Fall classes just started and I am a senior in COLLEGE! I have no idea where the last three years went. It’s funny how in the moment everything feels like slow motion but then you look back and can’t remember where all the time went!
As I start this semester a few things have been on my heart:
1. How am I living my life in a way that glorifies God? What does daily worship look like in my life?
Colossians 3:23 says “whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart as though you are working for the Lord and not men.” I am working to do all things with the joy God gave me, but I am sure that the complaining and grumbling that those around me hear does not solidify my efforts.
The thing is, when we try to do something Godly by our own power, we inevitably fail. We were never created to do God-sized things by our own will, and when we do try that, it stems from our own pride and selfishness. In fact, we were designed to NEED God to achieve these things. When we invite God into the struggle, when we trust Him to guide us, that is when we see Him work. My prayer is that through this semester He will teach me to let go, and let Him take control so that the way people see me work, though not always magnificent in itself, shows them not who I am but who He is.
2. How can I better love the people around me?
God calls us to love everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, opinions, or background. So often I find myself looking at another person and instantly judging them. It’s human nature to compare ourselves to each other. When I find myself doing this, that small voice says “Jesus loves that person too!” Those five words can be the most comforting words in the world… or they can be the most infuriating words in the world.
What about the people that have hurt me? What about the people that are so difficult and so hard to get along with? Yup, Jesus loves them just as much as He loves me. This is a concept that continuously blows my mind. And even more? When I was a mess, when I was/am the one hurting others, Jesus loved me then. How cool is that? This simple concept is one that is so difficult for us to believe that we often find ourselves justifying how or why we feel unloved.
I have been reading Bob Goff’s “Everybody Always” and boy has it been a wake-up call. God’s calling for our lives really is that simple, we need to love everybody, always. There is no if, and, or buts about it. So my goal here is to try to spread that simple yet mega love to the people around me, with Jesus’ help and grace.
3. When will God use my story?
Six months ago the question would have been along the lines of “will God use my testimony?” And the only thing I would have written to answer that would have been “I really hope not.”
This has been so heavy on my heart in the last few months that I sometimes try to ignore the things God is doing in my life in hopes of trying to avoid that inevitable story-time. But, fear is a liar. Fear is the enemy playing games with our minds. The fear inside of me says, “what if they see the sin in it more than they see the Jesus in it?” but how can people not see the Jesus in it? When God intervenes in our lives in such massive ways it is impossible not to see Him in it!
I saw this thing online the other day that said “Only God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, and a victim into a victor.” How awesome is it that the God we serve can use our mess to reach other people? I love the thought that maybe, somehow, my story can bring hope to another person experiencing some of the same things. I know that God has big plans, plans I do not even see coming, and I cannot wait to see it all unfold.
This semester is going to be one of change and growth, tests and transition but if there is one thing I am certain of, it is that God has it all under control.
