Growth takes Effort

I’ve recently decided that I would like to learn how to play the guitar. I have a little musical knowledge from playing the piano growing up, but other than that my guitar playing skills are minimal at this point. I found a program online to use to teach me the basics, but I have to watch those videos over and over again. It can be frustrating, especially because I just want to be able to play and know it by heart. But it really doesn’t work that way. And neither does our relationship with God.

To memorize chords and notes takes effort, to learn how to play the guitar with the proper technique takes practice, and it takes time. In the same way, to memorize and know Scripture takes effort, to try and be like Jesus is something you will have to practice every single day, and it ultimately takes time to build a relationship with him.

When it comes to learning how to play the guitar, the more time and effort I put into it, the more I’m going to get out of it. When it comes to my walk with Christ, the more time and effort I put into it, the more I’m going to get out of it. So often I feel like God can be so distant and so far away. I can get angry when I don’t feel God’s presence or don’t think He is listening to my prayers. But when I take a step back and put things in perspective, it is actually me that is the problem. I’m the one who is distancing myself from God and not taking the time out of my day to spend with him. I’m the one that gets my priorities mixed up and spends all my energy and effort elsewhere.

But in the moments that I actually do decide to take a break from everything else going on in my life and truly focus on God, it is amazing how close his presence feels. If we want to build a relationship with God, it takes time, patience, and effort. It won’t be perfected overnight, but day by day, if you truly work at it, you will continue to learn and experience more and more of God’s goodness. James 4:7-8 says,

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

Submit and surrender to God. Give him everything you have. Draw near to him, and start experiencing his presence and unconditional love the way He wants us to experience it.

“Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

–Winston Churchill

Inside Out

            The other day I went on a drive through a neighborhood of absolutely gorgeous houses. I looked up a couple of the houses, and some of them cost up to as much as $4 million. The landscaping was beautiful. There were huge fountains, lots of flowers and plants, and even some private tennis or basketball courts at almost every single one of these houses. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the inside of many of those houses, but I’m guessing they were probably incredibly beautiful as well.

But imagine I walk into one of those houses and it is nearly empty besides dust everywhere, bugs crawling out of cracks in the walls, spider webs draped across the ceiling, and it actually isn’t very pretty at all. The outside would’ve been a complete misrepresentation of what the inside was really like. Just as these statement could be true for a house, it could also be true for your life.

Maybe you put on a good front and act like you have it all together. Maybe it seems like from the outside everything is going well, but really on the inside it’s the exact opposite. Maybe you’re hiding struggles or sins from the people that think they know you the best or from God. Whatever it may be, the beautiful thing is that God can make us new and help us fix up the areas of our lives where we fall short.

As spring is finally here and maybe you have some spring cleaning to do on your house or your yard or whatever it may be, it may also be time to take a look at your life and do a little spring cleaning within yourself. Maybe you’ve made some bad choices or made some mistakes and you’re feeling like a mess on the inside. It doesn’t have to end there and you don’t have to feel the pain of those mistakes forever. God has the ability to cleanse and make you new.

In 2 Corinthians, God says that if we are in Christ we become a new creation in Him. No matter how much of a mess you really feel like you are on the inside, God has the ability to restore you and make you new. Just as the new flowers grow and the weather changes, God can change you too if you let him…

 ^“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”- Romans 12:1-2 The Message (MSG version)

When God Says Go

            Today I read a very interesting true story that I’ve read a million times before, but hadn’t put too much thought into. The story goes something like this… There was a man who had been called by God to go do something he really didn’t want to do. He contemplated his options and doubted if God’s call for him was really the best plan. So instead of doing things God’s way, he ran away and went his own way. But as you may have guessed, that didn’t go so “whale” for him. God literally rocked his boat…And if you didn’t get it from those subtle hints, the guy’s name is Jonah.

             God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach his word there. Jonah had his doubts and “ran away from the Lord” (Jonah 1:3). He hopped on a ship bound for the complete opposite way of where God asked him to go. But what did God do? He sent a storm and shook things up. As Jonah was sleeping, the other sailors cried out to their gods to see if they could relieve the storm. Without any luck, the next thing they did was wake up Jonah. The sailors asked him about his God and what he had done to possibly cause this storm. Jonah knew that he had caused this storm by running away, and told the other men to throw him overboard. Reluctantly, they threw Jonah in and as soon as they did, the sea grew calm again. In Jonah 1:16, it says that when the storm calmed the other men immediately made a sacrifice to the Lord.

            As you probably know what happens next seems pretty crazy. Scripture says that the Lord literally provided a big ole fish to swallow Jonah and keep him from drowning. For three days and three nights, Jonah had quite the experience riding around in the belly of a whale. After praying and calling out to God, Jonah was vomited back onto dry land and given another chance to obey God’s command and go to Nineveh.

            I think this story is fairly common among believers. I know that I personally have heard it many times before. But growing up and hearing the story, I really didn’t understand how many lessons and amazing characteristics of God we can learn from it. Without even going into too much detail and including the end of Jonah’s story, here are a few lessons I noticed.

1. When God asks you to do something, do it.
2. You can’t run or hide from God.
3. If you don’t follow God’s plan and listen, God will intervene.

·         If you aren’t sure of God’s plan or if He has asked you to do something, prayerfully take small steps forward and God will intervene if it wasn’t something He intended for you to do.

4. God can work even in our failures.

·         When Jonah was thrown off the boat, the sailors definitely saw the power of God and came to know the God that Jonah had feared and believed in.

5. Even when we mess up and are in the midst of the sea, God is still in control.

·         Jonah getting swallowed by a fish wasn’t random, it was God’s plan. It was God’s way of opening his eyes and preparing him for his next chance to obey.

6. With a God of grace, there is such a thing as second chances.

·         Jonah messed up, but God forgave him and gave him another chance to get it right.

All of these things that were relevant in Jonah’s life are still relevant in our lives today. So if you’ve ever found yourself running away from God’s commands for your life, ask him to get you back on track and give you another chance to trust and obey him. When God says go, don’t run away because I guarantee that just like Jonah, you won’t get away with it. 

"When Life Gives you Lemons, Make Lemonade"

            “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

            If you’ve never heard this saying before, I’d be very surprised. I used to hear it all the time, and I always wondered what it really even means. Like, who is life and why am I getting lemons? Why can’t I just buy premade lemonade drink mix or something…

            If you really think about this though, this statement actually holds a lot of meaning, especially if we think of it in a little different way…

            “When God gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

            There are countless Scriptures that talk about the many different blessings God gives to his people. Whether it be his son Jesus, grace, food, peace, rest, etc.; God is constantly blessing us with something. Besides these gifts, there are also spiritual gifts, passions, and talents that God has uniquely given to each individual. 1 Peter 4:10 says that “you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.” So when it comes to the lemons that God gives us, these are the skills, the talents, the passions, and different opportunities that God has given you and is continually giving you.

            What are the lemons that God has given you? What skills or talents has He blessed you with? What things are you passionate about? What opportunities has He provided you with? These are very important questions for you to think about, but an even more important question is what are you doing with those talents? Are you making lemonade? Are you sharing your lemonade to serve God and make a difference in your community?       

            Whether you realize it or not, God has given you some sort of talent or maybe even multiple talents that you should be using to give back to him. Each person is different and has been given their own unique way to serve others and serve God. If you aren’t quite sure what those talents are yet, seek God’s guidance and look to his Word, or ask your mentors or the people that know you really well. When you discover those gifts, skills, talents, and passions that God has given you, it is up to you to decide what you’re going to do with them. When you give someone a useful gift, how does it feel when they don’t use it? In a similar way, God blesses us abundantly and out of thankfulness it should be a desire of our hearts to give all that we can back to him. Don’t waste your God-given talents and don’t miss out on the opportunities every day to use those gifts to honor him. 

Embrace Your Inner Loser

If I could count the number of times I’ve been called a loser... I still wouldn’t because that would honestly take a very long time and would get pretty depressing. I could write a book about all the rude or nasty things people have said about me behind my back or to my face, and I could probably back that book up with multiple sequels. And, although we’re supposed to let it go, I can probably recall some of the most hurtful things said to me even if it was from years ago.

            Now I’m positive that as you read this, you might be thinking of some really hurtful or rude comments that have been said about you.You can probably think of a time when someone straight up called you a loser. But let me tell you this... If I have learned one thing over the last year, it is this: EMBRACE YOUR INNER LOSER.

        Guess what? I know I’m a loser. I know that I’m not that cool, I’m not going to be everyone’s favorite person in the world, but I’m also learning to be okay with that. For starters, why does it matter what other people say to me or about me? People even said rude things to and about Jesus, but did that stop him from living out his purpose? Look how big of an impact Jesus has made in our world today. People could say whatever they wanted about him, but He knew that He was God’s son, and ultimately that was all that mattered.

            In the same way, aren’t we God’s children? So what if she said that about me and he said this, so what if I don’t feel as pretty as her, or I have a weird laugh, or my nose is too big, or I am straight up the biggest loser on the planet, I’m God’s loser. Matthew 10:39 says,

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

            I don’t have to try and live my life according to how the people around me want me to live my life, but instead, I have to try and lose my life here. If I’m living to impress the people around me, then I’ve ultimately lost who God created me to be and I'm probably going to fail anyways. But, if I let go of what others think of me and who they want me to be, then I have won in God’s eyes. Embrace your inner loser. Who are you living for? Are you living for the people who are constantly tearing and breaking you down? Or, are you living for God who says that being a loser is the only way for you to really win in the end? Only you can make that choice for yourself, and it is a choice that you may have to make every day.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”-John 14:27

When you decide that being a loser for God is who you want to be, you will find peace that doesn’t come from anything this world can give. Maybe you really are just a loser here… Join the club!! Embrace it and allow God to give you his gift of peace.