As we continue our Encourage Series this week, I want to ask you some questions.
- Have you ever felt unloved?
- Have you been disappointed?
- Do you feel like a failure, trying to do everything perfectly but always coming up short?
- Is your marriage everything you had hoped for or do you feel stuck and completely unhappy with your situation?
This week’s testimony is going to speak to the heart of all of these feelings and disappointments. You’ll meet a young woman who was utterly lost in a deep sea of emotions, disappointments, regret, and fear. And you will see how God pursued her, redeemed her situation, and is using it for His glory.
Maybe this testimony doesn’t apply to you, but perhaps God has placed someone in your life that needs to hear of God’s power to “restore what the locust have destroyed.” (Joel 2:25)
Testimony of Encouragement #2
Meet Christin – The Brokenhearted
You’re not enough.
He doesn’t love you.
You married the wrong person.
God can’t change your situation.
God doesn’t care, and you deserve to be happy.
At first, they were just whispers coming and going like waves. In my own strength I tried to push them away until one day I gave in and allowed them to flood over my emotions until they became my screaming truth.
I started to live like a person with no hope. Waking up just going through the motions of life doing anything that would keep me busy enough so I did not have deal with my feelings. Unfortunately, no matter how far I ran or how busy I got, I could not get rid of my broken dreams, disappointments, and my failing marriage.
I will prove I am enough.
Someone will love me.
Where has God been all this time?
Don’t I deserve to be happy?
The one thing that rings true for negative thoughts or lies from the enemy is they always multiply. And as they multiplied I became tired, angry, and bitter.
Here’s what I did. Can you identify?
- I isolated myself from my friends, my family and most of all, my husband.
- I decided I would be better off with a fresh start.
- I convinced myself there was no way to fix this and in all honesty I just wanted a break from it all.
- I continued to make decisions based on my feelings and the belief that God was unable to help me.
Here’s what others who loved me did for me. I am forever grateful!
I have a mom and close friend that prayed when I couldn’t. They pleaded with the Lord to draw me back to Him and restore my marriage.
Here’s what God did!
In true Almighty God fashion He did just that. He drew me back to Him and restored my marriage!
I wish I could say I made no poor choices and just turned and ran to the Lord, but I can’t. I can, however, say this much … like the prodigal son – with whom I had never felt I identified. I had always identified more with the brother in the parable in Luke 15:11-32 – as I started to turn and inch forward, I realized the Lord was not just waiting for my return. He was running toward me (might I say He was chasing after me the whole time) with open arms ready to give me His unfailing love, a hope, and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
He has done all of that and more! I don’t deserve it, and I certainly cannot earn it, but He keeps pouring His grace over me to gently heal and restore the brokenness in my life. I am not going to say I never hear those whispers, but through accountability and God’s word, I am equipped to fight the lies with God’s truth.
I will leave you with one of my most favorite quotes …
I do not at all understand the mystery of grace, only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. – Unknown.
Thank You, Lord, for not leaving me where You found me! Psalm 40:2
Christin now – Blessed and Grateful!
Dear one, does this speak to your hurting heart? Do you need to be encouraged in your circumstance today? Here are some steps you can take to help you.
- Download and study these power verses of encouragement.
- Contact a friend who will really pray for you and hold you accountable or submit a prayer request here and we will pray for you.
- Stop believing the way you feel and look at the reality of who God is. Download this Attributes of God Booklet.
- Get help from a Christian Counselor. You can contact the Counseling office at Warren here.
- Join a Bible Study and fill your mind with the truths of God’s Word.
I pray you have been encouraged by Christin’s testimony. We’d love to hear from you. Please submit an uplifting comment below. Join us next week for more testimonies from our Encourage Outreach Dinner.
Jacqueline Heider is the Director of Women’s Ministry, Prayer & Resource Specialist at Warren Baptist Church