If I think about everything I learned in college, I could give you a description of Child Development, a summary of a few English Lit. novels, possibly remember some Spanish, and I could even tell you about that bowling class I took. While I am extremely thankful for this education, I am beginning to see the importance and need to focus on what God has been teaching me.
I think one of the biggest lessons I began learning throughout college, and am still learning every single day, is to be content where I am with Christ.
I can be a bit of a worrier, and I can also be a bit of a daydreamer. This becomes an even bigger problem when I begin to worry about situations that aren't even real life. I think this stems from my love of planning. I am the kind of person that will write things in my planner even after they happen just to be able to visually see everything I have accomplished.
I feel like so many of us live in the cycle of "if I can just make it through this" or "if I can just figure this out..." THEN I will be at peace. Or THEN I will relax. THEN I will start doing my quiet time again. THEN I will be content.
You may have figured out that this is a bad plan (yet I do it ALL the time). No matter what we fill in the blanks, there will always be something that comes after.
So it's no secret that this wedding season is absolutely crazy. I could not be happier for my now engaged or married friends, and I cannot wait to see what all God is going to do in their lives. However, I think a lot of people can identify with how it's not always so fun to be the single one in a group of happy couples. I had a good conversation with a friend lately that allowed me to see that no matter where we are in life, we are not going to feel content until we have found that peace alone with God.
If the wedding season is getting to you as well, this may be your thought process: If God would just send me someone, I would be content to grow together with Jesus. But then, you'll be itching to get engaged. Then just ready to be married. Then you will have baby fever. You'll want your kids in the best preschool, to play on the best sports team, make good grades, it's never-ending!
No matter how bad I think I "need" something or someone, God is the ultimate judge of that. Why would I think that I could find happiness later on, if I can't find happiness and peace with Christ now?
So yesterday I was starting to get stressed out about something pretty big. I knew God had a plan, but it still can be hard to keep the worrying down.
My quiet time yesterday was from Mark, and I read the familiar verse: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24).
God is not some genie that is granting wishes, but He listens to every prayer request. Soon after reading that verse, God answered my prayer in the most incredible way. Through God's impeccable timing and faithfulness, He used people half-way around the world in order to meet a need.
That taught me another lesson about being content. While this was an actual need, God reminded me to be faithful through His timing. There has never been a time that He has not come through.
God tells us that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Even in the waiting, it is possible to remain within that peace. While God told us in Mark that if we have faith and pray, we will receive what we are asking for, I think God meant this beyond earthly things. He already promised us in Matthew that He will meet our needs by saying "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26). I think the verse on prayer is calling for a different kind of approach. Yes, if we ask God to fulfill our needs He will come through because has promised to do what is best for us, but what if we changed the way we prayed? What if our prayers were asking God to change us and mold us into the people He wants us to be?
Whether we are waiting on a new relationship, a new job, or even the next meal on our table, let's go to God with our worries, but also have continuous peace for the season of life He has put us in now.
My prayer is that God changes my heart to match His own, and that He allows me to live each day with contentment and peace.
While it may take time to make changes in my heart, I have full faith that God will fulfill His promises and continue to use His perfect timing in all parts of my life.
I think one of the biggest lessons I began learning throughout college, and am still learning every single day, is to be content where I am with Christ.
I can be a bit of a worrier, and I can also be a bit of a daydreamer. This becomes an even bigger problem when I begin to worry about situations that aren't even real life. I think this stems from my love of planning. I am the kind of person that will write things in my planner even after they happen just to be able to visually see everything I have accomplished.
I feel like so many of us live in the cycle of "if I can just make it through this" or "if I can just figure this out..." THEN I will be at peace. Or THEN I will relax. THEN I will start doing my quiet time again. THEN I will be content.
You may have figured out that this is a bad plan (yet I do it ALL the time). No matter what we fill in the blanks, there will always be something that comes after.
So it's no secret that this wedding season is absolutely crazy. I could not be happier for my now engaged or married friends, and I cannot wait to see what all God is going to do in their lives. However, I think a lot of people can identify with how it's not always so fun to be the single one in a group of happy couples. I had a good conversation with a friend lately that allowed me to see that no matter where we are in life, we are not going to feel content until we have found that peace alone with God.
If the wedding season is getting to you as well, this may be your thought process: If God would just send me someone, I would be content to grow together with Jesus. But then, you'll be itching to get engaged. Then just ready to be married. Then you will have baby fever. You'll want your kids in the best preschool, to play on the best sports team, make good grades, it's never-ending!
No matter how bad I think I "need" something or someone, God is the ultimate judge of that. Why would I think that I could find happiness later on, if I can't find happiness and peace with Christ now?
So yesterday I was starting to get stressed out about something pretty big. I knew God had a plan, but it still can be hard to keep the worrying down.
My quiet time yesterday was from Mark, and I read the familiar verse: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24).
God is not some genie that is granting wishes, but He listens to every prayer request. Soon after reading that verse, God answered my prayer in the most incredible way. Through God's impeccable timing and faithfulness, He used people half-way around the world in order to meet a need.
That taught me another lesson about being content. While this was an actual need, God reminded me to be faithful through His timing. There has never been a time that He has not come through.
God tells us that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Even in the waiting, it is possible to remain within that peace. While God told us in Mark that if we have faith and pray, we will receive what we are asking for, I think God meant this beyond earthly things. He already promised us in Matthew that He will meet our needs by saying "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26). I think the verse on prayer is calling for a different kind of approach. Yes, if we ask God to fulfill our needs He will come through because has promised to do what is best for us, but what if we changed the way we prayed? What if our prayers were asking God to change us and mold us into the people He wants us to be?
Whether we are waiting on a new relationship, a new job, or even the next meal on our table, let's go to God with our worries, but also have continuous peace for the season of life He has put us in now.
My prayer is that God changes my heart to match His own, and that He allows me to live each day with contentment and peace.
While it may take time to make changes in my heart, I have full faith that God will fulfill His promises and continue to use His perfect timing in all parts of my life.
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