What do you believe?

I wanted to share this post about the fact that God has helped me overcome and break free of the stronghold I was swimming in;  the belief I wasn't going to amount to anything.

I want to use this opportunity to thank God for helping me break free from this  stronghold, belief and thought pattern. I felt like it was so deeply ingrained in me and could not be removed; it was the belief that I'd never amount to anything or be successful; I'd just be flat out poor in the future. And I used to be very scared of it and it would cause me to jump from things to things in the hopes of evading it not knowing that those things will never work. I was really scared and I thank God for pulling me out.

I remember when I was younger in highschool and everyone would be talking, making statements like 'in this life, I'll have money...'  and I'd just be saying mine for saying sakes, I never believed it. I always wondered how it would happen. There was this thing in me that would counter it immediately and kill any hope I had. I could not see any 'bright future'. It's when I read Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.' that I realized there is a bright future, one that God has for me.

The key was in surrendering what I believed, and allowing God's truth be the foundation my entire life, and future would be based upon i.e what God has said and not what I think or feel. The 'standing on the promises of God' song would be a befitting segue here...

Growing up in an environment where an 'almost, not it' or 'an inch shy of greatness'  stronghold thrived, made it harder; as there was no immediate example of success to model after.

I was sent on an errand one day, this was a while after I became born again and the devil tried to stress me with it, the thought went like 'so what do you think about your future now?'  and I replied, 'I don't know what it will be, but as long as God is in it, it will be good'. It felt very empowering and very freeing to say that. For once, my life stopped being in my hands and was left with the One who knows best, and that was it.

Looking back, I see how God has been helping me renew my mind each day, according to His Word believing it and applying His Word to my everyday life. Soaking myself in God's word which is His truth. Romans 12: 2 says 'don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect'. Here we can see that God's will for us is good, pleasing and perfect and we can only know of it if we allow Him renew our minds by changing how we think.

I know, it might be hard to admit that you may have something like this, it may not be the exact thing but there's always an area in our lives we need to trash and surrender what we believe because it's detrimental, and replace it with the truth of God's word.

If there's something I've learnt, it's that nobody's ever going through anything alone. There may be someone out there who is in the exact situation as you are or that what you say would give them courage to boldly jump out of the sinking boat that is their situation and swim to God's life boat. Keeping things in the dark gives it power, but light strips the power darkness gives and helps liberate others. John 1:5 'the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it'

I was able to get rid of that mindset, by completely surrendering my entire self: what I thought, felt, knew, gave it to God and allowed Him to renew my mind and mould me according to His word. 

Living a life of total surrender, should not be seen as a sacrifice but as a channel through which Gods biggest and greatest blessings come to you.

God has helped me change my old pattern of thinking that was heavily influenced by the devil because he doesn't want me to amount to anything. God on the other hand, does. My entire life is in God's hands, I model my future based on what God has said; not what I think or say, but what He says about me and my future. The only way I have confidence that I will be successful and prosper in the future is because God has said so. It's not by my strength or power but by God's Spirit: for I can do nothing on my own. I have tried and failed countlessly; I've lived with it 6 years and God had it dealt with in less than a quarter of that time. 

Truth is, I don't know exactly how the future will be, not a wishful thought either. I just know it'll be good and I can trust that it will be good, because God says so.

I hope this helps someone out there. Your situation can be changed you don't have to think one particular way or be slave to a dead thought pattern like I was; allow God renew your mind and make your thoughts consistent with His word and see how your life will change. Whatever you may believe or think of yourself can be made new by God. I'm a living testimony to that effect and it's just the beginning: Pops be moving in my life. In the future I'll come back to this to marvel at God's faithfulness in my life. I hope you will too.

God bless you!