At the beginning of the summer, God had been putting the word "free" on my heart. He was reminding me that because of Jesus, I am not only free from sin and death, but I am also free from trying to find satisfaction in people and "stuff." The world tells us that the more you have, the better off you will be, but God was reminding me that I have all I need in Him. I don't need more "stuff" or approval from people to find worth. Jesus freed us from that with His finished work on the cross and only He can satisfy our deepest longings for love and worth. Not things, places or even people.
I've been facing some hard trials, but God has used this key to remind me that my struggles don't define me. I am free from that.
So, this past Sunday at church, we had some special guests sharing testimonies of how God has, and continues, to redeem them from addiction/substance abuse. I remember looking down at my key and feeling the tug that I needed to give it away.
One woman went up and shared her story of how she was abused by her drug-dealing father as a child and as a result, she constantly lived in fear. Her and her mom ended up leaving because of the abuse and later, she found out that her dad had taken his own life. She was devastated and blamed herself. She later ended up in an abusive marriage and turned to substances to cope. Her marriage ended in divorce and one day she found herself alone in a hotel, drinking herself to death. She realized she needed help. She is now in a treatment program that helps people overcome their addictions and also points them to faith in Jesus.
Now she knows her true Father and has found worth in Him. God made it clear that I needed to give my key to her so after the service, I found her and explained what it meant to me, that I felt God wanted her to have it and that at some point when she is finished with it, she can give it away to someone else that needs it. She was so thankful and accepted it with tears. It felt so good to give it to her. Her story made it all worth it.
-Brianne
