As believers, new creations in Christ, we have to diligently and intentionally guard ourselves from being shaped by our upbringing, our past failures, our negative experiences, what others have done or said to us…you get the point, right?

Everything but God.

Here’s a pull from my latest book, Ripple Effect:

“When you come into a relationship with Jesus, you are to strip yourself of all your old ways and allow the Holy Spirit to mold and shape you to become more like Him. He is the Potter, and we are the clay. If we haven’t fully surrendered every part of ourselves to God, we will continue to be molded and shaped by something, whether it be our upbringing, our situations, others’ opinions, our experiences in life, our feelings, even our successes or failures. If it’s not God, then it will be something else that will shape us into who we are today.

Many of us have been shaped by life, not by God.”

Realize you have the choice.

Decide today that nothing else is going to have the power or ability to shape your thinking, your actions, or your behaviors but the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit who is in you.

Your freedom, peace, and joy is found when you fully surrender all of you (not parts of you—ALL!) into His trusting hands as He molds and shapes you into a vessel that glorifies and radiates Him.

It’s time to look like your Father in Heaven, not the negative circumstances of life, amen?

Pray with me: Lord, come into every crack and crevice of my being. I’m choosing today to stop allowing life and my experiences have more power than Your power within me. Help me see and discern where my thoughts, actions and behaviors are a product of what I’ve been through, and not what you have done for me. Write Your Truth on my heart so that when life storms hit, I am that firmly planted tree, bearing Your fruit, and what shakes out of me looks like You. I’m giving You full authority and my full surrender—have Your way in me and through me. Mold me and shape me; I want to look like You. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.