Was Lost and is Found: A Life to Die For

By Deborah OBrien

In 2008, my life hit rock bottom, and I had had enough! I found myself on the couch meditating, There's got to be more than this, or I don't want to be here. In those moments, a peace overtook me, and I knew something had changed. People have told me that I was knocking on heaven's door, and the Lord opened it, even though I had no idea what had happened. Jesus is my Lord, and the Holy Spirit had been shadowing and leading me those past eight months to this truth. My spirit, soul, and body were all in! This was the "more" that I had been missing! I was spiritually starved (had no idea what spiritual even meant) and began eating the Word morning, noon, and night continually. I began taking notes of Joyce Meyer and Creflo Dollars programs (my mentors) and reading spiritual books by the dozens. I found myself doing outlines of them and had no idea why. Three months in, a voice spoke to me from out of nowhere. I turned completely around in a circle but saw no one. My Father said, "Write books to help others as you have found help." I argued with Him and said, "I can't. I don't know how." He said, "Use your notes," and I said, "Oh, okay," and immediately started going through my notes and putting this book together that you are now holding in your hands. My prayer for you is that you will read this book and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into a new place where you find help, wholeness, and a life that is worth living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644712481

Book preview

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Was Lost and Is Found

A Life to Die For

Deborah O'Brien

ISBN 978-1-64471-247-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64471-248-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Deborah O'Brien

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Based on the scripture Luke 15:24

Finding your way out of the darkness…

and coming into the light.

I dedicate this book to

my newly found Best Friend, my mighty Father in heaven. For without His grace I would still be living that works of the flesh life and getting absolutely nowhere.

For now I know, without God, we can do nothing.

I have always known that life shouldn’t be so hard, but I could not grasp the missing link—until now.

All my life I have been looking for a true friend that I could count on to be there for me, no matter what the situation might be. Now I have One. God is all that I need and the only One Who I will diligently seek.

God’s grace touched my heart, but Joyce Meyer, with God’s anointing, has led me to this day in my life. Joyce is truly a blessing sent by God. I speak of her as my girl, and in my eyes, she is one of God’s masterpieces. Thanks, Joyce, you have taught me well.

"I am not going to be discouraged, I will be persistent,

and I will move forward. I am determined to achieve success

in God’s own wonderful way for me—

whatever that may be."

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank

each and every person who has played a part in my life. Whether I saw or felt their acts were good or bad at the time does not matter now.

No matter what happened, whatever results, I was in the Lord’s hands; and His will is good and right for me.

I realize now that everything happens for a reason, as part of a larger plan. To grow in love and wisdom and to be of service somewhere down the line in my future.

I am a spiritual being going through human experiences and making my way one small step at a time closer to my Creator each and every day.

I bless each of you for the pain I went through, because that pain finally has delivered me to this point. And now that I understand why, I find myself free! Free from the pain, the resentment, and the heartache that kept me in bondage for so long.

I can honestly say that when I think back over my life as it was in the past, it actually makes me chuckle.

I bless each of you for being of service to the Lord. For my going through all that pain, I have been delivered. I am exactly where God intended for me to be all along.

God is never early. God is never late. God has perfect timing.

Introduction

There are thousands of people

living today, as those did over two thousand years ago during the New Testament times. They are lost in the dark and living as though they are in the wilderness.

People’s lives are spinning out of control and unaware of the reasons why.

Living their lives, they continually go around that same old mountain, time and time again. Each time the trip gets a little harder. These people have lives of total chaos, pain, and confusion. Each day they worry about what will happen next! And they think that’s all there is to life.

Through their fleshly works and ways, they have become self-centered and do not realize what they are doing to themselves or to others by acting this way. Their minds are focused on one thing—themselves! It is the what about me syndrome.

People need to be awakened to the truth. God’s Word is truth, and we should all abide by it. But if you shall turn your back and choose not to believe, you will face the consequences. Your life will continuously evolve in a vicious circle, and you will never know what could have been.

Many do not know that God created us to fulfill a certain purpose—His purpose. We are all here to help God finish His creation.

Our life is not about us; it’s about God. We are to serve Him for the greater good. He is the Author, the Finisher, and everything in between.

He’s had each of our lives planned out for us since the beginning. We are not here by accident but to fulfill our positions as He has them planned.

So there you have it. Either you do God’s will and move forward to a great life filled with peace, joy, and happiness; or you choose to stay stuck in the dark, struggling and trying to survive one more day, living a life of destruction.

Through reading this book, you will gain insight on how to turn your life around and find meaning in your life. Come out of the darkness and into the light. It is the only way to live and enjoy your life.

Part 1

The Why to Life

Chapter 1

Understanding Truth: Why You Exist

As you read these words,

I hope that it helps you to experience a sense of hope and joy as it did when it became clear to me as to why we are here.

God put each one of us on this earth for a particular reason. Separate, but together, for the greater good. We are not here by accident but to fulfill a divine purpose for God.

Our problem is in not understanding this fact. That is why our lives are filled with pain and confusion. The majority of people today have been lost, out in the wilderness, and without a clue as to what should be taking place.

Through our suffering, there is truly a blessing trying to come forward in each of our lives. Right now, at this moment, God is trying to get each of us where He needs for us to be. Not realizing it, we are fighting Him every step of the way because we have not been taught the truth. So we continue to live in chaos and devastations. Each of us together, but so much alone.

A God-shaped life is a flourishing tree, but life devoted to things of this world is a dead life, a stump.

In the Bible, Proverbs 11:28 says that He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

You see, it’s not about us; it’s about God. He created us for His enjoyment and to help finish His creation. It is not about what you or I want; it’s about what God wants. It is not about what you or I think; it’s about what God says.

The importance of His purpose is far greater than we could conceive. All things started with God; therefore, you must begin with God.

You were born for His purpose and by His purpose.

Ever since you were just a small child, people have been asking you, what do you want to be? What are your dreams? So on and so forth. That’s why there are so many confused people in the world today. Without guidance from our Heavenly Father, they have no idea what they are supposed to do next, or even which way to go.

For thousands of years, this has been going on. We are so self-centered that we never thought one time to think about someone else instead of ourselves.

It’s not about us; it’s about God! That is the beginning point. He created us to help fulfill His purpose.

Until you begin to focus on God, your life is going to continue to spin out of control. You are going to have to get a grip here. You are here because God created you. God actually owns you. He is the Author and the Finisher. He owns everything. He created everything we see.

The Bible tells us that It is God who directs the lives of His creatures. Everyone’s life is in His power. This says that focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose and without Him, we will never have meaning in our lives. We will not be fulfilled from anything that we do unless God enters into it. We are solely here to glorify God and be of His enjoyment. Only our Creator, who holds the owner’s manual, can tell us specifically what our purpose really is.

The Bible says, Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then, and only then, will you know what God wants you to do.

Chapter 2

Understanding Truth: Who Created You?

God says, "I am your

Creator, You were in my eyes even before you were born" (Isa. 44:2). Thus says the Lord Who made you and formed you from the womb. He says we were not an accident. Boy, if my parents were still alive. I’d sure tell them they were wrong, because that is not what they told me!

There was no mistake or fluke of nature. God created me, and my parents were the one’s God chose to raise me, whether they wanted to or not. It is as simple as that. Funny! The Bible says that before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God. You are alive because God wanted to create you.

The Bible says that the Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. God chose the color of your skin, your size, and everything just the way He wanted it. He also determined your talents that you possess and the ways of your personality.

The Bible says, God saw me first before I was born and scheduled each day of my life. God knows me inside and out. He knows every bone in my body. He knows exactly how I was made, bit by bit, and how I was sculptured from nothing into something. He made each person and decided when they would be born and how long they would live. Everything in your life was planned ahead of time before you took your first breath. God has a book with every single day of your life recorded in it ahead of time. How awesome is that?

God also decided where you would be born and live for His purpose. The Bible says, from one man He made a nation…and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Nothing in your life has happened by accident. It’s all for the purpose. Love was on God’s mind when He created us. The Bible says, Long before He laid down earth’s foundation, He had us in mind. We were the focus point of His love. So you see, God was thinking of us even before He made the world. God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all things that He made.

All evidence available supports this next phrase: God formed the earth… He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited. The Bible states that God is love. Love is the essence of God’s character. He made us to express His love. God says, I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old—I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives. Romans 12:3 says, For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what He tells us in His Word.

I observed that the base motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy!

Ecclesiastes 4:4 says, Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Mostly in our mind, this word drive means to control or to push. Who isn’t driven in one way or another? The causes are our emotions or circumstances. Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories. People unconsciously punish themselves by carrying resentment and holding on to their hurts throughout their lives and never let them go.

For people driven by materialism, the whole goal of their life is to acquire things and approval from others and they try so hard to please others that they themselves become unhappy. These things happen due to people not knowing God’s purpose for their life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning. It just doesn’t make sense; and life becomes trivial, petty, and pointless. Sound familiar?

Have you been working yourself to death like I was and getting nowhere? The Bible tells us why. Read this. This says it all right here! Isaiah said, I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Job said, My life drags by—day after hopeless day and I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone, my life makes no sense. Sounds about right, doesn’t it? That pretty well sums it up!

If you are feeling hopeless and ready to give up, don’t just yet. Wonderful things are going to take place. Now that you know the facts, you can turn it around!

Start living with purpose, and it will all make sense. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, I know what I am planning for you… I have good plans for you, not to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. If you are to the point where you think there is no hope, think again.

The Bible says, God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.

Without a clear purpose, you have no foundation on which you base decisions and use your resources. People who do not have a purpose-driven life tend to overdo. They do so much and for no reason, and it causes stress. They are being pulled in too many directions at once, and this is also causing fatigue and illness in many people’s lives.

The Bible says, A pretentious showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life. This also leads to peace of mind: You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. We need to focus, focus, focus on the main priorities in our life; and that’s all. Due to not staying on our focus point, we run around like chickens with our heads cut off! Today, we describe it as aimless distraction. Moving, but not getting anywhere. Apostle Paul said, I am focusing all my energy on this one thing; forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Let’s keep focused on that goal also, those of us who want everything that God has for us.

You were not put on this earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity. Whatever you accomplish here on earth will be forgotten and will not matter. What does matter however is what God says you have done—or not done.

So think about spending time working on an eternal legacy. Every person will have to face God and give an account of our own life.

From the Bible we can count on two questions being asked:

What did you do with My Son, Jesus Christ?

Did you learn to trust and love Him?

Did you accept what Jesus did for you? In John 14:6, Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Chapter 3

Reasons Why