It matters where you come from and where you are at

I was watching the movie "Step Up 2", and it has this tag line that says, "It's not where you're from, it's where you're at". Actually, this statement is not really true because it discounts the experiences that have shaped us in our earlier years. We can't tell ourselves that whatever has influenced us as children or teenagers has no bearing on how we see life now, although we shouldn't be fatalistic about it.

I've gone through some painful and traumatic experiences myself in the past, and even till today, certain scenarios really evoke quite negative feelings in me, making me feel quite stressed and vulnerable. Not many people know about how I feel, because sometimes, maybe, I don't feel that some people really understand and I do not feel safe sharing with them. Other times, I feel that it is pointless to share because it doesn't take away the pain that I feel.

But I don't want to discount these experiences. Furthermore, it's probably impossible to do so, subconsciously.

I want to continue to work through these experiences. They are quite negative, but I think that God is able to use what is broken to build. God is a God who works even through suffering, just like He did His ultimate redemptive work for us through Jesus' death on the cross. I used to think that now that I am a Christian/God's child, I can pull myself up since I am a "new creation/person" and just move on to claim His promises, but I don't think it works that way so simplistically, rigidly and in a legalistic manner.

Yes, as a "new creation", we have the Spirit who will continue to empower us to live a new life for God. But we also have a Spirit who helps us in our weaknesses, and a throne of grace we can approach in our time of need. We have a Spirit who walks alongside us every step of the way, through the process of enabling us to be more like Christ, even within our broken selves in a broken world. We have a Spirit who will continue to lead and guide us while we are in the" now and the not yet", before the fulfillment of a perfected world when Christ comes again.

Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. I am forgiven and fully accepted by God in Jesus Christ - for how my past has shaped me, for who I am now and for who I will be. And I am forever loved as His child no matter what happens.

Freedom comes to truly live when we start to no longer work to prove our worth and we no longer work to compensate for our weaknesses and insecurities. We can now be able to experience our (difficult) situations and acknowledge who we are and work through them without wanting to discount their impact in our lives or overcompensate for our lack.

I need to continue to abide in Christ for grace, wisdom and safety as I work through these experiences that are difficult. I need not be anxious to see fruit, or for things to get better, or for solutions to happen, because there will be, when I abide in Him to help me through the processing of these experiences.

God is our true attachment figure; a shelter and refuge in times of trouble. May I always remember and become more convicted of who I am in Him.

This is how the gospel/good news of Jesus is relevant and powerful in my life.