February 24, 2022

by Kimberly Hobbs 

EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Today’s devotion:
Connie VanHorn-Willard from North Carolina. WWL
Leadership Team
Finding My Jesus
I can’t seem to get over Jesus. I find it very difficult. Impossible!
All my life I wondered if I could ever feel important, worthy, and loved. I never thought I would find someone that could satisfy my heart and soul.
In August 2014, I made the best decision of my life. I would let Jesus into my heart. For me, it was a supernatural encounter. I got saved accepting Christ as my personal Savior, I was rescued and I was given a new life. It was like my heart burst wide open.
 Did I become a perfect human? No way… But my heart was perfectly set on Him. I felt true love for the first time.
Of course, I had to go through hard things. It was those hard things that led me to Jesus, and my ability to see Him. Sometimes we need to become so broken and alone that all we can see is Jesus. For me, that meant I had to become completely stripped of everything in my life. I had to be alone, and all distractions removed.
When you see Jesus for who He really is, you see what you never thought you would see. You see the real treasure.
 Knowing Jesus and being with Him is better than any life I could design or imagine for myself. Did Paul honestly believe that knowing Jesus was better than “all things?”
Paul modeled a beautiful prayer for us in Ephesians 1:17: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”
Knowing Jesus is the point of the Christian life. Jesus is enough. Those who see Him clearly know that He is enough. He is the real treasure. The Pearl!
I love what John Piper says, “You don’t have to know a lot of important things in your life. You just need to know a few really important things and be willing to die for them.”
Knowing Jesus!
I had to be willing to give up everything, only to gain all that Christ had to offer. I will gain more than I ever lost when I know Him.
Jesus is calling, “Can you see me?”
Set your eyes and your heart on Christ.
My joy is anchored in how much I have in Christ.
Jesus will meet all your needs inside and out if you will “see me.”
I remember sitting alone in a park years ago. I was worrying about this and that. How I was going to pay for something or get the things that I needed to survive. It was in that moment that Jesus revealed to me that He would be my Provider. He would give me the things that I needed. But…He would only give me just enough to stretch my faith and keep me relying on Him… And He always showed up.
 It was those miracles that became my sustaining source of hope and trust. We can trust Jesus. He loves us with the most outrageous and magical love. Love that the world can’t offer. Love that changes lives.
I searched all my life for meaning and purpose and it always let me down. But if you see Jesus, you will find purpose and perfect love. The reason I am here and the reason I can live is because of Him. Jesus is the greatest wealth, and I am his and he is mine. He is my Jesus!
 Jesus is the deal of a lifetime.