Relevant Church

I don’t know what it is about God, but I kind of think he really enjoys surprises. Has anyone ever told you that God shows up when you least expect it, or you find him when you are not looking? Today was one of those days for me. God and I connected today in a way that I’m not used to, a way that felt good, and a way that made me want to seek him more than ever. He made me see how much I’ve grown in the last month, and I thought it was pretty incredible. 

Last week I sent out a note to my growth group about being stagnant in your faith. The idea of being on the track (having faith/believing) but not actually running (growing in faith). I didn’t tell them this in the note, but I wrote it because I really felt like I was becoming stagnant when it came to my faith. Jamie had asked me to host a growth group months ago. I originally told him no, but I changed my mind when my guilty conscience got the best of me. Then he asked me to lead a study that I really wasn’t too excited about. Again, I said I’d do it, but wasn’t too thrilled about it. I was being stagnant in my faith. I wanted to attend a growth group, but I didn’t want to lead others, even though I could hear God calling me, through Jamie. I wanted to do the bare minimum necessary to be connected to Him (God), without having to give Him more effort than I wanted.

So what’s the point? The point is that God truly knows each and every one of us. He knows when we begin to drift away, and he reels us back in when we begin to look out of sight. The growth group that I didn’t really want to lead has become the highlight of my week. I’ve learned so much and have gained a support group who i know I can rely on. God reminded me that I am here to lead and teach others about Him. I was also reminded that the life that I live is not mine, but rather belongs to Him. I said No, but he said Yes, and he won, he always wins.  

There’s a line in a song that Carl sang today: “Here I am, all of me, finally, everything.” For a long time I gave God most of me, but not all of me. I kept a small part for myself, the selfish part, the part that thought I had the right to choose not to lead a growth group when asked. Today I realized that I need to turn selfish into selfless. Today I finally gave everything. I GREW TODAY. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5