By anonymous; Edited by Nancy Virden (c)2025

When we were children, our parents knew how to get us to do certain things by appealing to our deeper desires, such as quality time with Dad, more time with friends, and even words of affirmation. If mom wanted us to clean, she only had to throw out the possibility of going to the rec center after our rooms were spotless, or dessert after the dishes were done, and our little bodies got busy. Simple motivations driven by what we thought were the best-case scenarios for our use of time never returned void. 

As adults, people often try to influence us to do what they think is the “right” and best thing for us, but they do not always lead us through the best path of reasoning for why we should follow their advice. 

If we try to change only to merit a better life, which is often the incentive promised in exchange for hard work and diligence, we miss the richest part of what this life is all about, a deeper union with God! True soul transformation can only be received by yielding our wills to a loving and holy God, by surrendering to the One higher than ourselves, and by asking God to change our hearts. 

When we deepen our connection to God, our Creator (who thankfully, takes into account everything we have been through in our lives), we can reconcile our pasts with our present. 

The singer Jewel wrote in her book, Never Broken, “living in the past projects negativity into the future and robs us of opportunities that lie in the now.” This is quite true, yet we get stuck. We move on into freedom, but continue to carry the essence and shame of who we were. This robs us of the joys of today because we are not yet deep enough with God to know we are redeemed!

We get to choose a new now. 

With much courage, we can honestly come to accept who we are and gradually come to a place of surrendering our negative habits (such as stinkin’ thinkin’ and addictive behaviors) without throwing away our God-given dignity. Psalm 139:14 assures us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.  This means that our nature (each one of us has this nature) can be harnessed and molded for God’s good purposes. 

It would be a great tragedy if one day we realized that we have changed our behaviors and appearances, but our hearts are still sad, hateful, selfish, and pained. To be transformed from the inside out, we must go deeper with others and with God. He waits for us. He waits for you. There is no formula, only a relationship where He leads and we follow. 

There is a deep yearning in every human for something Greater, and that something is the person, Jesus. 

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Psalm 139:13-17

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!

If you are feeling suicidal or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S., call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room; in the EU, call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here.) Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. 

NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional and speaks only from personal experience and observations. This website is not intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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