James 1:23-24 "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." There are far too many of us focused on what the world expects from our lives, rather then what God and His word expects from our lives. All too often we are caught looking at what others are doing and try to mock them and think that is the thing to do. It is not, we must find the path that God has for our own life.
There are so many blessings in store for us when we find our own path. If you continue to follow down other peoples paths because they are your friend or because it seems like the cool thing to do, you will miss the adventure and blessings that God has for you.
James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
It is imperative that you know that there will be trials and trouble through life, but if you depend on the one that is ALWAYS there for you, He will see you through. The trials and troubles you face, the negativity you come in contact with, the adversity facing you, and all the other "bad" stuff is there for you to learn something that God has for you.
You may be scolded for disobedience or it may be that God needs you to go through that particular situation so that you will be equipped to help someone else along. Nothing we go through happens to us by chance.
It is all a part of God's plan!
A plan that was developed with YOU in mind. YOU have a grand purpose in this world, and YOU are needed to do some sort of work for God. You might be the quiet shy type, you may be the loud boisterous type, you might be a combination of both, but whatever you are, YOU are a part of a plan that God has. If we fail to accept this and choose to live as we want, we will become shattered, like a mirror.
Everything we try to do will fail, we will become discouraged and frustrated.
However, there is hope!!!
We can choose to find God once again and start living for Him and commit our lives to serving Him. It would be wonderful to look in the mirror and see the beauty that God sees in us. It is never to late to accept your challenge from God. Sometimes our biggest challenge is just being a Christian spouse, maybe your husband or wife is so far from God's word that you must be the living example of what God is to your spouse. That can be very hard to accept, it can be devastating, but it shouldn't be, it should be so simple. We all have our issues, we all have our problems, but God loves us still. Pray and then be quiet and sit and watch to see where God is leading YOU! As much as you might want to be a part of something, you might be more useful in another area. Stepping out of your comfort box is hard, but when you do it is so amazing!
I have personally done this just last week and I was so scared to get started, but yet it all is coming together. A good friend told me I was doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing for my new class I will be teaching. My confirmation for being obedient has been overflowing. I am so excited to work with new people and do new things. It is so awesome to be excited about doing God's work again. I was in a valley not really knowing my path but I prayed and prayed and then prayed some more then reached out to the God fearing friends I have and God began to direct my paths!
I hope that all of you take some time and listen to what God really wants you to be doing and then take steps to do that. Talk to ladies (or men if you are a man) in your area or church to see where you can be of help to others. God moves us to our next destiny through our service to Him. This is how he shapes us. Staying idle is dangerous.
Don't follow a leader, follow THEE LEADER!!!
Much love,
Kari
