Sitting here yesterday the message, “Change your narrative” came to me out of nowhere. To be honest I can’t really say it came as a surprise because if I was to be honest, I’d admit that it is one that I truly needed to hear. Why?
Well, I’m not a very confident person and I battle insecurities that I have allowed to rule over my life for far too long. Sadly, even though I am getting stronger daily in my walk with Jesus, there are things that I still recoil from due to the years of being told I wasn’t good enough, or that I’d never amount to much. Especially the digs that were put in over my lifetime pertaining to my writing. Every time I send one of my blogs off to Hannah I sit and fret and just wait for the email that I’m absolutely sure is to follow saying that they made a mistake in asking me to write for them.
I think so many of us get so caught up in the narrative that we have written for ourselves, or that we’ve allowed others to contribute too, that we forget that we, along with God, have the ability to change that narrative at any given time. Yes, He is the Author of our life, but it’s our own free will that often leads us down the paths that lead us astray thus to a narrative that perhaps we aren’t all too happy with. We see the course it is taking and the way that we are being portrayed to the world and it makes us unhappy. Not just with ourselves but with life in general. And how many times have we sat and found ourselves crying out to Him begging for things to be different, all the while not realizing that we truly did have the power to make it so?
After receiving that message yesterday, I prayed for clarification, and He showed me Colossians and 1 Corinthians. So, I spent some time in them and for the sake of the length of this I’ll just list them here for reference, but it was these verses that called out to me: Colossians 2.6-10, 3.1-5, 3.12, Corinthians 1.5, 3.16, 15.33-34, 15.58.
So how is it through these passages that I am inspired to change my own narrative?
Where I once thought I was weak and had nothing to be thankful for, I know that I am strong because of my faith in Him and that I have an abundance to be thankful for because He has been so good to me. (Colossians 2:6-7)
The very generational curses that have long ruled my life no longer have their hold on me. My eyes are focused on Christ only as He has freed me of the need to hold onto things that no longer served me. (Colossians 2:8)
For the first time in my life I do not feel like I am lacking, or as if a part of myself is missing. Through Christ I feel whole, I feel complete. He filled all of the voids that I once desperately tried to fill with earthly things and methods. Those are no longer needed as with Him I am whole and full of life. (Colossians 2:9-10)
Instead of feeling as if I’m not worthy, I get to remember that I am now a child of God, that all of my past was forgiven and that that part of me was put to death and forgotten. That now with the wisdom of Christ within, I am worthy, and that as long as my heart and mind is set on Him, it’ll will all be OK. (Colossians 3:1-3)
With always struggling with feeling lost, never feeling as if I had any real purpose in my life, turning my life over to Christ and giving my life entirely to Him and knowing that there is a purpose for it brings about a joy and comfort I’ve never known. It makes it easy to stay away from the very things that no longer serve a purpose in my life. It makes you want to be a better person. It makes you want to strive to do better. It makes you hunger for the Word and to draw closer to Him. (Colossians 3:4-5)
I have always thought of myself as being kind, loving and compassionate, even though I’ve had a lifetime of people telling me otherwise when I wouldn’t accept their mistreatment of me. This one reaffirmed to me perhaps I wasn’t always as lost as I once thought I was as this was always my heart. It makes me believe that I was always one of God’s chosen ones. (Colossians 3:12)
I know that He is using me for greater things than I could ever imagine. I know that He has a purpose for my writing skills and I will wait patiently for that purpose to come to light. And in the meantime I will continue to learn, to grow in my faith and to expand my knowledge as He wants me too. So I will no longer doubt or allow the insecurities about my writing to get in the way or hold me back. I put my complete faith in Him and with the gifts He has given me. (1 Corinthians 1:5)
I am not “nothing” anymore. How could I be when I myself am God’s temple? Surely He would not dwell in someone that was nothing as others have long tried to convince me I was!? I am something far greater than that of those that have tried to break me. I have risen far above and will never again fall to where they once held me. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
I know now that the narrative that I long held as being the truth on my life was not written by myself, but by the opinions of those that were not of the moral compass equatable to my own. They should have never been given the pen or the chance to contribute to it, thus now I take that right away and reclaim my story as my own. I only have one Author I allow to write my story and one narrative I want to dictate the way others, including myself, perceive my life to be. (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)
I will not allow anyone to deter me from what God has placed within my heart. They can say whatever, try to make me feel however, and run my name through the dirt, that’s fine. I have a solid foundation to stand on thanks to Him and I have no plans on budging from the plans that He has set in motion. I am strong, I am smart, I am worthy, I am all of the things that people have tried to convince me over the years that I wasn’t, PLUS so much more. So much more! Just watch and see as I believe He truly does have big plans in store for me! (1 Corinthians 15:58)
So my question to you today is: have you allowed others or your past to alter the narrative of your life? If so, I urge you to find a new narrative, a kinder, more accurate and loving account that honors the truths of your life verses the lies we’ve allowed to consume us for far too long. Change your narrative within yourself so that you can change how you look at yourself and realize that all those burdens that you’ve been carrying attached to your story are just that, burdens that you need to let go and give to Him so that you can start living your best life. We have the power to say that this isn’t how we want our story to go and/or end, and to make the that change today!
Billie is a 40-something stay-at-home momma of five beautiful children and Grammy to three grandchildren. When not wrangling the littles, she babysits for her two adult children. You will find her gardening, canning, baking, and making the most delicious meals for her family. Billie is a multitasker juggling a team of miniature tyrants, a cat, a snake, two dogs, two rats, and nine chickens. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and studying her bible. Her passion is sharing the gospel through her writing! So, whether she’s feeding your body with delicious meals or feeding your soul through her writing, join Billie as she takes you on a journey providing you with “Food for Thought.”
by leaps and bounds 
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