youaremore

We’re eight days into 2014 and maybe you already need a do-over.

A word said too strongly, a look that spread across your face and you never intended for your face to contort that way but there it is.

Maybe it’s the things you didn’t do and you want to rewind eight days or five minutes just to slip back into that conversation and speak up, or turn around and go back instead of walking away. Maybe you just want to un-eat that key lime pie at midnight.

And maybe these days have been wonderful, a new, fresh start full of joys amidst the mundane. And maybe it all feels a little boring, as if nothing has changed besides the date on the calendar. And maybe you know that even your ordinary mess of mundane is a masterpiece in the making but each day feels like one more flip of the calendar and nothing more.

Friend, there’s something I really need to tell you: You are more.

You are more than your to-do list

You are more than the grades you strive for

You are more than your blog stats, page clicks, twitter followers, or comments

You are more than what you do on a Friday night

You are more than how many children or books you have birthed

You are more than the church you attend or the clothes you wear

Your story is a treasure. Your past, though it may be broken or cracked, is a gift. And although it is very important, you are more than your past. You are more than the choices that you’ve made. What you have experienced, gone through or done – you are more than that.

So be brave, friend.

Be brave and hold tight.

His words are true so we must cling to the Truth.

You are a new creation, redeemed and made whole, holy and blameless in the eyes of He who is not concerned about a to-do list, your GPA, or how many likes you got on Facebook.

Let it all go. The lists, the expectations – those placed on you and those you’ve put on your own two shoulders – and all the doubts, the lies, and the comparison. Drop them like hot coals burning your soul and instead think on Him. Be rooted in this Word.

Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, The Message

I’m linking up today with Holley Gerth for the very first week of her new series Coffee for Your Heart. Join us over in this space?

 

{Photo source}