It's that time of year again where we spend time reflecting on what has happened in 2011. As I sit and write this, I can remember many elements of 2011 where I was stretched and challenged in so many different ways. I had no clue going in to the year just how much I would learn and just how much more my relationship with Christ would deepen. Looking back over the last year, there is one very specific thing I learned. Yes, there were lots of lessons here and there, but one overall theme I would say. This is a lesson that I hope I never forget and that I continue to remember in the years ahead.
2011 taught me that God rewards those who listen to Him and OBEY, even if it is hard to do so in the moment. There were several areas of my life where I needed to make decisions about wether or not I would obey God or not. In each of these decisions, God has blessed me tremendously. I have learned that in the midst of the hard times where we need to make a decision, God gives us exactly what we need for each of those weeks, days and moments. There is not a single second that God is not giving us the strength we need! What a blessing!
2 Corinthians 12:9 has sort of become my life verse for this period of my life. Paul says, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." So many times in this last year I have felt weak and wounded; yet, God has used each of those moments to teach not only me things, but he has used me and my story to challenge and teach those around me. I am so blessed to be able to minister to women at my school and girls in the youth group at Church. Being able to share my story has been a significant method to help me process appropriately.
This year I am experiencing an incredible amount of joy with the coming of this new year. I am closing the book on a very challenging year and I am ready for this new chapter of my life to open. I have no clue what the year 2012 will hold. I have some hopes for the year, but I know that God has a specific plan already laid out for this new year and as a follower of Christ it is my job to sit and trust God daily. I can't wait to see what God is going to teach me in this new year and I am so anxious to continue to fall more in Love with my Savior.
May you also experience this same joy as 2012 is quickly approaching. May you, like me, remember that "When we have nothing left but God, we discover that God is enough!"
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
God is so Good!
Sometimes in the midst of papers to write and books to read I forget the reason I am at a Bible college. It is awful to admit, but it is true. I forget that I came to Multnomah to fall more in love with the Lord. I had forgotten how blessed I am in the first place to be able to study God's word and learn more about Him through my classes, homework and the Bible.
Right now I am so overwhelmed, I have so much left to do and only a week to do it all in! Yikes! But, just like previous semesters, I always get everything done. Maybe not perfectly, but it is done. God is so good in allowing us the strength we need for exactly what we have to accomplish. Yesterday I was reminded about the strength that he provides us in the midst of our busy lives. I was reading from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology book (which, is way better than what it sounds!) when a passage of Scripture jumped out at me...as if it was God speaking directly to me. It was a strange feeling but after reading it dozens of times, a strange sense of peace came over me and I was relaxed for the first time in the last few days. May it encourage you in the midst of your busy lives as you finish school or as you go into this busy holiday season.
"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Remembering this sweet song by Chris Tomlin as I go back to doing more homework tonight:
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough for me
Your grace is enough
Heaven reaching down to us
Your grace is enough for me
God I see your grace is enough
I'm covered in your love
Your grace is enough for me
For me
Right now I am so overwhelmed, I have so much left to do and only a week to do it all in! Yikes! But, just like previous semesters, I always get everything done. Maybe not perfectly, but it is done. God is so good in allowing us the strength we need for exactly what we have to accomplish. Yesterday I was reminded about the strength that he provides us in the midst of our busy lives. I was reading from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology book (which, is way better than what it sounds!) when a passage of Scripture jumped out at me...as if it was God speaking directly to me. It was a strange feeling but after reading it dozens of times, a strange sense of peace came over me and I was relaxed for the first time in the last few days. May it encourage you in the midst of your busy lives as you finish school or as you go into this busy holiday season.
"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Remembering this sweet song by Chris Tomlin as I go back to doing more homework tonight:
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough for me
Your grace is enough
Heaven reaching down to us
Your grace is enough for me
God I see your grace is enough
I'm covered in your love
Your grace is enough for me
For me
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