It’s wild to me, how the Lord does His mysterious, miraculous, transformation work within us.

It reminds me so much of the way a plant grows, the way a flower blooms — “wait–how did that happen? Just a bit ago the plant was ‘this’ tall and I look again today and it’s ‘this’ tall and there’s also a little branch there, and I see a bud starting to form. How did all of this happen? –And when did that flower bloom?”

I’ve been thinking about the times I’ve brought my issues, my struggles, my burdens to the Lord. The times I’ve opened up my heart to my Father…

“Look at this mess I’m in, Father. Look at my heart. Look at this thing that I am struggling with, this thing that I don’t like about myself, this area of filth that needs to be washed clean and made new, this thing that is not in agreement with the way You have created me to be – Lord, will You help me? Will You forgive me and will You change me?”

(His answer is “Yes”)

So often in these moments, I’ll receive peace, tears will flow along with my honesty and transparency, and a “knowing” will come, a knowing that He is going to help me through the mess, but often the change is not immediate. So often the struggle is still there to struggle through, at least for a little while.

I think back to the times when I have faced panic from social anxiety and insecurity…the times I’ve ran to the restroom in a public place to declare a verse out loud, to get alone with Jesus, and to tell the enemy to leave me alone, crying out to the Lord to help me, and to remind myself of His promises to me… time after time after time I have just had to believe that this was doing something, because even though in the moment this would give me some peace, it wasn’t like I would snap my fingers and the issue was no more, the change wasn’t as immediate as I would have liked it to be. The struggle was still there. The only difference is this…

As I believe that God’s truth is true, as I have faith in Him and in His Word, I know that the change will come. Maybe not in the instant, but it will come. It’ll come as that Word begins to grow in me, and I’m going to look back and suddenly realize that issue isn’t a struggle anymore. Then I’m going to wonder when and how that change actually happened.

Reminds me of when I started facing fears in my life. You see, I had night terrors as an adult. When I started facing those fears by reading a verse out loud and declaring it into the darkness, this didn’t make it all just “go away” in an instant….. but now, when I look at where I was, how I was so shaken at that time, and I look now, and I realize that is not something I struggle with anymore….. wait – somehow I don’t struggle with that anymore…. God did something. His Word did something within me that I couldn’t see, it did something around me….

So how did that happen? When did that change take place? How did I get from that place to this place? I have no idea.

The enemy wants to discourage us when we take a step to do the right thing. He will try to make you think that it “didn’t work”.

As we begin to partner with the transformation process that God is ready and waiting to begin in us, the enemy is going to attempt to convince us that declaring that verse didn’t work. This is a lie and an attempt to discourage you from declaring the truth because he knows that when you declare the truth of God’s Word, it’s powerful, and he can’t stand it.

I am here to report to you that it does work, maybe not in the instant kind of way of “the world”, but far more is happening that we cannot see in the very moment we declare God’s truth. Far more is happening within us, and around us than we can even imagine.

“I am going to declare the truth, I am going to speak the truth and I am going to have faith that it will be doing something far greater than I can understand right now! Change will come because Jesus has promised to transform me!”

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 3:18

Consider trying this… the day you notice a struggle with something, write it down, document the date, then write down the verses you declared in faith. Don’t give up, keep declaring, keep trusting the Lord, keep drawing close to Him… and then one day you’ll realize you don’t struggle with that thing anymore more, write it down (if you can even remember it to note it), and you’ll marvel and wonder what happened from that day to this new day —“how did this happen, when did the actual “change” occur, the point A to point V…. when did that actually change in me?”

You probably won’t be able to figure that out. ?Other than “God did something in me!” just like a flower that is suddenly bloomed, “wait – when did that happen?”

It’s gone, it’s resolved, it’s not part of you anymore as it was, it is now transformed into your beautiful testimony. ?☀️

You’ll be able to say, “God took it away! He changed me! This is not an area of struggle for me anymore!”

Celebrate what the Lord has done, the victory He has given you, and remember those words of truth you spoke and declared and had faith in, because the enemy will try to come back and make you think it’s not gone.

Just calmly remind him that the Lord has already taken care of it… it’s already transformed into your testimony and the enemy cannot steal that from you. ?

Thank You, Jesus. ?

-Heather ?