Today I had coffee with a friend from church. Someone willing to sit and share life with me and help me work through my thoughts. I was challenged with the verse 2 Peter 1:3-10
I really like to ponder life. I love to think and talk and be real with people. I like to ask questions about myself and about God in the hopes of figuring out this thing called life. I am encouraged by long conversations where I muddle through who God is and who he intends me to be. But sometimes I am discouraged.
I’m discourage that after 10 years of being a Christian I don’t know more.
That after 10 years of following God I don’t understand him better.
I am discourage that I still don’t have the answers. That I called myself a Christian and yet I haven’t read the whole bible.
I get frustrated that there isn’t a checklist of what to do next.
I get frustrated when the answers can’t always be found.
I can get stuck in the logical aspect of things and miss out on the point sometimes.
I can be discouraged that at 25 years old I don’t know more.
And then it hits me….I’m only 25
I hold such a high standard for myself. I like to ponder things and wrestle through ideas but I should be happy that I am discovering all this at 25. That at 25 I have a good understanding of who I am. I don’t have to change myself now…I don’t have to figure out all the answers I ask of God now.
I am encouraged by stories like I head in the Dominican Republic:
“A man at 40 years old heard God call him into missions. At 40, he picked up his entire family (teenagers and all) and moved to the Dominican Republic.” This encourages me because life is long. I don’t have to rush to move overseas and be a missionary. I don’t have to accomplish all my life dreams by 30 (although my excitement wants me to). Even if I start a new job or hobby or whatever at 40, I will have many years to do it.
I am encouraged by people who have instilled in me the belief that:
“God will do things in His timing. I will have the knowledge I need when I need it. God will reveal things to me in His perfect timing. God will change me and mold me into a better person in His timing. I can rest in knowing that right now I am exactly who He needs me to be and I am exactly where he needs me to be.”
I am encouraged by a simple illustration my Aunt gave me when I was in high school:
“We were sitting in a theater waiting for a show to start. I expressed my desire to feel closer to God because he felt distant. I couldn’t pinpoint examples of Him in my life. My Aunt clasped my wrist and told me to do the same to her. Then she said let go….but she kept holding my wrist. She explained that even when we let go of God, he is right there holding on. He never lets go of us. I have gone back to that many times when I feel like I have let go. I reassure myself that He has not let go and will always be there for me.”
