Hi there! Sadie, here. I have waited for this day for months and it is finally here… LIVE releases today! I wanted to get some of the words in your hands asap (just incase you can’t go get your copy until later today or tomorrow!). This is one of my favorite chapters and hope it speaks to you right where you are at today. I love this chapter so much so that I am kicking off the LIVE Workshop with this chapter! Full of additional content, playlists created just for you, guided prayer, and more, you can join today for FREE with your purchase of the book!
To find out all the info, visit our page HERE and kickstart your journey to truly living!
Now, enjoy this chapter from my book!
I think that because we know certain bible stories so well, we sometimes do not realize how life changing they are. When we realize that they are not only stories but pictures of what can be real for us, it will change the way we see our lives.
That’s why I started this book with a retelling of Jesus’ story of the prodigal son from the gospel of Luke. So many of us know this story, but we may fail to realize the power in it.
To know something means “to have information in your mind,” while to realize something means “to understand a situation, some- times suddenly” or “to achieve something you were hoping for.” Knowing something is quite different from realizing it. When I shared the story of the prodigal son in the women’s prison, I watched them realize that there is something for them to fulfill in life. I saw it reshape their perspective of who God is as a loving Father and saw hope begin to rise in that room of women living behind bars.
I personalized this story in the last chapter, but it’s important to see it as the Bible portrays it, so let’s look at that now.
You may have picked up this book having known your whole life that there is a God and that He is your Father, yet you have lived with the mentality that you are alone, afraid, and missing true value and quality in your life. Maybe you have not realized all that this story offers you and that your rea- son to keep living is that you have a purpose to fulfill. Or maybe you have never believed in God and have never read Scripture before. Maybe you have never thought much about life at all. But as your eyes wander across these words of life, you are embarking on an exciting journey of get- ting to know something and then having the full realization of how incredible it is. These are the words Jesus spoke:
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between them.
Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:11–24)
In this story we see the prodigal son move from knowing to realizing. Actually, he realized something he already knew: his father had a house and servants who had food to spare when he was on the verge of losing his life (Luke 15:17).
Remember, to live is to remain and to reside. When we try to remain and reside in things that fade away, we are contradicting the action of living.
Sometimes when we’re trying to live our lives fully, we go wrong by turning to quick, temporary highs. We try to satisfy ourselves through things that will leave us high and dry instead of simply filling our lives with the promises of God, which are guaranteed. We try to fill the empty spaces in our hearts, the gaps in our lives. The expression “fill the gaps” means “to add to what is needed to something to make it complete” or “to serve temporarily.” To say that a gap needs filling is to say that from the beginning something is missing, but I’m telling you, if you’ve given your life to God, you already have all you need to fill your heart and soul; you just have to realize it. To fill a gap, you have to add something to it so that there is enough, but to fulfill something, you simply need to step into its reality.
To the prodigal son, filling the gap meant prostitutes and partying. What has filling the gaps meant for you? Has it looked like these:
- Diet pills to make you feel beautiful?
- Sleeping around to make you feel loved?
- Editing your pictures or sending inappropriate photos to make your body look good enough to be seen or liked?
- Pornography to make you feel satisfied?
- Addiction to make you feel numb?
If you are involved in these activities, have you found that you cannot stop because the rush is the only thing that keeps you going? Have you discovered that they always end in pain, fear, emptiness, and feelings of worthlessness? If I’m describing you, I want to tell you this: you are not worthless, but those things are worth so much less than who you are.
- You are already loved just as you are.
- You are already enough just as you are.
- You are already seen just as you are.
- You are already known just as you are.
Because:
- God is love.
- God is enough.
- God created you, formed you, and is with you for His satisfaction just because you are His.
This is your reality—not because of what you have done or what you will do but simply because of who you are and where you belong. It’s time to get back the fullness of your life.
The minute the prodigal son stepped into reality is the moment he was met with the most overwhelming realization of his life’s worth. Though we will never have a full perspective of what God will do with our lives on this side of heaven, we get glimpses of His immense love for us in hearing Jesus tell this story of the prodigal son and fully grasping the love of the Father. First Corinthians 2:9 tells us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (nlt).
It’s time to realize who your Father is. You might be thinking, though, Sadie, I feel like I am eating with the pigs. I’m the girl throwing my life away. How do I get back home from here? I’ll offer you one tidbit of advice that will carry you through this book and through life. It’s only four words, so don’t miss it:
Turn in His direction.
The turning point is where everything changes. There is a path of death and a path of life. So turn in His direction, toward life.
Your an old soul Sadie. Well said and simple, it is simple. I know God does have everything under control, yet I find myself still worrying about worrying. I don’t know if you understand but that’s what it feels like. I just want to get my joy back in life and I am grateful for all God has blessed me with, your right we have enough and we are enough. Amen and Godspeed to you ?