When God calls you to something that you don’t see possible in any way, saying yes is hard. It seemed nearly impossible for me to say yes to circumstances that I thought felt impossible. Even after saying yes, the enemy still continues to taunt me with lies and tells me that it wasn’t the right thing to do. People tried to tell me no. The enemy tried to tell me no. God told me yes, and if He is for me, who could be against me? No matter what we face, He is always with us. To live in obedience for God is to really know freedom.

“God works for those who wait for Him. We do the waiting and the trusting. God does the working and the timing.” – John Piper

Like the Bad Girls of the Bible, I have a broken past, and an even more beautiful future thanks to my relationship with God. My past is messy. My past is confusing. My past is rough. My past is behind me, and that’s what is most important. I sometimes find myself asking why He still loves me; even after all I’ve done, why would He still want my heart? He comes in and reminds me that He made me for Himself, and as long as I let Him, He is going to save me from myself. I never in a million years would’ve guessed that God was going to use me to reach the hearts of others. The most important thing I’ve learned through all of this is that people are broken, just like me. Although people have broken opinions of me, God has intimate knowledge of who I am, so I listen to who He says I am. I refuse to let the opinion of man interfere with the directions given to me by God. He loves to use weak people to accomplish His great work. He brings good from every struggle in this life.

Sometimes we forget that God has placed us where we are at in this very moment for a very real reason, we need to remember that. Don’t be in such a rush to get to another stage of your life that you miss the purpose of what God wants you to learn about yourself here and now. Refuse to let satan replace God’s word with fear-filled words; let God’s love overcome fear. Be prepared by your past, not defined by it.

If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit. I don’t know what God has planned, but I know that His plan NEVER fails and I choose to find rest in that. If you start where you are, God will take you to where you need to be. Learn to live for His approval alone. Don’t be deterred by man’s rejection, let it lead you to the cross. You know the truth, and nothing in this world could make that truth a lie. Be sure to embrace whatever stage or season of life you are in. Remember: God wastes nothing.