During this series we’ve talked about the things that overwhelm us, and how many of those things are rooted in lies about who we are and where our true value lies. We’ve talked about our need to succeed and how it’s born out of our perception that we have to earn love. We’ve addressed lack of self-love and fear, tragedy and isolation, and the reality of our wounds and resentments. All of this helps us get a clearer picture of why our lives are the way they are, why peace, joy, and fulfillment evade us, and why we’re overwhelmed — but it still doesn’t provide the answer as to how we fix it.
Most are seeking a better life, desiring to better understand their purpose, and just plain fed up with being fed up and overwhelmed. The world’s promises have all proved empty, but there’s another promise that never fails. It may sound simplistic, but it’s absolutely true: God is the only answer for our lives. God is the only thing that can fill up the hole in our hearts, the ultimate source of the unconditional love we desire. Most of us understand that love through conversion.
My Conversion
My conversion was not something I anticipated. Nor did I volunteer for it. It was more like being hit across the back of the head with three 2x4s. I was at an all-time low. I had lost my marriage and my family as I knew it, something that I had not signed up for. My business, my pride and joy and my identity, was significantly down-sized. And I had lost a lot of money due to some very foolish decisions along the way. I was a control freak and had lost all control. I couldn’t hold it together anymore. My world was falling apart. The walls were caving in.
I don’t know if you can relate to this, but the stress and the pressure literally forced me to my knees one night in March 2006. I couldn’t take it anymore, I broke. I fell to my knees at the side of my bed, sobbing. I couldn’t stop crying, I mean snot flying. I was a 43-year-old man and I was a mess. I remember saying over and over again, “I can’t do this alone anymore, I can’t do this alone anymore, I can’t do this alone anymore.” I only stopped due to pure exhaustion, still kneeling but now resting my head on the bed.
I had never heard the audible voice of God, but I felt a real calm come over the room and a peace come over me. I felt Jesus Christ’s presence, a feeling unlike anything I had ever experienced before. And in my heart, I heard him say, “You’re not alone. I am here for you.” I heard it over and over again, like he was answering me in direct response. “You’re not alone. I am here for you . . . You’re not alone. I am here for you.”
It’s difficult to truly express how I felt. That was the moment that I not only felt God’s real presence in my life for the first time, but I experienced his unconditional love. I realized I couldn’t do it alone, and I didn’t have to. He was and is there for me. A huge burden was lifted off me. I had encountered God, a God whom I could rely on, a God who loves me. I literally felt different. I was different, now knowing God’s love.
My conversion rocked my world and changed my life forever. That’s my unique story. Yours’ will be just as impactful for you as mine has been for me. If you haven’t had this experience yet, do not give up. If I’ve learned nothing else, I know this for certain: God wants our conversion more than we do.
The Invitation
God is constantly inviting us into a relationship with him. He uses everything that happens to us, the good and the bad. The trouble is, we’re so busy being overwhelmed that we often miss his invitation. God invites us to turn to him, to bring our hurts, fears, past experiences, our everything to him in truth. This is what we mean when we talk about “conversion.” It will change your life…it changed mine.
If you’ve not experienced conversion yet and would like to, I point to ways to help the process in my book, as identified last week. Happy to shoot them to you’d if you like.
As always, please email me at [email protected] with questions, comments, concerns, or prayer requests.
God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfilment!!!
Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!
Mark Joseph