Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Philippians 4:6 NLT
My favorite verse changed my mindset about my life. It says “thank Him for all He has done.” I believe that everything is directed by God. So thank Him for the low times as well as the good times.
When I started to do this, He placed upon my heart how my unfortunate circumstances of abuse, addiction, anger, depression, being a bully, being bullied and low self-worth could be worked out for the good of the kingdom.
I remember praying when I was struggling to survive with an abusive boyfriend and I didn’t know what to do. I had always prayed for him to be healed from his past and be a healthier person. Then one day, for a reason I can’t explain, I added that same request for myself.
I began to dream about what my life will look like on the other side of when this relationship is over. I started to believe that God had a bigger plan for me than I could ever imagine for myself.
And He does. He has a bigger plan for you than you could ever imagine for yourself!
When we give thanks to Him for our trials and tribulations, our victory is even greater.
I’ve been journaling for years, so I made my journals into prayer journals, basically writing a letter to God every day. And I would thank Him for absolutely literally everything. The hurt, the pain, the struggle, the heartbreak, the gut-wrenching turmoil.
(I will add that He delivered me from that relationship about three years after He told me not to break up with him. The boyfriend was in a car accident that left him with brain damage and paralyzed. It took me many years of trying to break up with him and praying for God to deliver me from it for my nightmare of a relationship to finally be over.)
Immediately, my healing journey began.
One week after the boyfriend’s car accident, I started going to a Christian counselor that helped me along the journey. I knew that I needed to be strong enough to separate myself when and if he was to get better. I read books and articles, written about how to deal with abuse addiction, anger, depression, low self-worth, and bullies. Most didn’t say how to heal, just to get out.
Once I felt like I was smiling for no reason, just happy to be free, I asked God how could He use me. How could the things that I went through help another person in a positive way. He showed me.
When I was just 3 months out of the abusive relationship, out of nowhere or at least in my mind out of nowhere, women would just show up and tell me their story of their relationships. Maybe he was abusive physically. Maybe he was extremely controlling. Maybe she was giving everything to her boyfriend and he wasn’t giving anything back to her. He had been emotionally unavailable to her for many years.
There were at least 6 women telling me their story. I listened and shared with them what I had learned. And the steps I took to heal. Believe it or not, all of them took my advice from my story and they got out. Now, these women are more successful now than had ever dreamed possible.
Here’s the lesson that I learned, when we invest in ourselves with prayers, time, effort, and money to heal, then we will meet other people who could benefit from hearing our healing experience. We are able to pour into them from a place of overflow rather than pouring from an empty cup.
What if we looked at life like by sharing our stories will bless another person to take action and transform their own life?
He really does use all things for good.
How can God use your situation to positively impact another person’s life?
How will you let Him use you?
Sha Sparks is an Empowerment Speaker, Certified Fearless Living Coach, Author of How to Get Your Voice Back, Host of The Power of Investing in People podcast.
CEO (Chief Excitement Officer) Sparks of Hope LLC
Her belief is “that when we share our own lessons learned of overcoming adversities, we ignite a tiny spark of hope, love, connection, and community in other people. And when we ignite that spark, the whole world lights up. And that’s the Power of Investing in People”
You can connect with her on social media on her website
