I had some great, eye-opening conversations last night, and was realizing this morning how much God has been speaking to me through SO many avenues: Podcasts, church, my personal time spent in prayer &reading His word, articles from Relevant Magazine, spoken word poets, books, and people in general.
I realize God has a lot to say to me. A lot to teach me. And apparently A LOT to share with me right now at this point in my life, as I follow His path, as I learn to be less selfish& self-motivated and more giving and Jesus-motivated, and as I seek His specific vision for my life.
I’ve known for 5 years that I want to move to Colorado. I’ve known in the last 3 that it’s something that is going to happen, and that I’m not destined to live in California the rest of my life [at least not Southern California… but I don’t believe California is in my future long-term, whatsoever… We’ll see; I’m open!]. I’ve known that I want to pursue school in the nutrition field, and that I will follow that goal as far as I’m meant to. It’s my personal goal to become a nutritionist, and possibly a registered dietitian. However, I am SO used to God changing my plans last minute, to lead me down a different road, or to use me differently than I’d planned. I mean, I was never-ever-ever-ever-ever-EVER planning to live in LA, yet here I am, because God said, “Go.”
I don’t resent being here, and I actually very much appreciate& enjoy this time to spend time with my grandparents and to serve them, as they’ve helped to take care of me all my life. However, I am not an LA type of girl, and this is not at all where I will ever stay… It’s just a path that God has brought me to before the rest of my plans are set in motion. And I accept it, and appreciate it, and pray constantly that I will truly enjoy it and take advantage of it while I’m here.
All that to say, I’ve learned to become a pretty flexible person. Don’t get me wrong… When I have very specific plans and suddenly they’re all changed or scrapped, I don’t always say, “Oh well! No big deal!” Sometimes I pout& complain& wonder why. But, overall, I’ve learned to seek God in those times, because I know if things aren’t turning out as I’d planned or hoped, it’s because He’s got more important things for me to do in those times.
But I digress. What I’m getting at, is that I have been doing a lot of praying, reading, praying, and seeking Jesus. I have a goal to move to Colorado by May or June and, so far, things seem to be lining up. I know I want to live in Colorado [even if I don’t know if it’s a forever thing or a temporary thing, I’m down!]. I know I want to work with people, and I know I want to continue school and be a nutritionist. I know I love teens and young adults, and I have a heart for this age group, and a lot of where I’ve been in life causes me to have even more of a burden for young people to know& follow Jesus: to realize our worth and purpose are in Christ, and not in having a fancy job with a corner office, or making bank, or having the newest car or the nicest clothes, or being married and having 2.5 kids, or vacationing at the popular hot spots.
Our generation is far different than the generations that have come before us. Times are changing. The world has changed and is changing. Society’s examples of what are “most important” are constantly changing, but power& money usually top the list. We need to realize that we were nothing, but Jesus Christ is everything, and His worth in us makes us something… We are special, because He calls us so. We are precious to Him; treasures even… Not because we have done anything to deserve it, but because Jesus found us worth it…. He considered us worth the cost of living a sinless life so HE could be the one to die for our sins, and make us children of God. Because of that simple yet complex fact, we now are instilled with the worth& purpose of Christ, and the favor of God.
It’s time to live accordingly.
Although I know I want to live in Colorado and be a nutritionist, and serve in my church& community, I don’t believe that’s the big picture.
I believe I’ve only begun to scratch the surface, and that right now I am in the process of discovering what my specific vision is… With the vision of Christ come the discovery of new worlds. I’m so, so ready to go on an adventure.
Not a fickle, 2 minute, jumping-out-of-a-plane kind of adventure [although I do enjoy skydiving!], but a life-long adventure of following Jesus into the unknown; into uncharted territory.
To realize why it is that God made me the way I am. Why He made me this girl who loves people& loves to communicate; who loves to connect with people, and loves being outside. Who loves young people, but also loves babies and families and elderly people. Who loves reading and traveling and going for walks in the park and stopping to smell the roses. Who would rather be outside hiking with friends than inside watching TV. Who would prefer to sit and have coffee with one of my little “sisters” and talk about life& Jesus, than to text them all night long. Who likes to talk to people, to listen to them, to find out what makes them tick, what they enjoy, what they dislike, and to just learn about people. I am very curious, and I believe it’s for a reason.
I love reading, and I believe that’s for a reason. I am a huge communicator, and I KNOW that’s for a reason. I like learning about new countries, cultures, and people groups… I believe that’s also for a reason. I’m stubborn& don’t just believe something because someone told me it’s true. I like to learn things for myself, to research them, to come to my own conclusions on what I believe and why… I believe that’s for a reason, as well.
I don’t know how these things all work together. I just find myself learning more & more about who I am and, as I do, sometimes Jesus gives me little glimpses into my future or into His purpose for me— sometimes vague, sometimes clear— and I realize that He has been preparing me for 25 years, and that my life will always be a mixture of living out what I’ve learned, and learning more so I can walk in that. I will never know everything, I will never have things “together”, and I don’t know that I will ever know the big picture.
I believe God will reveal His plans to me in large parts, so that I can know where He is leading me and why— I don’t think He plans to keep me in the dark and make me just follow Him blindly. I absolutely believe God has a vision for EVERY person’s life, and that He desperately wants to communicate& reveal that vision to each of us.
After all, Proverbs 29:18 says that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
I believe God will give us a vision, and clarity of mind, discernment, wisdom, and faith to follow it, but I also know that there are so many details that we don’t notice, or small, seemingly insignificant things we do that we believe are “coincidence” and have no real purpose. Even a word of encouragement, or a well-timed Bible verse or phone call, or picking up the hitchhiker on the road, or supporting a missionary or family in need are purposeful, and God uses them… even if we never personally see the fruit from them.
That said, I will never FULLY know all the in’s and out’s of life, nor will I ever
know all the why’s. I just know the “how”: Jesus. Always Jesus. More of Him, more of His truth, more of His love, character, reality, and integrity.
The rest are just details.
Also, part of an article I recently read on relevantmag.com:
Of course, when examining the Gospels, we see that Jesus has extravagant, eternal love for His followers. At the last supper, He tells His disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:9). Here, Christ confesses His deep, heart-felt affection for the disciples, yet in the same conversation He warns them that He will soon go away, leaving them to endure persecution without His physical presence. In other words, they must abide in his love because soon they will be tempted to forget it.
I realize God has a lot to say to me. A lot to teach me. And apparently A LOT to share with me right now at this point in my life, as I follow His path, as I learn to be less selfish& self-motivated and more giving and Jesus-motivated, and as I seek His specific vision for my life.
I’ve known for 5 years that I want to move to Colorado. I’ve known in the last 3 that it’s something that is going to happen, and that I’m not destined to live in California the rest of my life [at least not Southern California… but I don’t believe California is in my future long-term, whatsoever… We’ll see; I’m open!]. I’ve known that I want to pursue school in the nutrition field, and that I will follow that goal as far as I’m meant to. It’s my personal goal to become a nutritionist, and possibly a registered dietitian. However, I am SO used to God changing my plans last minute, to lead me down a different road, or to use me differently than I’d planned. I mean, I was never-ever-ever-ever-ever-EVER planning to live in LA, yet here I am, because God said, “Go.”
I don’t resent being here, and I actually very much appreciate& enjoy this time to spend time with my grandparents and to serve them, as they’ve helped to take care of me all my life. However, I am not an LA type of girl, and this is not at all where I will ever stay… It’s just a path that God has brought me to before the rest of my plans are set in motion. And I accept it, and appreciate it, and pray constantly that I will truly enjoy it and take advantage of it while I’m here.
All that to say, I’ve learned to become a pretty flexible person. Don’t get me wrong… When I have very specific plans and suddenly they’re all changed or scrapped, I don’t always say, “Oh well! No big deal!” Sometimes I pout& complain& wonder why. But, overall, I’ve learned to seek God in those times, because I know if things aren’t turning out as I’d planned or hoped, it’s because He’s got more important things for me to do in those times.
But I digress. What I’m getting at, is that I have been doing a lot of praying, reading, praying, and seeking Jesus. I have a goal to move to Colorado by May or June and, so far, things seem to be lining up. I know I want to live in Colorado [even if I don’t know if it’s a forever thing or a temporary thing, I’m down!]. I know I want to work with people, and I know I want to continue school and be a nutritionist. I know I love teens and young adults, and I have a heart for this age group, and a lot of where I’ve been in life causes me to have even more of a burden for young people to know& follow Jesus: to realize our worth and purpose are in Christ, and not in having a fancy job with a corner office, or making bank, or having the newest car or the nicest clothes, or being married and having 2.5 kids, or vacationing at the popular hot spots.
Our generation is far different than the generations that have come before us. Times are changing. The world has changed and is changing. Society’s examples of what are “most important” are constantly changing, but power& money usually top the list. We need to realize that we were nothing, but Jesus Christ is everything, and His worth in us makes us something… We are special, because He calls us so. We are precious to Him; treasures even… Not because we have done anything to deserve it, but because Jesus found us worth it…. He considered us worth the cost of living a sinless life so HE could be the one to die for our sins, and make us children of God. Because of that simple yet complex fact, we now are instilled with the worth& purpose of Christ, and the favor of God.
It’s time to live accordingly.
Although I know I want to live in Colorado and be a nutritionist, and serve in my church& community, I don’t believe that’s the big picture.
I believe I’ve only begun to scratch the surface, and that right now I am in the process of discovering what my specific vision is… With the vision of Christ come the discovery of new worlds. I’m so, so ready to go on an adventure.
Not a fickle, 2 minute, jumping-out-of-a-plane kind of adventure [although I do enjoy skydiving!], but a life-long adventure of following Jesus into the unknown; into uncharted territory.
To realize why it is that God made me the way I am. Why He made me this girl who loves people& loves to communicate; who loves to connect with people, and loves being outside. Who loves young people, but also loves babies and families and elderly people. Who loves reading and traveling and going for walks in the park and stopping to smell the roses. Who would rather be outside hiking with friends than inside watching TV. Who would prefer to sit and have coffee with one of my little “sisters” and talk about life& Jesus, than to text them all night long. Who likes to talk to people, to listen to them, to find out what makes them tick, what they enjoy, what they dislike, and to just learn about people. I am very curious, and I believe it’s for a reason.
I love reading, and I believe that’s for a reason. I am a huge communicator, and I KNOW that’s for a reason. I like learning about new countries, cultures, and people groups… I believe that’s also for a reason. I’m stubborn& don’t just believe something because someone told me it’s true. I like to learn things for myself, to research them, to come to my own conclusions on what I believe and why… I believe that’s for a reason, as well.
I don’t know how these things all work together. I just find myself learning more & more about who I am and, as I do, sometimes Jesus gives me little glimpses into my future or into His purpose for me— sometimes vague, sometimes clear— and I realize that He has been preparing me for 25 years, and that my life will always be a mixture of living out what I’ve learned, and learning more so I can walk in that. I will never know everything, I will never have things “together”, and I don’t know that I will ever know the big picture.
I believe God will reveal His plans to me in large parts, so that I can know where He is leading me and why— I don’t think He plans to keep me in the dark and make me just follow Him blindly. I absolutely believe God has a vision for EVERY person’s life, and that He desperately wants to communicate& reveal that vision to each of us.
After all, Proverbs 29:18 says that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
I believe God will give us a vision, and clarity of mind, discernment, wisdom, and faith to follow it, but I also know that there are so many details that we don’t notice, or small, seemingly insignificant things we do that we believe are “coincidence” and have no real purpose. Even a word of encouragement, or a well-timed Bible verse or phone call, or picking up the hitchhiker on the road, or supporting a missionary or family in need are purposeful, and God uses them… even if we never personally see the fruit from them.
That said, I will never FULLY know all the in’s and out’s of life, nor will I ever
know all the why’s. I just know the “how”: Jesus. Always Jesus. More of Him, more of His truth, more of His love, character, reality, and integrity.
The rest are just details.
Also, part of an article I recently read on relevantmag.com:
Of course, when examining the Gospels, we see that Jesus has extravagant, eternal love for His followers. At the last supper, He tells His disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:9). Here, Christ confesses His deep, heart-felt affection for the disciples, yet in the same conversation He warns them that He will soon go away, leaving them to endure persecution without His physical presence. In other words, they must abide in his love because soon they will be tempted to forget it.
We do ourselves a huge disservice to view Christ’s love through the lens our culture’s definition of the word. Hollywood says love only exists when our whimsical, emotional needs are met. God says love always exists because of what Christ did for us. He demonstrated the highest form of love possible, sacrificing His own life for the sake of ours on the cross. In Romans 8, Paul reflects, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” In this way, we can know in the deepest parts of who we are that God loves us, even if we feel alone or ignored in the present.
As John Piper asks, “Do you feel loved by God because you believe He makes much of you, or because you believe He frees you and empowers you to enjoy making much of Him?”
-Curt Devine
-Curt Devine
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