“Repurposed”

As I recall, the movement to recycle used material became very popular in the 70’s. After soda and beer manufacturers made the change from tin to aluminum cans, suddenly we were in the business of collecting all of these cans and responsible for taking them to a recycling (or redemption) center to have them repurposed for reuse. The incentive was to turn your trash into treasure by receiving cash in exchange for your recyclables and save the environment at the same time.

Yes, the concept of repurposing (the contemporary term) has long been part of daily living.

“Do not remember the former things, Or ponder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19 AMP

It’s so much easier to think in terms of inanimate objects as being repurposed or usable for another tasks or projects. But people?

Yet, that’s very similar to what GOD does when you choose to accept His free gift of salvation.

He transforms you into a ‘new you,’ the person you were actually meant to be, but in order to do that you must choose to allow Him to remove the ‘old you’ and then the work begins.

LINDA R JOHNSON

It starts with a change of heart by the free will of the mind and then transforms the spirit — so your changes occur from the inside out. With aluminum cans and paper products, the changes are strictly surface, and there is no choice as to whether these objects desire to become another soda can or a new paper plate.

I love the way the Amplified translation admonishes us to forget the past — and all its red-faced and humiliating events. The verse tells us not to give those embarrassing experiences a second thought. And then GOD’S Word says it in the most heart-warming encouragement by pumping us up and providing a glimmer of hope by telling us He has already planned a ‘new thing’ with which to look forward. He even tells us to ‘look for it!’

Girlfriend, have you been in a tight spot where you felt there was no way out and no relief in sight? Maybe you are there now, alone and feeling very hopeless … the GOD of the Universe has a plan beyond your misery.

Maybe you’ve made a ‘hot mess’ out of your life … your career may not be going as you had so carefully mapped out, in fact you fear losing your job altogether. Or a very close relationship is crumbling before your eyes and you’re experiencing a slow meltdown. Finances have been squandered or due to current economic turns you’re not able to sustain your lifestyle and provide for your household. Or possibly your situation is such that you thought you were secured in your mind about the temptations that seemed to lure you (alcohol, drug, pornography, extramarital activities) into behaviors you abhor, but you are now facing the consequences of decisions that have rocked your world and have left a fallout of unimaginable proportion and impacted loved ones.

Your life may be more than a ‘hot mess‘ right now, but GOD has a plan for you — He does have a purpose for you. Because His Love for you is just that way. Unconditional with no expiration date or strings attached. You don’t even have to ‘undo’ the mess you’ve orchestrated. How’s that for starters?

I’m here to tell you that through the messiest of times in my own life, I have held onto that very Scripture verse — even if only to get to the next day. When I thought that I had gotten myself into such a pit and was reeling in devastation, GOD was right there in that pit with me with His Arms reaching out to me. And He is doing the same to you right now.

Forgiveness is a tough action word — yes, it’s a verb, not an emotion. When we forgive, we release the burden off of ourselves that holds the other person accountable for our thoughts and actions. But there is also forgiveness for ourselves from ourselves.

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMPC

You may be sitting in the muddiest pit of a mess, but there is hope for you. And your Creator is waiting for you to allow Him to get you through all the muck and yuck that is oozing in between your raw knuckles and swollen toes. You won’t be able to climb out of that pit on your own and move forward with certainty in the manner you consider successful. Will you let Him give you that new start and the opportunity for victory moving forward?

As I mentioned earlier, there is a measure of self-forgiveness that must also accompany the transformation that GOD will ignite within you. You must make the effort to not ponder over your confessed sins — doing this will keep you in the cycle of wading through that muddy pit.

When GOD comes to lift you out of that dirty pile, it’s much like the one who sifts through the recyclables and determines what objects will be repurposed. The beauty here is that the purpose you will actually fulfill is the original one GOD had in mind for you from the moment you were conceived. Your spiritual transformation will cause you to develop into the masterpiece original that you always have been: your best version of you. With GOD in control of your life, you will finally realize your authentic purpose and be on the road to becoming that person.

I encourage you, Sweet One, to raise and give it all up to the One Who loves you with a love you cannot comprehend.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us — who was raised to life for us! — is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:31-39 MSG

I pray that as you read this, dear Friend, you will make the decision to surrender it all to The One Who loves you beyond your understanding. If you know Him as Savior and Lord, you can be redeemed from whatever your situation is — you’ve heard far too many sermons to know this to be true. You’ve witnessed as others have attested to the victory — it is available for you, too.

If you do not know this incredible GOD, He is whispering to you right now — you have only to respond. The first step is yours to take. Your real purpose awaits you beyond the ‘yes.’

I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~~

LindaRJohnson, TitusTwo Visionary