I know this is a fitness blog, and you probably landed here looking for motivation, fitness tips or advice. I promise I will continue those topics, but my story, my testimony, needs to be told. I had a mentor once tell me to never spend time with people who don't value you. Don't waste your energy trying to convince someone to 'get you.' They either will or they won't. The people who get you want to hear what you have to say. So, my goal is that my story will help you 'get' me and that you might be inspired or motivated to keep going on whatever journey you're on; to have HOPE.
Please read on for the next installment in my blog series HOPE Part IV: Trust Me
Hebrews 13:21 tells us that God will equip us to do his will. Being equipped comes in a lot of forms. Sometimes it's an academic education, and sometimes it's life. A close friend recently told me that the most powerful testimonies come from a person who lived through pain and came out on the other side, giving God all the glory and praise.
I thought that when I left my corporate job to go into business co-ownership that I would stay in that business forever. I could see myself running and growing that business for many years. I never imagined God would use that business to prepare and equip me for my true calling: to serve women through fitness and help them find freedom in Jesus. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, your whole mission in the Kingdom is to share the gospel. It's really simple when you break it down. The Bible tells us that everything we do is to bring people to a relationship with Jesus. While I knew that, I didn't know how that applied to my life. I mean, you have to work to earn a living.
Every day is an opportunity to serve others. Through kindness, through good works and through words. And sometimes, when you've served first not seeking to be served, opportunities to witness happen. More and more, day by day, I was getting to pray for people and to hear their stories and struggles.
For three years, I threw myself into fitness. I learned all I could about the business from an amazing mentor and friend. She taught me everything she knew, which was a lot! I never imagined that me, someone who had struggled with her weight and self-worth her whole life, could be a fitness professional, but it was happening! I became a certified trainer and quickly started serving clients who wanted what I had to teach them.
I thrived on the busyness, on the grind of the fitness business, until I burned out. It hit me like a ton of bricks one day. I had been listening to God, as he pushed me to lead a fitness small group through my church. I had been resisting leading a group, letting the enemy tell me I wasn't good enough. I finally gave in and after our first group meeting, I felt God tugging on my heart. During my personal devotional time with God, he was speaking to me to leave my business. I asked how and why. He simply said, "Trust me."
Now, I used to be one of those people who didn't understand when others said the Lord was speaking to them. But as I grew closer in my walk with God, I learned to be still and listen, and I was craving his voice. I kept praying over how and when to leave my business and God told me it would be ok and that he needed me to serve women in a much deeper way. I had no idea what that meant, but I trusted God.
The best thing about listening to the Holy Spirit is that IT'S NEVER WRONG! God's voice is always true. So, here I was, about to leave the business that I had invested everything in, money and time, with no clear direction about what the future would hold, except the words, "trust me." And I did, and have never looked back.
Please join me next time for the next part of my HOPE series.
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