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Be the very best you can be

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  • Wes Bloomquist •
  • Originally published January 9, 2009 at 5:04 p.m., updated January 9, 2009 at 5:04 p.m.

This month, I'm sharing principles that I believe can help us break free of the past and its baggage and make a fresh start in 2009.

Recently, I talked about the fact that to do this, some of us need to lose the labels that people have hung on us over the years - things such as "slow learner," "never amount to anything," or even "failure." Even though these labels may be leftovers from childhood, or even false, many people still live as if they are true.

Today, I want to mention another "break free" principle. It comes from the desire that I believe God has wired into every human being to be the very best that we can possibly be.

The principle is this: Only God knows what that 'best person we can be' is for each of us. This only stands to reason, since He created us. And here's the good news: when God looks at you and me, He doesn't just see what we are. He sees us as what He made us to be - a masterpiece of His creative power and love.

This fact really comes through in Psalm 139, where the writer, King David, was talking about the way God had created him by "knitting" his body together in the womb. As David thought about this incredible reality, he said: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (v. 14).

This is a tremendous statement of praise, and I love even more what David said next: "Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." In other words, every person God has ever made was made "wonderfully." God is saying to us, "I've made you just the way I wanted you to be."

This is why I say that God looks at us as masterpieces. In fact, a few verses later in Psalm 139, David said, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!" (v. 17). When God looks at us, He has precious thoughts toward us because He's not thinking about all of our mistakes; He's thinking about what He made us to be and can still make us into.

Don't miss that last part. You may be reading these words and saying to yourself, "Yeah, this all sounds great. But you don't know all the stuff that's happened to me to mess up that 'best' life."

I hear you. I've been there myself. But I'm passionate about this because in more than 20 years of pastoring, I have seen countless people break free of all that life and other people and their own sin did to them and discover the life that God created them to live.

If this is something you want for yourself, here's how to get started.

First, simply realize that you are very valuable to God.

Second, be willing to move beyond the past and let go of the attitudes and actions that may be holding you down.

Third, commit your life to Jesus Christ, accepting His forgiveness and healing.

Fourth, live in fellowship with other believers who have the resources you need to live you best life.

This is where breaking free begins.

Jim Graff is the Senior Pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria, Texas. www.faithfamilyvictoria.com



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