This week has for sure been one of the most incredible I've had this year. And the truth is, it hasn't been for any other reason than the fact that God is good! And what I find most interesting about that statement, is the fact that I so often forget to really stop, and remember what that means. And that's what this week has mainly been about! Stopping... remembering...reflecting... letting the truth of My Savior seep into every part of my being. He is good. ALWAYS good. And because he is good, he has GOOD planned for my life.
You know, I'm at that strange time in life where I'm trying to figure out just what it is I'm supposed to do for the rest of my life. I've gone to school of this, for that, travelled here, and there. I've been able to experience amazing things, and hard things. All of these experiences are things I'm beyond grateful for. They've shaped me into the woman I've become. And they will continue to shape me into the woman I'm becoming. I can look on the past, and see how the hand of Jesus was with me through every moment of my life, yet I somehow find it so terribly difficult to trust that he has my future. Or rather, I KNOW he has my future, I just want to know what's in it!
Ministry with teen girls and women has always been my soft spot. The Lord has placed that desire specifically on my heart since I was a little girl. And I am BEYOND grateful for that! I know that the plans he has for me in this ministry are bigger than my wildest imaginations, and I can't wait to see where he leads. But somehow I always want to be 10 steps ahead. When I really stop and look at the life I'm living, I am already blessed beyond measure at what The Lord has allowed me to do! I've gotten to go to places all around the world and befriend young women. I am a nanny to two pre-teen boys, and two beautiful little girls. I have had the incredible opportunity to build relationships with amazing young women through volunteering in my Church's Middle School youth group since my High School graduation. And not only that, but I have a pretty great following with my blog and RealTalk videos. HOLY COW!!!! HOW GOOD IS GOD?!?!?:D When I just stop...when I just remember...I am filled with utter joy!
The other night I had the privilege of attending a women's worship evening at my church. It was wonderful, my soul had been yearning for that kind of feeding for a while. As I stood among ladies from my own church, and another church, I was filled with such a beautiful peace, I don't quite know how to put it into words! The anointing of the Holy Spirit was flowing so freely, and it was a time when I stopped....I remembered all the things The Lord has already shown me. All the things I just need to take heart, and courage and go for! I remembered the countless times it has been prophesied over me that The Lord God Almighty HAS called me to be a voice to my generation, that he has called me to greater things than I could know to bring his light to our broken world! I was reminded of the fact that I have not a requirement, but a RESPONSIBILITY to live a life worthy of the calling Christ has for me. That I have young women watching how I live my life, so I better be living it for Christ. WHAT AN HONOR! I remembered this past summer when I was with my group in Israel for the last day. We were at the upper room, and The Lord began to speak boldly to each one of us. I remembered the truth he gave me through his word at that time.
Isaiah 49: 1-7
"Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: BEFORE I WAS BORN THE LORD CALLED ME; FROM MY MOTHER'S WOMB HE HAS SPOKEN MY NAME. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, " You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." But I said, " I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord's hand, and my reward is with my God." And now The Lord says- he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am HONORED in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my STRENGTH- he says "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I WILL ALSO MAKE YOU A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT MY SALVATION MAY REACH THE ENDS OF THE EARTH." This is what the Lord says- the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel- to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: " Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, WHO IS FAITHFUL, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, WHO HAS CHOSEN YOU."
Holy cow. Every time I read that I just can't help but be in awe and wonder. And guess what? This amazing promise isn't just for me. It's for YOU. If we just stop...if we just remember what our lives are really about, then we can step into the incredible journey he has for us! It's so easy to forget...I know. I hear ya. And sometimes we don't even know what our calling is. But if we just stop and remember that every time we feel discouraged that BEFORE we were BORN The Lord HIMSELF called us in our mother's wombs, he SPOKE OUR NAMES. HE HAS CHOSEN US! What an incredible honor. What an incredible responsibility. I don't know...this week it's been hitting me more and more that being in love with Jesus isn't always enough. It's easy to be in love with Jesus when we're with like-minded people. It's easy to be in love with Jesus when we're all alone with our Bible's. But where are the people standing up for truth and justice in the midst of the darkest places? I know I can shy away from those places because they are too hard. But we have been CALLED, we have been CHOSEN. Oh that just gets my heart pumping with great expectation! We are at an absolutely pivotal point in history. Let us not grow weary of doing good as Galatians 6:9 says, for at the proper time we will reap the harvest IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP! Wow. That is incredibly powerful. Let us not give up. Let us not give in. Let us stop....let us remember... Christ died so that we might LIVE. Let us truly start LIVING for Him.
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