I have always had the strong feeling of wanting to get closer to God, but it always seemed as if something was holding me back. One would think, "Who needs to refocus on God? You're a good Christian man. I'm pretty sure you're covered". And can I say, just because you feel that you're covered doesn't mean that you've obtained enough of God. Those who are truly faithful to God desire to have more of God and continue to gain more of Him with a never ending thirst. Right? But it's not all that easy.
One would hope to have it easy when attempting to grow in their faith or always find time to spend with God, but some people fail to see that it's not easy at all. We'd be sinless creatures, non-human beings if it were truly that easy. Mistakes would be a thing of the past, and we'd never learn from what is perceived to be wrong or right. Maybe I'm taking more of an extreme approach, but I do know this: Staying dedicated can truly be a challenge in the midst of your life and one of the greatest beneficial aspects as well.
Being inspired from my youth group's Wednesday service, I found that once again I'm getting one of those guilt trips which always tends to make me feel heavier with the weight of the things I've done that I constitute as sin. Had it been a couple of months ago, it would feel even heavier, but truly, that is when the guilt trips started to begin. For the past month or so (excluding this past week), I haven't been letting God into all aspects of my life, my prayer habits have been incredibly unsatisfactory and lacking in much effort, and I've failed to really contribute much effort to my own life as well. However, after coming back from the band trip from Port Aransas, and with much credit to a situation that cautioned my focus on life last Wednesday, I've found that once again the calling of God is echoing in my heart and I wish to respond with my abounding faith and love for His word and all of us that He's created.
Upon adding more Bible reading, getting back into the habit of praying often, and spending more time with God, I hope to be inspiring people once again but not for my own credit, rather for God's credit. I've felt God preparing me as somewhat of a communicator, somewhat of a persuader in a good manner, but even more so as a good listener and compassionate individual. I may not have the gift of strong intelligence, but I do manage well as an above average student. I may not have the gift of an athletic individual, but my endurance can really stretch. I may not have the gift of an excellent writer, but that doesn't mean people do not receive any insight from my own little writings and former Facebook statuses. My gifts are known within myself and I'm incredibly grateful, as we all should be for each of our own talents and gifts!
All in all, and forgive me for jumping around a bit, I made a decision last Wednesday that would of course be one of the greatest decision of my own steps into the journey of my faith. I'm getting baptized under my own choice. Now I'm not denouncing my faith under my previous denomination, of course not, but I feel it is an important step in my life and faith in growing closer to God to make this decision. So why not, right? Because no matter if I feel like it or not, I'm going to grow in my faith, and thanks to the assistance of my accountability partner, best friend and Christian brother, Sean, and my other best friend and Christian brother, Cody, I feel confident enough that I will be able to get back on my path while not swaying too much. However, I feel that I must also make my own decisions as an adult, of course, and with the growing confidence that God is giving me every day, I have decided to do just that.
Thanks be to God and thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment