Is it time to make a U-turn in your life?

How many of you know that any time is a good time to take inventory of the condition of your heart with the Holy Spirit as your guide? Often times it’s a painful situation in our lives that catapults us into cleaning out the clutter in our hearts, though. Situations like this:

• A romantic relationship doesn’t work out
• Waiting for someone to return your love
• Sharing your love with another and they don’t respond favorably
• Waiting in the desert where it seems like the blessing of God’s rain (promises) are far away
• Fill in the blank with your particular difficult situation 

It is through these painful situations that God nudges us, perhaps sometimes even thrusts us, into the refining fire.  Surrendering to the One who places us there is key to being purified and experiencing the abundant life God has for us.

There have been many times in my life that situations like the above have made me realize my own shortcomings. God gives me a choice every time I face my own mistakes and shortcomings. Will I dwell on those shortcomings and wallow in self-pity? Will I ignore them? Or will I take those shortcomings, look them square in the face, and by God’s grace and mercy purge them from my life and receive God’s good gifts in exchange?

Before we go any further, I’d like to clarify the difference between shame and conviction. The enemy would like nothing more than to twist God’s good efforts to purify us and move us into more bondage rather than let us experience the freedom God has for us. One of the ways the enemy attempts to derail us is through heaping shame on us. The good news is, by Jesus’ blood and resurrection power, shame is already defeated. We just have to say no to it.  In order to say no to it, though, we have to know what shame tastes like. We must be able to recognize its flavor and spit it out of our mouths before swallowing it whole.

Shame’s goal is to devalue your worth, plant fear in your heart, and make you think that if anyone knew your shortcomings they would never love you or even like you. It tears you down, shuts you down, and makes you feel frozen and stuck.

The sweet conviction of the Holy Spirit on the other hand says to you, “It’s true, you haven’t made the best choices. But now that you see that, you can by God’s grace and power make better choices. You are loved no matter what choices you have made. You were born for greatness! It’s time to take action and make right what has gone wrong by God’s grace and your surrendered participation. You are on the cusp of the abundant life God has for you! Something good is about to happen! It’s time to confess, forgive, repent, be made pure, and then move into your God-given destiny.” Conviction’s goal is to honor. It builds up. It makes you want to be a better person and motivates you unto freedom. It accepts you where you are and loves you into a better place. It enables you to make a U-turn in areas of your life that have been dead but are destined for life.

It is important to know that nothing is wasted, friends. Even if you have made poor choices on your journey, God is merciful and gracious and more than willing to bring beauty from ashes.

What does that tangibly look like? Here are some practical steps we can take whenever we experience God’s sweet conviction.

• Confess your sins to the Lord. Take ownership of the things you’ve been wrong about and actions you’ve taken that are not of God and then release them to God.
• Thank God for his grace, love and forgiveness.
• Ask God to completely cleanse your heart so that old tendencies don’t remain.
• Declare forgiveness over yourself. Isaiah 53:5 says, “by His wounds I am healed.” Say that over yourself out loud. There is power in declaring the truth.
• Transfer ownership to Jesus Christ. Jesus took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He accepted our sins as his own and carried them away for us. The price Jesus paid on the cross allows us to hand over our sins to him and be free!
• Reconcile to anyone you have sinned against. In other words, make right what has gone wrong in any of your relationships that have been impacted by your poor choices.
• Renew your mind. (see Romans 12:2) Don’t dwell on past sins. Dwell on the things of God instead.
• Renounce any lies that the enemy throws at you.
• Choose to focus on God’s promises and His good character. Remember, what you focus on grows. If you focus on God’s promises, your heart will grow in encouragement and hope. If you focus on past mistakes or future worries, your heart will grow discouragement and fear. Here’s a promise from 1 Peter 1:2-5 that you can focus on to start: 

“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”

I encourage you to take a minute before God. Ask Him to reveal anything the enemy is hiding from you in an effort to keep you from your destiny of abundant life. Going into the refining fire voluntarily will certainly give the process ease and perhaps will even accelerate you into greater freedom. That is a good place to be! The wonderful news is that our Good Shepherd walks through the fire with us. We are not alone. He gives all the comfort, grace, and love we could ever need and much more in the process of being refined. Then we get to come out on the other side having shed the rags of this world and exchanged them by putting on God’s glory garments – a beautiful reflection of God’s love and mercy that beckons others to draw near to the One who loved them first, Jesus Christ.  Together we are the Bride of Christ. Will we take the opportunity to be made pure and whole before He returns? My heart is responding with a resounding “YES!” Will you join me in the refiner’s fire?