Driving to work this morning I heard Natalie Grant, one of my favorite singers, on the radio talking about how she got started with Hope For Justice, an organization that helps rescue girls from human trafficking.  Within 2 minutes I was bawling.  She was telling a story of a time that her and her husband were allowed to tour a brothel in another country because the people there thought her husband might be a potential client.  She described the rooms in the brothel as being small and concrete, some with mattresses on the floor, some with beds.  Then she began to describe a particular room they arrived at which had a bed and a bed frame, but this room also had a rope tied to the bed.  One could try to imagine what the rope was for, but she came right out and asked.  Turns out that room was for a 14 year old girl who had an 18 month old child, and because they did not have childcare she had to tether her 18 month old to the bed while she worked.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Not only was this 14 year old child being forced to do unimaginable things, but this 14 year old child had a baby, that she gave birth to when she was either 12 or 13, who was subjected to being chained to a bed while witnessing their mother “work.”  That environment is what that baby witnessed as being “normal” in their lives. No child should ever have to experience that. Ever. Before she began describing this experience she first stated that many people won’t allow her to talk about these types of things because it’s too difficult, too ugly. But it’s reality for these girls, and to turn a blind eye to it is just plain wrong. There is no justification for ignoring it, I don’t care what the argument is. We don’t deserve to have the blessings we have if we’re not willing to help others in those unimaginable conditions. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away, whether we want to admit that or not.

As I cried in my car on my way to work, completely blindsided by that story, my thoughts started to turn towards how blessed I am and how guilty I felt for ever complaining.  I’ve recently written a post about mental and emotional struggles for those of us who are so very blessed with our physical needs that we feel guilty for ever feeling anything but blessed.  While listening to Natalie talk this morning, it hit me… if the enemy can make us believe we are mentally and emotionally incapable of our own lives, if he can make us feel like we’re worthless and undeserving and unfit to accomplish anything, he can make us forget about the abilities that we do have and actually stop us from making a difference in the lives of others.  If we believe that we can’t handle our everyday lives, why would we ever believe we could make a difference in something as huge as human trafficking.  And if the enemy can make us believe we’re worthless enough to keep us from community with others, he can put a halt on the work that we can do together.  I, by myself, am absolutely incapable of rescuing anyone like that little girl. But God. He doesn’t call us to do anything alone. He is with us, and He wants us to work together.

The enemy knows that he can stop us, simply by getting us so caught up in our own mental and emotional battles that we can’t even see past them to catch a glimpse of what’s going on outside of them. Or even if we can see what’s happening, he can entangle us so much in our own battles that we can’t fathom fighting someone else’s. Sometimes if we just step outside of ourselves, it can free us enough for God to open our eyes to things we wouldn’t be able to see if we continue to focus on our internal struggles. If we truly give our struggles up to God, and stop trying to fight them on our own, He might just be able to use us more in other areas. Just maybe.

We have internal battles because we’re not just physical beings. The fact that you may not be forced into human trafficking doesn’t mean you don’t have struggles. But some of our struggles are a direct result of our choices. I believe that, as Christians, we could avoid or put an end to many of our internal struggles if we:

1. Choose to believe God’s truth. (He is with us. He created us with purpose. Everyone’s life matters, including our own.)
2. Choose to reject the enemy’s lies that we can’t make a difference and that we’re worthless.
3. Choose to love others and stop judging. (Even other Christians… Yes, we are supposed to hold each other accountable and correct each other. But too often Christians will justify their harsh judgement of each other in the name of accountability, and do it to a point that they cease to love each other and feed into brokenness.)
4. Choose to accept loving correction and not reject it defensively as judgement. This just brings more brokenness and division. When someone loves you, they will try to correct you when they see you going down a dangerous path.
5. Choose to ask for forgiveness when we’ve wronged someone, intentionally or unintentionally.  
6. Choose to forgive, with or without an apology. We are all human and often do things that hurt others without realizing it. Or hurt others out of a place of hurt. Don’t withhold the forgiveness that you would want from someone else.
7. Choose to believe that everyone can be better, choose better, live better, love better.  They may just need someone like you to help them see it. Be a source for others to find hope, not a reason for them to lose it.

Everything we do is a choice. Everything. What we believe, what we do, what we don’t do. And our mental choices will affect our view of ourselves, of others, and shape our impact on the world around us. Our mental choices will affect our tangible choices. I want to choose better. I’m learning to believe that I have purpose through choosing to believe God’s word and choosing to reject the lies that I’ve accepted for a long time. I have a purpose. You have a purpose. We can choose to believe it or reject it. Rejecting it is exactly what the enemy wants, because as long as we believe we have no purpose we will never attempt to make a difference. We will be complacent, and complacency makes him content. I choose not to make him content. What do you choose?