Overcome

"If only you could see me yesterday
Who I used to be before the change
You'd see a broken heart
You'd see the battle scars
It's funny how words can't explain
How good it feels to finally break the chains
I'm not what I have done

I'm what I've overcome"

Beautiful lyrics. I've been wanting to write about this song for a long time! This song is by the talented band Fireflight. Yes, these lyrics aren't over-the-top deep, but they mean a lot to me. Let's break this down. 

"If only you could see me yesterday, Who I used to be before the change." 

I love this line because it states the fact of the significant CHANGE in a person when they become saved. When you truly have the Holy Spirit living within you, there is such a miraculous different within, it's almost unexplainable. 

"You'd see a broken heart, You'd see the battle scars"

Without Jesus, we're all broken. I don't know everyone's personal struggles, but I know that I have had a broken heart, & I surely have had scars.  With Jesus though, those broken hearts are mended & scars are healed. 

"It's funny how words can't explain, how good it feels to finally break the chains"

As I stated above, when we are saved it's almost as if the feeling is unexplainable. There are no words, no emotions, no thoughts. 

"I'm not what I have done, I'm what I've overcome"

One of my favorite lyrics. We are not defined by our past & the mistakes that we have made. We are defined by the person that Christ has enabled & created us to be. Don't hold onto past hurts and let them rule your behavior or your thoughts. You are who are you because you've overcome whatever obstacles life has thrown at you. 

I'll get my preach on for a moment. :) 

I made a phone call today because I got an urgent Facebook message from a friend. I won't go into details why they needed me, but during the conversation this person made the statement; "You know (certain person) could ruin the rest of my high school years for me. Everybody will think I'm a slut & nobody will talk to me." 

To this, I had to think of a calm way to respond. A lot of thoughts were running through my mind.

1.) Why in the world would you put yourself in a position where you could make others think badly of you. 

2.) I'm extremely saddened by this person's issue because it's showing they have no respect for themselves. 

3.) God has placed this person in my life for a reason & they trust me enough to tell me their secrets, so I must do my best to help them. 

When my friend told me this, I explained to them that if they were so worried about what people thought of them, then they really shouldn't have done anything in the first place. High school kids run their mouths. Obviously, they hadn't figured that out yet. 

I also told them that they needed to re-evaluate their standards. Respect is a key thing in any relationship, & if you don't have any for yourself...why should the other person respect you? 

I told them that if all their friends bailed on em', that they could always count on me to be there.

Lastly, I told them that I would pray for them. 

Reflecting on the conversation today, I thought about how this friend was so concerned & distressed about what other people thought about them. 

I know people talk behind my back. I know people dislike me. I've lost a lot of friends over the years because of my beliefs & I've been called names that nobody should even think of. But, (as Pastor Cliff preached about on Sunday), "If God is for us, then who is against us?" 

It doesn't matter! If I'm so caught up in what people think of me, I'm going to spend my days very miserable because I can't please everybody. That's not what I'm supposed to do anyway. 

There's only one thing people can say that is 100% true about me.... 

I'm forgiven.