The Lightbulb Just Went ON!
In small groups we have been reading And the Bride Wore White(a really good read). Although I haven't been consistant in reading the recommended chapter for each week, I've learned quite a bit about keeping myself pure: mentally, physically, and spiritually. Tonight we reviewed the key things we've been learning in each chapter so far. Sandy shared with us something that has been on her mind for the past couple of weeks: prayer. I think this is one of the aspects of my faith that I take for granted. There are so many times that I go about my day without even acknowledging God's presence. He wants us to involve Him in our lives, but how can we do that if we can't take the time to notice even the little thing He does for us? I have anxieties and can't figure out why God won't bring peace into my life. Then I realize that I haven't taken the time to actually ASK Him for peace. I haven't brought my fears to Him. I haven't surrendered those thoughts to HIM. Then again, it seems like whenever I pray, I'm always asking God for certain things in my life. I have been trying to take little moments throughout my day to thank Him. I find that the more and more I do this, the easier it is to have a prayer that is filled with thanksgiving as well as asking Him to help with my spiritual growth.
I've been really thinking about God's will and being patient, too. I really struggle with this. I love those moments when God reveals part of his will to me. I feel excited because I know God has answered my prayers. The thing is, I'm one of those types of people who likes to plan ahead, so naturally, I have a majority of my future already set in stone. But God hasn't revealed everything to me yet, so this causes me to be a little impatient. Right now, I'm struggling with what college to go to, where God is leading me with missions, and what exactly I want to study in college. I know God has a plan and a purpose for everything(Jeremiah 29:11-13 -one of my fav. passages), but it so hard to let Him take control of everything when I want to start planning now. I just need to surrender everything to Him right now. I need to be patient when it comes to things like dating, college, and my future. God has plans for me, far greater than I can even BEGIN to comprehend right now. SURRENDER. PATIENCE. God's in control! He's the driver; I'm along for the exciting ride!
posted by ><> Sarah <> @ 11:37 PM
3 Comments:
The best part about God's purposes, is that you can look back later at things you didn't understand at all at the time, and see how God used them to grow you and glorify Himself.
I, too, need to try to acknowledge that He is here with me all the time, everywhere. It's easy to forget sometimes. It's kind of like what we talked about on Winter Retreat about having an ongoing conversation with God.
Have a good day, Sarah.
I'll add a big AMEN... or a to be continued.... i LOVE it when you get deep... you inspire me :)! I definately need to work on talking to him all the time... I think i kind of do already but it's just talking to him about me, which is okay sometimes but i really need to focous on praising him more too. i think that that is an essential part of prayer!!!
Andrew-thanks for reminding me about God's purposes. I love that about Him! Those so many aspects of my life that I can't figure out at that moment, but when I look back, I can see how much God has changed my life. There was a major turning point in my spiritual life last year when I started high school. It was tough at the time, but God changed me so much through that experience. The Thailand trip was also a major God thing because I wasn't even suppose to go this year! He did little things before the trip and during the trip and now I can see that it was all part of His AWESOME plan for my life. I love noticing all the "God Moments" in my life. God is so awesome!
Laura- I totally agree with you! We are all guilty of getting carried away with our own problems and not glorifying God with prayer. It's DEFINATELY an essential part! Thank you both for the encouragement!! I'll be praying for you! (I should have just made this a new post. sorry for my long comments and posts :)
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