Hey everyone! I am sorry I have not updated my blog in quite awhile. My life has been so crazy lately, but I cannot go on without saying how insanely faithful the Lord has been in the midst of all the craziness.
I have been really struggling with studying for my Board exam, working, and fundraising. The devil has really been working hard to discourage me, and has been trying to convince me that I am going to fail, and that I wont succeed in all of this. Last week I woke up literally having a panic attack about boards. I kept gasping for air, and I couldn’t breathe. I prayed that God would take this fear and anxiety away from me because the feeling was absolutely suffocating. I had to go run an errand and I got in my car, and the song “Breathe” by Jonny Diaz was on the radio. If you don’t know the song, some of the lyrics include:
“Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at my feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
is to just breathe”
I had heard that song on the radio before, but to be honest never really listened to the lyrics. That day God opened my ears to exactly what He wanted me to hear. “Breathe Keeley. Come and rest at my feet.”
Ever since then, God has really been putting the word “rest” in my head and on my heart. I’m praising Him for this because I feel like I’m an anxiety bound mess half the time lately, and I feel like I always have something to do and it really overwhelms me. REST. Rest in His goodness, Rest in His peacefulness, Rest in the comforts of knowing who He is, Rest in His power, in His mighty glory. Rest at His feet.
So Monday’s I have Bible study with my mentor and we are going over Hebrews. This Monday nights study was over Hebrews 3:1-4:13. Throughout these verses the author is reminding his audience about the Israelites back in the Old Testament when they went astray in their hearts, and stopped obeying God. How they were unable to enter God’s rest because they stopped trusting Him. At that time this “rest” meant entrance into Canaan, and security from disruption of land. However, Canaan was not the final rest.
“It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 4:6
“Let us therefore, make EVERY effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:11
And what really was an encouragement for me, was Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
I’ve learned so much in just the past week, that it is overwhelming, but in the absolute best way possible. If you get anything out of this mess of a blog, try grasping this: Our Father wants us to rest in His goodness. He wants us to trust Him and have confidence in Him. Jesus Christ, while He was on this earth, endured more pain, suffering, scrutiny and temptation than any of us could even fathom. When I’m feeling like I can’t do it anymore, the devil has got me exactly where he wants me. But when I press into God, and remind myself that Jesus endured the same discouragement and more, I can rest in the comforts of knowing that I am not alone, and that He is going to take care of me. I am surrendering the board exam to God, and letting Him do what He will with them.
Rest in the Lord. Place your confidence FULLY on Him. He is worthy of our confidence. Let us rest in the finished work of God.
I’m sorry this blog is all over the place. I have been exploding with all of the beauty the Lord has been flooding my life with and I feel like I just spewed some of it out on this blog.
To my prayer warriors, I cannot thank you enough. I have honestly been asking anyone I can to be praying for this time in my life because I know the power of prayer, and I know that God is listening. Please continue to be praying for peace for boards and that I will continue to trust and find confidence in the Lord. You guys are amazing.
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One more thing! For those of you who don’t have Facebook but are subscribed to my blog, I posted a new fundraiser that I will include below! 🙂
WORLD RACE UPDATE! Hey everyone! One of the 11 countries that I will be living and serving in is Cambodia, where eating Tarantulas is far from being a new phenomenon. Cambodians have hunted spiders for food and for traditional medicine for generations. However, spiders became a widespread source of food inn Cambodia in the mid – 1970s. Well, if you know me at all, I have the most insane fear of spiders. Arachnophob to my very core.
If i can raise $1500 dollars in ONE month, by October 7th, I will eat a Tarantula in Cambodia, and film it for all of you to see! STARTING TODAY. Am I crazy? Probably. But hey, John the Baptist at locust and a bunch of other bugs and insects and he’s the man! ;)?I am currently at $7,158. Lets get to $8,658!
I want YOU to be apart of my journey for only TWENTY DOLLARS. Today begins the $20 challenge. Consider buying one less Starbucks coffee per week this month and graciously give to my 11 month mission trip that is SO much bigger than myself. Ready set…GO! God bless you, friends!
