Before Jesus Changed My Life
Before Jesus changed my life, I was an incredibly insecure person. I didn't understand God's love for me, and I put so much of my worth and value into what other people said about me or how they saw me. I tried to change how I looked and how I acted to try to find value ultimately in things that would never satisfy me. I knew in my head that God doesn't make mistakes, but I truly believed in my heart that I must be the first time He has made one. My insecurity was hidden underneath a heart of pride in believing that somehow the blood of Christ wasn't enough for me. I hid sin in the dark and felt so ashamed and dirty, but believed that hiding would be easier than showing others just how much I’ve fallen short. I wrestled with this for a long time and thought I would never be free of my insecurity and sin, not realizing that Jesus was the only one who could set me free.
How Jesus Changed My Life
I accepted Christ when I was 8 years old, but didn't really understand it much then. I was afraid of going to hell, which was why I accepted Jesus at first. I had a few influential people in my life who not only spoke truth to me, but spoke God's Word to me. My view of God began to shift, and I started to see Him as a much bigger God than I had seen previously. I started really reading the Word and going to God in prayer. I began recognizing that my pride was ultimately sin against a Holy God. In my junior year of high school, I began to actually understand what a relationship with God looks like. An older girl from church began pouring into me and showing me what the love of Jesus was really like. I began to understand the depths of His love for me, not based on what I have done right or wrong in my life, but based on the promises He has given me. In my senior year of high school, I remember God convicting me to be open-handed with whatever He wanted from me and wherever He wanted me to go. Then when I came to college and got plugged into Salt, I took Gospel 101 and this really confirmed what I knew to be true resulting with the peace of Christ in my heart. It was then that I recognized the severity of my sin and how I would never be able to free myself from it on my own. I felt so guilty and shameful, but I began seeing how powerful the blood of Jesus truly is. His love is enough for me, my sin and struggles don't define me because I can have victory in Christ.
My Life After Jesus Saved Me
Since following Jesus, I am now confident that I have a true friend in Jesus. He is where I turn in difficult times and is the true giver of peace. While my problems didn’t go away, I have assurance and trust that Jesus is my strength and a very present help in trouble. What a joy it is to serve such a big God whom we can trust with anything big or small! 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 has been the most impactful passage for me. It says, “But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Praise Jesus that His grace is sufficient to cover all my sins and save me from my brokenness. I am confident in my weakness because I know my salvation is not dependent on anything I could ever do, it’s only by His blood! I have seen the joy that comes from trusting in His leading even in the unknowns and hardships of life. I have freedom from my sin, because the King of Kings has redeemed me and made me a new creation!