Deuteronomy 31:6 commands us to be strong and courageous. It says that the LORD will go with us. And He promises that He will never fail us, and He will never abandon us.
I think that this verse was written for me.
It's easy to get caught up in our lives. It's easy to forget that the Lord is going before us, and that He is on the look out behind us. Sometimes it feels like He isn't there. Like maybe He is on vacation to Hawaii, because there is someone there who needs Him more. I forget the first part of this verse a lot and I tend to focus on the last little bit. Especially during this time in my life. I don't really want to be courageous, I just want to go on with my life as scheduled.
We are called to be courageous which is defined as followed: Not deterred by danger or pain; brave. Hmm... let me just paint you a picture. I am a nervous person. Also I don't like to take risks, and I let the fear of injuring myself keep me from doing a lot of things. Yea... I am pretty sure that is the opposite of courageous. And I won't really give you the definition of strong because I am pretty sure that you can all define it your way.
I am really good at trying to escape what God has called me to do. And guess why I do it... because I am a accident prone, nervous wimp. It's scary to listen to the things that God tells us to do. It is easy to ignore it and think that maybe one day we can do it. But what if we were courageous in everything we did? What is really the worst thing that could happen? The every next part of the verse literally says that the Lord is going to be with us. So you know, it's not like we have the most powerful being in all of Creation on our side. Why can't our brains connect those two things? (maybe yours does, but I know that mine sure doesn't)
And now I am going to move into a different topic, and hopefully somehow I will figure out how to make this post come full circle...
I want to talk about loneliness because that is originally where I was going with this post. Hey for those of you joining Char's blog train that is already in motion, I struggle with loneliness. I'm going to be honest with you... I have a lot of acquaintances, and if I put in more effort, I am sure there could be really good friends, but I think that there is still a part of my heart that is super insecure, so I just like to stick with the friends that I already have. But anyways, I have felt lonely for as long as I can remember. I feel loneliest when I am by myself and either in a bad mood or hurting really badly and I feel super lonely when I am in a group of like 12 or more. I know it makes so much sense. I believe that God can heal me of this. I also don't think that any amount of acquaintances becoming friends will fix anything. (sorry for the rambling and small journal entry, I hope you all have enjoyed being my virtual therapists).
In all honesty, I don't always acknowledge the fact that I am never truly alone. God literally says that He is never going to abandon me. That means that He is always there. No matter what. I forget this so much, and I don't think that I am alone in this thought. We can never escape him. (Check out Romans 8... no I am being serious.)
I just find this verse really encouraging, and maybe you can't tell that from my rants above. But it is such a beautiful verse. In all of our fear and "un-courageousness" (totally made that up) we have a strong God who is not going to abandon us or let us fail. He is not going to let us do the scary things alone. He promises that he will be with us during everything. I don't know about you (but I'm feeling 22... oh wait), but this verse makes the big and scary things less intimidating. It means that even nervous, hurting, weak little me, can do something insane for Christ's glory.
I want to ask you all to just stop and think for a moment. Is there anything that God is asking you to do that you don't want to do because you are fearful? Is there anything that you are trying to run so far away from and forget because you just don't want to do it? I am sure that you are all aware the running from the Lord is something that I am really good at doing. I have been called to be a missionary... do you know how scary that is? I am good at running. I am good at throwing little pitty parties for myself and telling myself that no one understands me and that I am all alone. I am really good at it you guys! So please, please, please learn from my mistakes of being un-courageous and fearful, and just listen to what God is tell you to do. And if my blog posts aren't enough to motivate you to move into action, then you can go to this little book in the Bible called Jonah (or you can watch the VeggieTales movie entitled Jonah and the Whale) and read about what will happen if you decide to run away from that little voice in your heart. You will get swallowed by a big fish! I kid you not. That fish might look different. His name might be guilt or depression or emptiness.
Just listen for a few moment and see what God is telling you to do. He is always ready to speak, just quiet your heart and listen.
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