My Wish

Good afternoon fellow readers,

God is just so so good! I just wanted to say that and share a little bit of what has been revealed to me this week.

As the spring semester wraps up, I get a little more nervous but even more excited to see what this summer has to offer and to think about how much I will grow as a Christian. I am so excited for the time I will get to spend at home and at work, while sharing what God has done in my life this past year. I cannot wait to spend so much time alone in the Word and reading so many good enriching books. Ahhhh this will be a great next few months! But this past week I finally went to a new college worship night for the first time. I was walking one of my friends to class and they invited to me the worship night which is called, Crossroads. I had heard of it but had never been before. So I decided to check it out since it was the last one of the semester so I could decide if I wanted to start going next fall.

The message of the last worship night was titled, "My Wish." The message was intended to reach each of us in a way to encourage us to take charge of our time and grow in our relationship with God. The message was intended to encourage us to realize that now is the best time to really make the time to grow closer to God. There is no better time than now!

Leading into that were 3 really great wishes for each of you...

1.) The first wish is for you to have a growing relationship with Jesus. To be able to do that, you need to surround our self with other Christians and by managing your time wisely. I know it is hard to make the time, but what was really stressed is that there is no better time than now. You not only need to make the time but you need to have the want to make the time. If you do not have the want, you will not get anything out of it. Your heart will not be changed and will not be able to see what is being revealed to you. DO NOT buy the lie that you are too busy to make the time because it is possible... I mean who is busy all 24 hours of the day. It isn't that hard to take even just 20 minutes of every day and devote that to quiet time with the Lord. If you don't know where to start with trying to figure out how to make it work, here are 3 steps that can help:

• Have a place. Have a place where you can meet with God alone. It can be in your room or at Starbucks or even at a park. But find a place where you can sit and focus.
• Have a plan. There needs to be affordable time to meet with God. Make it 10-15 minutes. If you cannot, at least try to make some time. Do it when you wake up or during your lunch break or before you go to bed. It doesn't matter but make a time that works for you. Making even a little time is better than no time at all.
• Practice. I cannot stress this enough and I even struggle with this. Growing closer to God is not an overnight thing, it takes time! But you cannot open the Bible one day, read a little and say "We are good! See you next week." It is hard to wake up early or not forget during the busy day that you need to stop and read. But don't make excuses to not do it because you are too busy or that you are not in the right mood to focus. If you have to, even ask someone how they make it work for them.... I'm pretty sure they won't say it just happened. It isn't easy but trust me, it is amazing when you start getting into it!

2.) The second point was to know that Gospel tells you who you are so friends don't have to. It was pointed out that our culture is full of lies and that we should not buy the lies that the culture sells to us. And also, others don't have the right to name us. Only the Lord knows you by your name! He saved us so that we could be free from the world and lies. We are free from subjecting ourselves from living under other peoples' standards and even our own. It is so easy to get caught up in how others view us and to accept that, but if we get in the Word and understand who Christ is and why he died for us, we love him so much more and stop worrying about how the world sees us because we should rest in how Christ views us. We are so much more loved and viewed as more than what the world will ever view us.

3.) The last wish is to know that life isn't about you. We need to follow God and ask what he wants us to do. Obey God in a specific area that will cost you something. I know this sounds confusing but think of all the times you wanted everything to work out the want you wanted. As humans, we don't like the unknown. We like to be in control and when we are, we fall away from God. This wish was to allow us to find a situation in which we have to trust God when there are risks with it. The risks could be losing a friend or risk your feelings being hurt. But with those risks, you are trusting God and his sovereignty and knowing he has your back... I think the one thing I learned this week with a situation is that not everyone is going to like me. But if I trust the Lord I know he will always like me. He will never leave me even though others may. When faced with this situation that could pose me losing someone I had to step back and decide whether to trust God and go ahead and go through with the risks or avoid the situation completely and continue to hurt and continue to put myself in a position to not grow closer to the Lord... I chose to trust the Lord and realize that in the end regardless of what the outcome, God has my back no matter what. Saying this, when put into situations where we need to trust the Lord more than ourselves, we need to trust the Lord. One, we will grow closer to Him while knowing that we rest in his loving arms. But two, we will know that whatever the outcome, he is sovereign and trusting him proves better outcomes in the future than trusting ourselves in the present time.

With this post, I hope and pray that this will resonate in your heart. I pray that as the semester ends whether you are in school or just another day at work or whatever, that this will help in your daily walk with the Lord. If you are struggling to grow closer or find the time, I pray this helps make a plan for you. I pray that after reading this, you will grow closer to the Lord and that he will reveal so much to you. I pray that your hearts will be transformed even more and that your life will be changed.

And remember, there is no better time than today to talk to the Lord and grow closer to Him. We are never promised tomorrow so live everyday relying on the Lord with all your heart. Pray to Him and ask for help because He will answer!

Happy Friday and God bless!