Today wasn’t anything special, but it was another day God gave me, so I was determined to get my life in order. I cleaned, rearranged my room, ran some errands, bought way too many Halloween decorations, worked on my fitness, gave myself a mani, decorated the apartment and now I’m relaxing in my bed (clean sheet night!).
This morning I listened to two podcasts that were great: Overcoming Discouragement and An Attitude of Faith and Trust.
Joel Osteen talked about Overcoming Discouragement and while I was hesitant to listen to this one, it really benefitted me. I don’t like admitting when I feel down or discouraged, but obviously God knew, so he put this sermon into my life. It was really gratifying to hear that it’s okay to feel that way, it’s how you move forward and overcome those obstacles that matters. He also had a great analogy for his audience: during a test, the teacher doesn’t talk. They observe. They wait until you are finished with the test to show you the results. However, the rest of the week, they are busy teaching, offering advice, helping us study; answering questions and finding solutions to the problems we will most likely encounter on the test. That’s how God works. Too many people wonder where God is during their discouraging times, and they always are asking the question “why?” But God isn’t going to reveal that answer until you’re done taking your test, the test he has set in place for you, the test he knows you are going to be able to get through, the test he wouldn’t have given you if he knew you wouldn’t be able to overcome it, the test he has prepared you for and advised you about. What a great analogy, right?
Then Joyce talked about An Attitude of Faith and Trust. Wow! I was literally in awe while listening to this. I never thought about some of the things she was saying, but a lot of things she mentioned were things I was doing. For instance, I like to have a handle on everything in my life. I essentially like to fix my own problems and I am incredibly impatient (I’m working on it, promise). Joyce talks about having humility and a strong faith in God and how having those two traits will allow us to be at peace and to persevere in God’s will. I always thought, “I have humility,” however, if I’m trying to fix everything myself, I clearly think too highly of my abilities, and to be frank, I’m not smart enough to run my own life (those are Joyce’ words, not mine). Nobody is smart enough to have a firm grasp on their life. That’s why letting go and letting God work is the best route: he wants to give us the desires of our heart, but he might not be giving them to us the way we want to receive them. Does that make sense? He’s in control, not “we.”
I know I talk about my faith a lot on this site, but I’m doing it for a reason. I hope it might help a fellow believer, a non-believer; someone who is struggling or someone who might encounter a problem in the future. If anything, I hope this helps someone when they read it, or at least they can relate to it.
Kirbie Johnson 