Tag Archives: redeemed

I Am Nothing

I am nothing

There’s nothing like running across written word that speaks truth in such a way one can’t deny it was God-breathed. Yesterday I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, and someone’s words caught my attention. It was something I had never heard before, and I wasn’t sure if it was a song or a poem, so I immediately asked where it was from. Come to find out, this was an original poem written just a few days prior by the person who posted it.

I just couldn’t get it out of my mind, so today I went back to it and asked if I could share it with my readers. I just know it will touch some of you the same way it did me. It’s too good not to share, and I’m grateful to Lauren for allowing me to do so.

From the Author

The poem came from my quiet time a couple of days ago. For so long I have wrestled with being good enough and dealing with the shame of my past. But a breakthrough came as I wrote this. I was on my knees, desperately calling out to The Lord to cleanse me and forgive me.

He whispered to me that he saw me as pure, and he had never left. I realized at that point I had been wrapped up in pride and trying to fix myself when that’s not what I’ve been called to do.

The moment Christ died on the cross, he died knowing what I would do and who I would be and that I would turn my back on him time after time and hold onto my anger, my shame and my guilt as my god. YET he died for me still and pursues me and draws me to himself. Nothing more, nothing less than I am. He loves me at my worst and best all the same.

Before continuing on to this poem, I ask that you re-read what Lauren said. Wow! Even in those words my own eyes were opened. She said, “I realized I had been wrapped up in pride and trying to fix myself when that’s not what I was called to do.”

She’s so right. That’s already been done for her. God is the only one who can fix our brokenness, and when we spend most of our days trying to do that ourselves, we miss out on all of the opportunities God has placed in front of us.

Another friend of mine posted something very similar to this today. It’s from the book,Undaunted, by Christine Caine : The enemy would like us to feel such a depth of disappointment that we never find our way back to the plan God has for us. Some disappointments seem so big we will never overcome, and that is exactly what Satan wants to convince us of. If he can keep us stuck in a rut then we miss out on all the awesome appointments God has laid out for us!

I Am Nothing

I am nothing
I have nothing to bring
I can’t clean myself up enough
I don’t say the right things at the right time
Crap, I just judged. Dang it I just sinned.
I cannot be good enough. AND I don’t have to be……

He sent his ONLY son to die for me, the dirty, sinful, proud, angry me
I am everything in Him
I am fully clothed in his righteousness
I am made whole in Him
He takes my sin, my
Bumps, my bruises and sees me as pure, white as snow as he looks at the cross, his son and the dark crimson blood flowing down

There is no good apart from
Him and thank goodness

I come with filthy rags that are my good intentions, my best efforts
He comes with blood-stained hands and feet
He picks me up, holds me close and walks with me

His eyes never leaving me
His voice always whispering that “I am his”

I am nothing….apart from him
I have nothing to bring… yet that’s what he wants
I am not clean… yet he sees me as pure
I can’t say enough right… yet he speaks to me and through me
I fall and fail… yet he picks me up, fights for me & draws me near

I am not good enough…. Thank God

written by Lauren Barksdale of Ft. Worth, TX Lauren is the founder of Soul Fitness. She is a stay at home mom and loves to share AdvoCare and the opportunity for financial and time freedom. She has been married to Ben Barksdale for 6 years and has two children; Evie Grace who is 4 and Hudson who is 18 months old. Lauren has a passion for health and fitness and incorporating that into everyday life as a Christ follower

Related Posts:
Too Much of a Failure to Talk to God by Misty Gatlin
All the King’s Horses, All the Kings Men, and Other Broken Things by Rebekah Snyder

What Defines You?

Because of my job working at an alternative school and being a youth leader for high school girls, I hear all the time about the regrets they have and things about themselves or their families that they don’t like – things that define who they are.

If I were to ask them, “What defines you?”  The majority are most likely to respond with either something about their family or something related to decisions they’ve made (good or bad).

Is that an accurate response to that question?   Do the decisions you made in the past define who you are as a person?  Do the decisions members of your family have made in the past define who you are as a person?

Absolutely not.

I think most problems begin when you let your actions define who you are.  You certainly can’t allow those someone else made to define you.  You have no control over that.  Although you do have control over your own decisions, you cannot live your life in that moment — the moment of the bad decision.  That is not who you are.

God said that when you come to him and ask for forgiveness for a mistake you made, he throws that mistake as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).  That means it is gone forever and never to be brought up again.  Why are you still using that mistake to define your worth today?

Look to the one who made you.  Any time you feel like you aren’t worthy, for whatever reason, look to the loving words he’s left just for you:

Matthew 10:28-31 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin?  But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

I want to point out a few people who didn’t allow themselves to be defined by their family’s choices or their mistakes they had made in their past.  Instead, they allowed God to redeem them and use them for his plan and purpose:

  • Joseph – poor guy had brothers who were jealous of him and plotted to kill him and tell their dad that he was eaten by a wild animal.  Instead they sold him as a slave.  In the end Joseph was placed in a high position by the king, and his brothers had to come to him to beg for food.
  • Moses - killed an Egyptian and later became an annointed leader who led many away from the despair placed on them by Pharoah and into the promised land.  God spoke often to him, and he is one of the most well known leaders in the bible.
  • Rahab – a prostitute who went against her people to help Joshua and other followers of God take over her city.  God spared her and her family because of her help.
  • Paul – not only hated those who believed in God, but he killed them.  He ended up being one of the most powerful leaders probably in history.  He became a Christ-follower and led thousands of people to Christ.

God will bless you regardless of the decisions you’ve made.  You are not defined by your past, and it’s not too late to change the path you’ve been on.

How do you define yourself?

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Every Moment Was Laid Out

You watched me as I was being formed in
utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

Psalm 139:15-16 NLT

God created you with a plan and purpose in mind.  Sometimes we allow ourselves to believe the lies of the enemy when he does all he can to break down our confidence causing us to not fulfill those plans.  I recently heard Lisa Bevere speak, and she said “Sometimes the enemy is more aware of who you are than you are aware of who you are, and he attacks you out of fear of who you might be.”**

Take a moment to meditate on that statement.  The enemy does not want you to be the person you were created to be because that person is powerful and scary to him.  That’s right.  You scare Satan!  Do you know that no one ever told me that when I was younger, so I lived in fear of everything.  Walk in confidence knowing who you are in  Christ Jesus and that you were created to do something big according to his plans.  Don’t allow the enemy to speak those lies to you making you question who you are.

* You are powerful because if you have accepted Jesus as your savior, the same power who raised Jesus from the dead is living inside of you. (Romans 8:11)

* You are powerful because you have been given authority over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19)

* You are strong because you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. (Philippians 4:13)

* You can overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.  (Revelation 12:11)

* You are an ambassador. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

* You are daughter because he has adopted you into his family. (Ephesians 1:5)

* You are princess because you are daughter of the King of Kings. (1 Timothy 6:15)

 

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**Lisa Bevere, Milestone Church, Milestone Women Summer Splash 2011, June 18, 2011.