WORLDLY DESIRES VS. DESIRING GOD
We’ve been sharing stories from our online church community along with pictures of the Bible verse they have inked on their bodies. This is Emily Donaldson’s story behind her tattoo of her favorite passage.
“Just a little over six years ago I was faced with challenges I never saw coming. Growing up I always followed the straight and narrow path to God, and I was doing all the right things and everything seemed to be falling into place. Gradually I began to stray from the life I was called to live. At first it was just little things here and there, and then it became drastic changes that I was aware of, but I did not think others would have been. I wanted to have my worldly fun, but still have a rock solid relationship with God. Little did I know how these differences would change how people viewed me as a person, and how greatly I was on my way to destroying relationships I had with family and friends. I quickly recognized that this double life was not possible, but I wasn’t ready to make changes just yet.
I would like to say that at the time I got this tattoo it represented when I got back to having a stronger relationship with God, but I wasn’t ready for it to mean that just yet. As I was designing this tattoo I would think of how God loves me at all times. I knew I wasn’t living right and I realized that God was never going to forget me, and in my mind He was holding onto me tightly as I was trying to pull the other way. What scared me then and still does today looking back was how I was fully aware of the danger I was putting myself in and I just didn’t care – but this is why God is who He is. He could have left me in my dark place, and allowed me to continue towards a life of destruction, but He never let go of my hand which was the only thing that kept me from falling completely. That’s true love, and this is when I got my favorite words from 1 Corinthians 13 down my side with the word love holding it together.
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“I can remember praying and thanking God for loving me even when I knew I was living in sin, and I would ask Him to help me get out of it. I prayed this over and over every day and still nothing changed because I wouldn’t take that step. Just a little over a year after I got the tattoo the words down my side became even more meaningful, and I knew that the love that God was showing me was holding me together and that I needed to change and live for Him. I began to stop fighting to hold onto worldly pleasures and I reached out for God in a way I had never done before. Because of His love, I believe that God never forgot me. He kept His grip on my life so I could share His love with others.”
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Do you have a story similar to Emily’s where you found yourself in a battle between worldly desires and chasing after God? We want to hear your story and how you fought the battle. You can share your story with our online community here or through Facebook or Twitter!
