Often we reflect over our lives and draw conclusions based on achievements. That is the way the world sees success. As children of God, we forget to look at the fact that progress breeds success in the eyes of God. The only way God's children can initialize progress is to accept that change must occur in our walk with Him. Most often, change carries a negative implication. For a number of years I boldly exclaimed, * I don*t like change*. I professed this, not knowing what was really saying. Now I realize! I was telling the Lord: "I don't like what You're trying to do in my life. I do not, under any circumstances, accept the transformation of my spirit that You are trying to bring about! This is uncomfortable and I would rather stay where I am since this is more familiar to me!" Sounds like someone you know? Of course it does! That's what we've all said to the Lord at one time or another. The job of the devil Is to do diligently what John 10:10 says, "He comes to steal, kill and to destroy all our being, inside and out." The definition of all is, inclusive of everything and the exclusive of nothing. The devil wants everything and will leave out nothing! I didn't know this to be true when I was going through my struggles.

I was molested from age five to thirteen, by a male family member. It was not the will of God for it to happen, but since it did, the Lord stepped in on my behalf. God had his hand on the situation and so did the devil. God was seeking to use this thing to help bless others, and the devil was trying to keep me bound, and my mouth shut. It is reassuring to know that God has a positive change in store for his children. We have to be willing to walk in the down right uncomfortable if we want to be free! I kept praying for an opportunity to give him a piece of my mind. To me, that was perfectly all right, but God had something else in mind. Change is unavoidable, as long as God is in our lives. My prayers were finally answered eight years later. The only difference was that I changed and really wanted to tell him something different. The Lord is unpredictable. We cannot dictate to him how we want to handle a situation. Sometimes when we know to do something right, we have to make ourselves do it and find peace with it later. That*s what this situation was like. The last time I saw this man was about three weeks ago, in church. Before I knew it, the usher ushered him right next to me. I began to sweat and breath deeply, out of fear. The Holy Spirit began to speak to my flesh. He kept saying, "You have forgiven him more than you know." Ephesians 4:32 says, " ... tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (KJV) He received the Lord that morning and my heart was glad. That day I told myself it no longer mattered if I wouldn't have the chance to talk to him. You see, when you have purposed in your heart to truly forgive someone, it doesn't matter about the details. I no longer wanted to know why. I'm delivered and wanted him to be the same. He was now a changed man and a new baby in the Lord. Had I not allowed the Lord to change me over that eight year period, I wouldn't have been accepting of his petition to the Lord that morning. I realized it wasn't about me! It's about being wide-open to the will of God in our lives. Can you spare some Change? Ultimately, God can do no more in us than we will admit, or allow him to do. If I wouldn't have embraced the change God was trying to take me through, I would have missed the blessing that came three days later. Ps 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."(KJV) This young man showed up at my house, with tears in his eyes, three days after that Sunday. I invited him in and allowed the Lord to become BIG in me. I yielded all my members to the Lord, and let Him have His way in me. He sat down and began to tell me how bound he was, because he was never able to tell me how sorry he was. He offered no excuses, but accepted all faults. I listened to him for about two hours. Then the Holy Spirit spoke through me. John 3:30 says, "He must increase, but I must decrease. (KJV) I told him how I used all those negative things to motivate me, to do better in life. I became president of my freshman class, graduated with honors and went to college, while still in high school. He cried and said he thought he ruined my life. When people think they have ruined your life, be thankful for the change of God in your life. It's a "keeping change," a change that won't go unnoticed, especially by you. Never did I believe I would allow him into my home, listen to him and still tell him that I loved him with the love of Jesus. He walked out of my house with more peace than he came in with. As Christians, we are to be peacemakers.

Change is everything as a Christian. You must be willing to change, unannounced to you, at the direction of the Lord. God won't always lay out the details, He will just say do it!! 1 Samuel 15:22 says, "...behold, to obey is better than sacrifice."

Petra Wilkes is a 20 year old sophomore, from Ft. Myers, Florida. She loves to dance, sing, exercise and praise the Lord!

Petra is not ashamed of anything, and she praises God for everything in her life. This article will also be released in the spring issue of Destiny Magazine, a Christian magazine for teens. E.V.E is privileged to share Petra's story first.