Me in 700 words....more or less... (testimony series) by Darci Escandon

Me in 700 words....more or less..
by Darci Escandon

Have you been:
Sexually abused? Me to.
Emotionally and Mentally abused? Me to.
Physically Abused? Me to.
Betrayed by the ones who are supposed to love you the most? Me to.
Homeless and hopeless? Me to.
Lonely, full of self loathing? Me to.
Angry and resentful? Me to.
A high school drop out? Me to.
Consumed with self pity and feelings of failure? Me to.
Full of anxiety? Me to.
Had the wrong type of people as friends? Me to.
Been in relationships for the wrong reasons? Me to.
Lost a child? I lost 2.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~and~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Experienced God’s Grace? Me to.
His Mercy? Me to.
His Salvation? Me to.

His Forgiveness? Me to.

Life’s been hard, no doubt about it. So hard, in fact, that at one point, I turned by back on God. However, because He is so faithful, He never turned His back on me.

What was the lesson I learned through all of it? God is alive. He is present and working in my life. God provides for our needs. That is His promise to us. However, that does not mean that we can just sit around and wait like the guy in the flood did. God requires us to step out in faith. He wants us to trust Him ultimately and completely. Sometimes, that means that we need to step outside of our comfort zone. For me, it certainly meant that.

I havn’t had the best past. Often, my doubts about my abilities and my shame and embarrassment of who I was before I came to know Christ kept me from stepping out in faith. Many people have told me I would never be good enough and I guess, my past has taught me to have a fear of success. My fear has been holding me back from God’s plan in my life.

God has been calling me for the last 2 years to step out in faith and do something. Because of my fear and self doubt, I had been making excuses and thinking I’m not good enough. Recently, I stepped out I faith and started working for God.

Rather than thinking about what I can benefit from it or that I am not qualified enough, I began to see how I can help other people. It no longer became about me and my benefit, but it became about others and how they can benefit. It became a God thing, not a Darci thing. God equips the called, not calls the equipped.

As things start to happen now, I can point out and say “That’s all God”. When people ask me how this happened I can say “It’s a God thing”. God is getting the glory, not me.
I’m not in this for myself…I’m in it for God. All I had to do is get out of His way and step out in faith.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8 New King James Version (NKJV)

God is faithful and He knows our needs. When we can get over ourselves and realize that the reason we are here is to bring glory to Him and allow Him to work in our lives, amazing things can happen. I don’t judge my success by the money I have in the bank or the things I can buy, I judge my success by the treasures I build up in Heaven. To me, that’s better than any winning lottery ticket or Publisher’s Clearing House prize. What I have been given is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, whose blood was shed on the cross for us all. All I need to do is step out in faith.

Thank you Lord, for showing me how I got in your way. Thank you for showing me how to step aside and let you work. Thank you for being faithful and for always showing up even when I am not sure of where you are. Thank you for taking care of our needs and for making such a big difference in my life! I love you Lord. Please forgive me for getting in your way! Amen

© 2011 Giving Thanks Daily, Darci Escandon
Web: http://shawnsgivingthanksdaily.blogspot.com/
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