Rise Up! Day 4 | Battle-Scarred

Hello everyone! Today I’m back working in the Illustrated Faith Rise Up! Devotional Kit written by Kristen Wolbach! You can find the video tutorial for this page over on my YouTube channel.

You guys, I am seriously loving this month’s devotional kit! I’ve followed Kristen Wolbach on social media for a while and I have always loved that she shares her heart in a way that isn’t screened in behind perfection. She shares when things are tough or when she’s having doubts and I absolutely love that about her!

Day 4 of her devotional is title Battle-Scarred and focuses around these verses:

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So death is at work in us, but life in you.

II Corinthians 4:7-12 ESV

Good stuff you guys! She uses this day to share with us that, even as believers, we face storms and difficulty in our lives, yet we are to use those as a testimony to the amazing power of God and also to help minister to those around us.

I haven’t shared much with you all about how I came to be here in front of you today but my past is really one giant storm. In just a few years my husband and I faced long term unemployment, the almost death of our twin boys and then the resulting health difficulties after, a move across state, dire financial difficulties a plenty, health scares and surgeries, and it all came to a head when we were standing on the edge of a cliff facing an impending divorce.

I tell you this so that maybe some of you can relate to me a little more. I don’t have a perfect, hunky dory life. It’s better, that’s for sure! But now I can use those storms to minister to women around the world and show them just how amazing God is and how He can work in some truly miraculous ways. He saved my children, made way for a wonderful job for my husband, allowed noncancerous test results, and restored our failing marriage.

I love what Kristen says here:

“He says we will get a little banged up- a few bumps along the way- but we won’t be destroyed. Battle-scarred but rising victorious. You are a warrior with a story to tell…allow God to write it.”

Your storms may be rough at times, for some of you they will be giant tsunamis that you don’t think you will ever be able to survive, but remember that God is with you! Please don’t be afraid to share those storms…I know this can leave us feeling extremely vulnerable but you never know when your testimony is the exact one that someone else needs to hear to lead them to Christ.

I know today was a little bit heavy but I hope that it’s exactly what some of you needed to hear. You can find the Illustrated Faith Rise Up! Devotional Kit over at Dayspring and, if you are looking for something a little lighter, my tutorial video for this entry is over on my YouTube channel!

Until next time!

Lindsey

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