Have you been enjoying the Beautiful monthly devo kit?? I will make an embarrassing confession. I didn’t really know if I’d be that “into” it. I have known the Lord for a long time, for over 30 years actually. I’d like to think that there are some areas of life that I’ve got figured out. I’d like to believe that I know exactly what God says about me and would never believe a lie the devil tries to play against me, but that’s just not the case. I reluctantly dove into this devotional and found myself tripping over the hard questions the Holy Spirit was asking my heart. It’s a good thing to do every once in a while, inventory the lies you’re believing, and pound them out with the truth that God has spoken over you in His Word. So that’s what I’m doing today!
I have long bought into the enemy’s game- division. It’s a classic bully tactic. When the weak ones are lured away from the herd, when we are drawn out of our encouraging communities, we can be lied to and isolated without anyone noticing. Yuck. For me, it always starts with little comments that take root in my heart and make me feel like I’m an outsider. Things like “you’re so intimidating” “you’re not approachable” “when I first met you I thought you were scary,” make me feel like I don’t belong even when they are said without malice. In fact, I spent much of my life thinking that I was socially awkward and wouldn’t ever really be able to enjoy authentic community. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that I’m an introvert with a lot of extroverted tendencies like blatant honesty and public speaking- but I turn into a crazy person when I don’t get to recharge alone. Knowing the truth discredits the liar, and even though I still struggle with those thoughts creeping in, I have a much firmer grasp on how God designed my personality specifically for the work He destined for me to do.
As I was going through the Beautiful devo and encountered a list of things that God says about all of us, I got hung up here in 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” You could stop there, because the truth is absolutely beautiful and potent, but my heart was taken with the entire passage. I won’t include the whole thing here but I will encourage you to go read it for yourself and ask God to show you something about your ministry in your new skin. The passage is about the ministry of reconciliation. Reconciliation, as in, the opposite of division! I often hear this passage paired with butterflies because of their sweet representation of new life. Today the Holy Spirit took it one step further for me. We aren’t made new so we can flutter around dusting the world with our pretty newness. We are purposed with reconciling others to Jesus, flying with His resorative wind in our wings. I do want to be found believing what God says about me- that I can bring people together, that I can point them to Him, that I can encourage their hearts in the mundane. I want to be found stomping out the lies of division in the communities I am a part of. I want to be a butterfly. How ’bout you?
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