Built God-Tough

As I meditated on the organization name “The Total Woman Network”, I was compelled to see how the dictionary defined the word “total”. The first definition was “constituting or comprising the whole; entire; of or relating to the whole of something; an entirety; full; complete; absolute; perfect”. The second definition was “to wreck or demolish completely; damage beyond repair”.

When I thought of the second definition, I was reminded of three of my past vehicles. On three separate occasions, three of my vehicles were involved in car accidents. Two of which were totaled within six months of each other. All three times my vehicles were hit by irresponsible drivers. All three times the car insurance company declared my vehicles as totaled. “If you’ve been in an auto accident and your car is totaled (also called total loss), it means your car isn't repairable, or it costs more to repair than what it's worth” (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner par. 1).

With the last accident, though, an unusual thing happened. While I was on the phone with the insurance company, my father asked to speak to the representative. He asked one question, “Was the car frame bent?” The insurance representative said, “According to our report, no, the car frame was not bent.” What my father said next surprised me. He said, “I want to buy the car back from the insurance company.” With a puzzled expression on my face, I wondered to myself, “Why in the world would my father waste his money to buy the car when it was deemed as totaled?” Surprisingly, the insurance company agreed.

Although the insurance company nor I could not understand why my earthly father wanted to buy back the car, my father saw something that we did not see. My father saw beyond the vehicle’s damage and saw the value the car still had.

While I was meditating on the ministry’s name and how my father purchased something that others deemed of having no value, I thought of the goodness of our heavenly Father. Before we gave our lives to Christ, the enemy, other people, and even we, ourselves at times, deemed our lives as totaled. We were traveling the road called “life” and irresponsible drivers hit our personal vehicles (our souls) hard! Life’s circumstances, the enemy, and other people wrecked our lives…demolished it completely. We appeared by the natural eye to have been damaged beyond repair. But God! Our heavenly Father stepped in and said, “My daughter’s life may have been deemed totaled by others, but I’m buying her back because she is still drivable. She is the vehicle who I can still use to fulfill My purpose in the earth. Although the world labeled her as totaled, I still see value in her. She is worthy of being repaired!” Glory to God! Thank You, Jesus!

My sisters, the impacts of life’s negative consequences may have hit our spiritual frames HARD! But guess what? Our frames were stronger than what we thought! We could not bend even if we wanted to! Why? It is because we, as God’s daughters, were not built Ford tough. We were built God-tough! Yes, our exterior may have been banged up, crushed, missing some parts here and there, but our frame…the core of who we are as His daughters…was not damaged!

After my father got the car repaired, I remember pulling up in his driveway completely stunned. The car looked as if it came right off of the dealership’s showroom floor! Ladies, the car did not even look like it was in an accident or that it was deemed totaled. That car looked good! My dad walked out of the house, looked at my face and opened mouth, shook his head, smiled and said, “Don’t underestimate your father. That car still had value. All the insurance company was going to do was sell it to the junkyard and it was going to end up on a junk pile somewhere.” That accident was well over 10 years ago, and I still remember my father’s words like it was yesterday.

As God’s daughters, we must never underestimate what our heavenly Father is doing in our lives. Despite our accidents and the bangs ups that we have encountered in life, God has always seen value in us when others did not. The enemy and even other people may have counted us out. Some people may have even tried to sell us out. Some may have even tried to depreciate our value and was ready to throw us on the junkpile. But God, our loving Father, stepped in and said, “NOT SO!”

We must remember at ALL times our heavenly Father created us in His image. Psalm 139:14 declares, “I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this” (God’s Word Translation Bible). Now reread that scripture one more time slowly. When the enemy and those negative people declared us a total loss…a total mess…God said, “They may see you as a total loss, but I see you as a miracle…My miraculous miracle!”

My sisters, we are TOTAL…NOT totaled! We are full, complete, and absolutely perfect in Him…lacking nothing! We must not believe the lies of the enemy, the lies from the people of our past, or even the lies that would try to raise its ugly head in our minds that we are wrecked and damaged beyond repair. We are not defined by the enemy, people, or even our past mistakes or failures. None of that can define where we are going in God! NONE OF IT!

Despite our negative experiences and setbacks, God loves us unconditionally. Not only that, but we must also love ourselves that same way. We cannot minister effectively to those in our world if we are a total wreck physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially. We have to be total…fully complete in every area of our lives. Now, my beautiful sisters, go forth and make a valuable deposit in the world because you were built God-tough! Be blessed!

Work Cited:

“What Happens After Your Car Gets Totaled.” What Happens after Your Car Gets Totaled | Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, www.insurance.wa.gov/what-happens-after-your-car-gets-totaled. Accessed 07 Dec 2020.