EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Guest writer:
Connie VanHorn-Willard ,
Winston Salem, North Carolina
True Transformation:
Piece by Piece
Romans 12:2
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Transformation does not happen overnight. A deep and lasting spiritual change involves testing and time.
A lot of time. Get ready to wait guys. It usually goes like this…
test, trial, fail, time, test, trial, fail, and more time. Sometimes it feels like this process can go on forever, but it’s important to know that God will purposely lead us through this process over and over again. This is how He molds us into His creation and for His purpose.
We are created to be Vessels… Vessels that will lead others to Him, and eventually lead us all home.
I remember the first waiting period in my walk with Christ was nineteen months… I’m still waiting on big things to happen, but these particular nineteen months were early on in my relationship with God and it was excruciating. I had moments of giving up and moments of complete despair, but it’s in this waiting that we are changing.
How do we get through it?
Obedience, faith, and a lot of time. God’s ultimate goal is to win over your heart, and through this sometimes difficult process, He is building character in us that will prepare us for our eternal home.
There is a price to pay for following Jesus.
Our desire to be Holy has to be greater than our desire to be happy. Holiness is far more important, and our happiness will come as a byproduct to that holiness…. We miss that sometimes. Our flesh tends to want happiness first.
The world tells us to, “seek happiness.” When we are seeking happiness- we miss the greatest reward in living Holy…Christ Himself!
Let God fill the spaces that the world fills with lies.
Jesus offers us a New Life. It’s a transformation from our old life. Just like in my nineteen months of waiting… God was changing me. He removed things inside me that couldn’t be used, and He restored what could. We can’t take all the baggage with us, but we need some of it to share with others going through the same process. Pain Into Purpose.
Allow God to change you into something new and beautiful.
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here”