You Aren't Who You Used to Be

I wonder if we live with a sense of discouragement in our lives because we focus too much on how far we have to go and not enough on how far we have come?

It is so easy for me to focus on how much I have yet to do. I can get consumed with how much I need to improve. I should be a better husband; father; leader and friend. There are always things that I can do better. I need to listen more. I need to engage more. I need to help out more. I need to encourage more.

The same is true in my relationship with God. I get so bogged down with how much I don’t get right. I focus so much attention and energy on all the areas that I have to improve and work on and grow, that I lose joy in my life.

But I am not the same person I was 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 8 years ago.  God has transformed me and refined me and recreated me. Yet, its so easy to focus on what is undone, what is a mess, what needs work.

I wonder if we grieve God’s heart by discounting the work He has done by only focusing on what He has left to do?

I don’t know your story, but I’m confident you have things in your life that need work. You should be a better friend. You should be a better sister. You should be a better husband. You should be a more understanding parent. You should be a more forgiving wife.

But if you’ve walked with Christ for a while, I bet you aren’t the same person that you used to be. I imagine God has done a work in your life and heart and you are different. You have changed.

Looking back doesn’t mean that we ignore our need to look forward. It does mean that we recognize God’s amazing grace in our lives, our relationships and our decisions and give Him the glory that He deserves, as He continues to transform us.

You aren’t where you need to be, but by God’s grace you aren’t where you used to be. Live in that today.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. ~Philippians 1:6 NLT