I can handle it! Talk to me about your choices. Let’s make them together. When your heart and intention is pure, move forward and I’ll take care of the details.

God has a plan for your life. He didn’t just start a story in you, he has the end in mind. He sees the big picture while we see the puzzle pieces and the empty places. Have you ever worked to put together a puzzle and been absolutely convinced you’re missing a piece? You think you know what that piece should look like and you search through the pile one by one and you find nothing. You look on the floor. You dig through the couch cushions and nothing. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending days putting together a puzzle to realize you’re missing a piece. It’s like a cruel joke they sell you a 500 piece puzzle and they intentionally leave out a piece? But here’s what usually happens for me. I get frustrated, I’m tempted to quit, and then I see it … the piece I’ve turned every way possible, the piece I’ve set aside because it clearly didn’t fit, yes, the piece that had been there all along … it fits. It wasn’t missing after all. I just couldn’t see how it fit perfectly. Our lives are like this. We become convinced that something is missing. We’ve lost a piece of us and now there will forever be this empty space. Nothing fits. Something is wrong here. We’re tempted to give up in frustration. We blame God as if he made us with this utter flaw that can’t be overcome. But all along, it’s all there. God’s plan for your life isn’t missing a single piece. It may take some time, in fact my guess is it will take all the days of your life, but eventually it will all come together. Every piece will be connected. And the story of your life WILL be completed. This story with all it’s strange pieces and empty spaces along the way is God’s greatest work. What he’s doing in your life is unmatched. The story the two of you are writing together is kind of amazing honestly, and it’s what he had in mind when he imagined your life. A partnership of him designing and you working to put it together. God says in Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” You simply can’t imagine what God is working on for you. His thoughts are so high above yours because he’s seen the picture on the top of the puzzle box. He knows exactly who you can become and the life you can live, and all along he’s been designing the pieces to all fit together. What would happen if you traded your worry and fret over each piece in your life for sheer excitement. Isn’t this faith? Faith to say God, I trust you with this piece too! What if you looked at the piece you currently have and know without a doubt that it fits somewhere perfectly and it’s part of the big picture for your life. You know what that brings … that brings PEACE. What is this piece you currently hold? Maybe it’s one of those corner pieces that marks the end of one direction and the beginning of another direction. It’s a well defined cornerstone in your life. We’re moving here now. I’m doing this now. Life is changing drastically here. Those pieces are foundational. Sometimes exciting, and sometimes remarkably hard. Life changes, you can’t go in the same direction forever. Or maybe the piece you have now is one of those “middle” pieces of the puzzle with funky turns and cut outs where the patterns are blurred and you’re just not sure what you’re looking at. Is this where you’re at in life? You don’t know what you’re looking at. You don’t know where this fits. But this is for sure, the piece you currently hold is of tremendous importance. You can’t complete the puzzle of your life without it. You can’t just throw it out today because you don’t understand it. You will need this piece, I promise.

God is good. Once you experience his goodness, you will feel an emptiness if you ever pull away from him again. If you feel empty, could it be because you’ve pulled away a bit? Have you distanced yourself, stopped doing the things you once did that brought you closer to God? I believe we all go through these seasons in life where we lose our way a bit, we go chasing after the sparkly object, we get busy with this and distracted with that, and before we know it we’ve fallen into a habit of doing life without God. And since God is good, you could saying trying to do life without God SUCKS! It sucks the joy out of you, it sucks the peace out of you, it sucks the contentment out of you, and you’re left living in turmoil where the days are long, the patience is short and there’s just not a whole lot of happiness in it all. That is emptiness. That emptiness is felt as a result of that God sized hole within you being unfilled. You’re listening today because you have a relentless God who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of you. If you’ve pulled away, He misses you. Through it all he’s been chasing you down recklessly. There’s no where he won’t go after you. There’s nothing he won’t do to reach you. He will sacrifice anything to get to you. And hasn’t he already proven that? Remember, he sacrificed his one and only son so that you could be redeemed and not have to pay the price for your own sins. That’s reckless in our eyes. That’s love. Love makes you do crazy, unreasonable things. Love gives you laser focus on one person and there’s nothing you won’t do for that one person. Understand, God has a laser focus on you and there’s simply nothing he won’t do for you in his pursuit. There are no limits to his love for you. Even when we are so undeserving of this love, he lathers it on us. Jesus tells us about God’s reckless love in Luke 15: 3-5 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.” It seems reckless to leave behind the 99 to go looking for the 1, but this is exactly what God does for us. And don’t get all jealous because as some point or another, you were the one he came looking for. The 99 have the safety of each other. The one separated and alone is in danger and the great Shepard will pursue that one until it is found, then carry them home on his shoulders. Do you have a child on the wrong path in life? Pray for them. Your prayers unleash God’s relentless love on them. Stand in the gap for them and seek God on their behalf while they’re hellbent on screwing up their life. You think God doesn’t hear your prayers for your child? Oh come on Mama, there’s nothing more powerful you can offer than your prayers. It’s far more powerful than your pushing, pulling, or preaching. It’s their time to be the 1 and God has an opportunity to prove his relentless love for them right now. AND HE WILL. Remember, you were once the 1 he had to come searching for. You were once the 1 who was living below their potential. You were once the 1 lost in the mess. You were once the 1 who had wandered away. And God has proven there’s no mountain he won’t climb. There’s no wall he won’t kick down. There’s no shadow he won’t light up, coming after you. There’s no limit to his love, nothing he won’t do, nothing he can’t do, no amount of times he won’t try. You were once the 1, and maybe you’re taking another turn at being that 1 again. You’ve wandered away again. You’ve separated yourself from the very things you know keep you close to God.

When is the last time your heart was beating out of your chest with the possibility of wild success or epic failure? Those two things come hand in hand. If there’s a possibility of wild success, then there’s also a possibility of epic failure. And if there’s a chance of epic failure, then guess what … there’s also a slight chance of wild success. When is the last time your heart was racing like that? Maybe it’s been a long time, or maybe it’s been never. Remember the story of the disciples in the boat in the middle of a storm, and Jesus comes walking up to them on the water. Imagine Peter sitting there in the boat with his heart racing. He’s thinking I might just be able to walk on the water too, there’s a chance I could with Jesus. But there’s also a chance I may sink and drown. Oh yes, his heart must have been beating out of his chest. In front of him was the possibility of wild success or epic failure. Peter takes a step out of the boat, and he starts walking on the water. Was that at all safe? Oh no it wasn’t! Was that a chance for epic failure? You bet it was! In fact, Peter got scared and started sinking. You and I like SAFE today, don’t we? We avoid the risk of failure, the risk of judgment, the risk of rejection by never daring to get out of the boat. We know what’s safe and on most days we don’t dare to tip toe out of the safety. We build our lives within this sweet little comfort zone that insulates from disappointment and failure. We may not be real happy in here, but at least we’re comfortable and safe. But understand what’s happening here. Your spirit is dying where it’s comfortable and safe. Your relationships are dying, your hopes and your dreams are dying, and your potential is dying. Jesus is inviting you to take a risk with him and do something incredible, but you’ll have to get out of your boat. 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 in the Message Translation helped define BIG Life for me – “I long for you to enter this wide open spacious life. We didn’t fence you in, the smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively.” What this is saying is, HEY, THE GOOD STUFF HAPPENS OUT HERE. Out of the boat. Outside the walls of your comfort zone, out here where life is risky and failure and disappointment are a big possibility. But it’s also the land of fulfillment and happiness like you’ve never known. What God has asked us to do is take a risk. Anything is possible in your life if you’re willing to take some risks. Step out on the water and be willing to sink. That’s the only way you’ll ever get the opportunity to take even one step on the water. Show up and be willing to fail. Be willing to be bad at something long enough to get good at it. Be willing to look completely foolish. I’ll never forget our very first live mentoring session. We had a studio set up in the corner of our master bedroom with all the fancy lights and cameras. We had about 20 people watching online live and I was certain I had hit the big time. Then I said my farewell and nothing happened. Lonnie gives me the motion to keep going, we were still rolling. What was happening was we had no idea how to stop the broadcast. So I literally started dancing in front of the camera while my husband frantically pushes every button to stop recording. We had to be real bad for a long time, to finally get good. And that’s what most of us aren’t willing to do. We have all this potential inside of us given to us by our creator, but we aren’t willing to be bad first to reach that potential. We want to be instantly awesome. Well, that’s simply not the way it works. Instantly awesome wasn’t in your past and it isn’t in your future, so you can stop waiting on it. Luke 16:10 tells us if we are faithful with little, then more will be given. We don’t start with more.