Whoa moments

     Sometimes you look at what God has placed in your path and think, "God, do I really have to go through this?" But you know that God has placed it there for a reason so, although you don't like it, you willingly submit yourself to God's plan and pray that His will would be carried out. And then, when you reach the other side, you see why God had you go through it. But sometimes...you reach the other side, and all you can say is, "Whoa..." That happened to me this week...

     As you should know by now (if you don't know, you must not know me...or you've been hiding under a rock :P ) I've been courting a wonderful young woman named Karis Monroe. God is blessing my life through her, even though I've spent the last 5 weeks here in Warrenton, Missouri. We've been video chatting a bit...OK, more like a lot...and it was through our latest video chat that I received this "Whoa..." moment. Well...more like an after-effect of the video chat...anyway...

     We were discussing a chapter from the book Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris that covered a topic that was kind of awkward to discuss. God had placed it in our path, so although it wasn't exactly something either of us wanted to discuss, we did it because we knew He wanted us to. I had taken some of what Josh had written and modified it ever so slightly so that it would be easier to discuss, and I asked God to guide our discussion that night. And that's exactly what He did.

     After we finished the chat, I reflected on what was discussed and let the whole chat really sink into my brain. But it wasn't until the next day that it had finally sunk deep enough to click something in my brain. Something about me had changed that night. Through my willingness to continue with our normal chapter discussion God had brought out a part of me that didn't trust Him, and replaced it with a new part that did.

     Over the last three days, I've felt this overwhelming peace and joy that I know can only be from Him. And as I reflected on it this morning, I sat back, looked at everything I knew and all I could say was, "Whoa..." I can't believe God has seen it fit to lead me where He is, to bless me how He is, to push me how He is. Some small part of His plan has implanted itself in my mind, and it's making me excited! It's also motivating me to change like nothing else I've ever known...

     Having God's Spirit inside you, having His love spilling out of you...well, amazing things when you choose to do what God wants. Because when God is inside you, His happiness is your happiness. And I dare say that He must be really happy right now, because I am too...and there is no way that this happiness is from anyone but Him!

     I'll leave you with this verse from Hebrews 10:35-36. May God bless you as much as He is blessing me!

"Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise."

In Your Hands...

     Yesterday, during class, a verse was brought up that really hit me. Sometimes God does that, and it reminded me of a quote from C.S. Lewis that has really helped me through the last month. In writing to a friend, Lewis once said:

I don’t doubt that the Holy Spirit guides your decisions from within when you make them with the intention of pleasing God. The error would be to think that He speaks only within, whereas in reality he speaks also through scripture, the church, Christian friends, and books.

     Lewis believes that not only does God speak to us from inside through the Spirit, but He also speaks from outside through the Spirit. In my experience, I've seen this quote ring true. God uses all of life to speak to us. And after all, why shouldn't He? I mean, He is the creator. Everything we know of in this life belongs to Him, so why wouldn't He use what is already right in front of us to speak to us about the One who is always above us?

     If you've talked to me just a little bit during the last month, you've probably heard me talk about my amazing girlfriend Karis. We started courting a little over a month ago now, and I've been praying since we started that God would reveal His will for the direction of this relationship. And God hasn't failed to show me something everyday that reveals more and more what His plans for Karis and I are. I think Jeremiah 29:11 describes it rather nicely:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT)

     Plans for good. He has some pretty good plans for Karis and I in the future. And He has begun to give me a glimpse of what some of those plans are. How? Through His Spirit. That verse I mentioned at the start was John 16:13. And it's one of three verses that popped out at me today. I'll refer to the other two if the need for them appears.

     John 16:13 says:

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (NKJV)

     The word for truth here is the Greek word aletheia (al-aye-thi-uh). It means to disclose something, or to reveal something for what it truly is. Guide is hodegeo (hod-ay-geh-oh) and this one means to "show the way." So...literally, this passage says: the Holy Spirit will show you the true way. In other words, the Holy Spirit will show you God's will for your life, the true path you should take. Does the Spirit speak only what He wants to speak? No, He speaks what the Father tells Him to.

     So if we take what C.S. Lewis said about God speaking through life, what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, and add just a bit of logic, we come to a rather interesting conclusion. When God speaks to us, we may hear His voice from within, from scripture, fellow Christians, church services, books, music, etc. and yet, despite the diversity of from whence the words came, they will all speak to the same truth. God guides us to the path He wants us to walk, our true path, by using everything around us to speak to our prayerful questioning.

     This is what I've experienced in my life recently: God guiding me along His will for my life by using the circumstances I find myself in, the people I talk to, the music I listen to, the books I read, my time in prayer, and my time in His word. As I continue to seek Him, He continues to guide me. And right now...that guiding is towards whatever the future may hold for Karis and I. And that brings me to the title of this post...

     I was listening to Falling Up's Crashings album yesterday, and I ran across a song I hand't heard in awhile that fits perfectly with my life right now. The song is called "Falling In Love" (bet no one saw that coming :P )
Here it is if you want to listen to it:

     This song is true of two things at once, which makes it even more awesome. Not only does it describe how I feel towards Karis, but it also describes how I feel when it comes to my relationship with God. The chorus for this song is simple, yet very meaningful. "All of my dreams and my passions are in your hands." All of my dreams and passions are in God's hands. And it's only when I take His hands and let Him lead me to where He wants me to go that those dreams and passions become reality. So, it's all in Your hands, God.