Life Lessons
After spending nearly another year in service, I feel excited with all the new things the Lord has been teaching me. He has shaped my passions and expanded my vision for his "church". One of the first lessons for me personally has been a big one. Heading out for my first stent with YWAM in England, I felt I was ready to do God's work. I was focused on what I could do for the Kingdom and how I could show love to God's world. None of that was wrong, but I soon found out that my personal relationship with the King needed to be the center and focus of my life.
I have always struggled with "being" where I am a champ at "doing". The Lord began to speak to me on my return to England, that I needed to search for a balance. Taking time to be with Him and grow in Him first in order to be both prepared and equipped to do the work He had for me. With my heart focused to hear Him, be in His presence, become more deeply connected with Him; I began to watch Him use me in ways I would have never imagined. Instead of trying or striving to serve Him, I was beginning to find Him in little moments all through the day. Showing His love was becoming an organic part of my everyday life.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm human. I am flawed and broken and bent towards being a world class sinner. But every day I ask Him to help me...and the days I forget to do that are a struggle. The less time I spend with Him, the harder things feel and the more overwhelmed I get in my circumstances. I need Him. Plain and simple. I believe we all do, first and foremost, and that His desire is for us to "love the Lord God with all our hearts and souls", before we make attempts to "love our neighbors".
When God created me, he created a people-person. I will get on my soap box to fight for social justice and always pull for the underdog. I cry over adverts with starving children and abused kitty cats. I am empathetic and compassionate. My heart breaks at the state of our world and when I see people who are hurting and trying to fill their God-sized voids with vices. For Him to ask me to "go and love" was an easy assignment. Check and check! But every day I am out giving and loving I need to spend as much time refilling my tank! I am not a studier. I don't really like to read. I struggle to focus and to be quiet (which is no shock to anyone who knows me!). I'm still trying to develop habits of study and prayer. God IS love so if I am not deeply tapped into Him, what comes out of me may not be so sweet!
Today, I am reminded of how much I need to make time for Him...every day. I need to be in a spirit of prayer all the time. I need to walk in the Holy Spirit and allow Him to flow through me and practice His gifts so they might flow out of me. "You will seek Me and find Me when you SEARCH for Me with ALL your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
I have always struggled with "being" where I am a champ at "doing". The Lord began to speak to me on my return to England, that I needed to search for a balance. Taking time to be with Him and grow in Him first in order to be both prepared and equipped to do the work He had for me. With my heart focused to hear Him, be in His presence, become more deeply connected with Him; I began to watch Him use me in ways I would have never imagined. Instead of trying or striving to serve Him, I was beginning to find Him in little moments all through the day. Showing His love was becoming an organic part of my everyday life.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm human. I am flawed and broken and bent towards being a world class sinner. But every day I ask Him to help me...and the days I forget to do that are a struggle. The less time I spend with Him, the harder things feel and the more overwhelmed I get in my circumstances. I need Him. Plain and simple. I believe we all do, first and foremost, and that His desire is for us to "love the Lord God with all our hearts and souls", before we make attempts to "love our neighbors".
When God created me, he created a people-person. I will get on my soap box to fight for social justice and always pull for the underdog. I cry over adverts with starving children and abused kitty cats. I am empathetic and compassionate. My heart breaks at the state of our world and when I see people who are hurting and trying to fill their God-sized voids with vices. For Him to ask me to "go and love" was an easy assignment. Check and check! But every day I am out giving and loving I need to spend as much time refilling my tank! I am not a studier. I don't really like to read. I struggle to focus and to be quiet (which is no shock to anyone who knows me!). I'm still trying to develop habits of study and prayer. God IS love so if I am not deeply tapped into Him, what comes out of me may not be so sweet!
Today, I am reminded of how much I need to make time for Him...every day. I need to be in a spirit of prayer all the time. I need to walk in the Holy Spirit and allow Him to flow through me and practice His gifts so they might flow out of me. "You will seek Me and find Me when you SEARCH for Me with ALL your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
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