Maybe I should set up my own private blog to do all my posts on :-). But, if I were to do that, Bianca would have to guest post there so it would stay updated. So I’ll just keep being the guest instead of setting up an ‘infrequently-updated-blog’.
We had the first message of a week of revival meetings last night and I’ve already been challenged. I’ve realized how much God is doing in my life and that is why I want to do this blog post. Yesterday, in the youth message, we were challenged to share what God is doing in our lives and since I express myself better in writing, this is my way of saying that God is still faithful.
First of all, I went through a dark time a while ago that lasted way too long. I tried to stay positive and do what I knew I needed to do in order to get out of it, but I couldn’t seem to pray and the grace that I knew was there, didn’t seem to be working in my life.
Now for a while already, I’ve been doing a lot better and I thanked God for it. However, on our 7 month anniversary, I decided to embark on an experiment. You see, through this time when things were so dark, I spent a lot of time on my phone. God wasn’t speaking to me and my phone did (to some extent), so that’s what I turned to. I got quite addicted to Pinterest and Youtube. Not that I was looking at anything that was, in and of itself, harmful, I just was addicted to it. And that’s where, as I see now, the big problem was. I was depressed, I had no motivation, I couldn’t get victory over sin, I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t trust God, and I got practically nothing out of my devotions. I listened to a message about Abraham and in it, John D. Martin expressed very clearly that God had been blessed by fellowship with Abraham. True, Abraham was blessed too but the special thing was that God had been blessed by their fellowship. I didn’t even have to think to know that God was not blessed by my fellowship. The next message was about Jacob and Esau. In comparing their characters, he brought out that the reason Jacob was blessed was because he was willing to obey. I asked myself, “Am I willing to obey?”. Not really. But I wanted to be. Because God showed me that my faith is shown by my obedience. And if I’m not obedient, first of all, He counts me as having no faith. Secondly, I won’t move on in my spiritual life and His presence will feel distant. God doesn’t skip a step to go on to the next one, no matter how small the first step is!
When I realized all this, I decided to not go on Pinterest or YouTube till our 8 month anniversary (my, that sounds like we’ve been married a long, long time!) and see what would happen.
It’s only the 5th day of my experiment, and oh! what a difference! I’ve been blessed by God’s Word. When I can’t sleep, songs and prayers come so easily! I have motivation and my thinking pattern is so much clearer. Not to mention that I get a lot more done because I’m not wasting all that time anymore! God is so good! And I’m looking forward to the future because I can’t wait to see what He will continue to do!
It’s not been easy though! I’ve had a couple of moments where the temptation was still so very strong! But contrary to previous experience, I’ve been able to say ‘No!’ and move on! It takes some imagination and you have to exercise your brain in finding other ways to keep it busy but God is faithful and He is so willing to hold us up when we make a decision for Him!
So now I understand why I wasn’t having the victory and why grace (the power to overcome sin) hasn’t been manifested in my life. I wasn’t letting it happen! Once I finally stepped up to the plate and told God, “Yes, I’ll give that up for a deeper relationship with You,” He manifested Himself beyond my expectations!
This morning, as I was reading the Daily Light, I was so blessed!
Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. — Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. — Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. (I had to deny myself and the ‘unfruitful’ works of darkness.)
Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. — Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. — Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. (Amen!! Saying ‘no’ to my body with its fleshly desires and pushing on to the prize, this is what I want to do!)
HEB. 12:1,2. Luke 9:23. ‑Luke 14:33. ‑Rom. 13:12. I Cor. 9:25,27. -Phi. 3:13,14. ‑Hos. 6:3.
So I ask for prayers and I hope you’ve been challenged to give up that thing that’s keeping you from the Lord and true fellowship with Him. Looking at it when you’re down is not very appealing, as I found from my experience. But being down is even less appealing so when you finally give up, God’s plan is better than you ever even imagined! May God bless you in your journey to become closer to Him.
P.S. Funny story from last night. (It came with a conviction so that’s why I’m telling it ;-).)
We were ready to go to sleep when I started complaining about everything that hurt. You see, we went skating Saturday night and I fell so I was sore along with a few bruises. After complaining a bit, Jon’s like, “What else hurts?!”. I asked him if he really wanted to know and proceeded to list 9 things. Laughing, he tells me, “So 9 out of your 10 body parts hurt.” And just like that, I remembered two more things that hurt. Now it was 11 out of 10!
But then the conviction hit me! The Israelites had to stay in the wilderness for 40 years because of their complaints! So I decided for every complaint I had made, 11 to be exact ;-), I had to name a blessing!
P.P.S. I started this in the morning, and now, in the evening, I’m glad that this day is almost over. Cause it’s not been an easy day! However, God’s grace has been sufficient and I have been able to withstand temptation. Glory to His Name!!
Great Is Thy Faithfulness 