The Commitment
Monthly Archives: August 2016
As we continue our journey with God, he uses certain people and resources to connect with us and speak into our lives. Just like he has his “tools” of communication, we have ours for him as well. Our biggest tool is prayer. When I first began my journey I used to worry if I would know what the right prayers would be for my life. As I continue my journey I realize that prayer is somewhat situational and changes as we grow into a deeper relationship with God.
A hard lesson I had to learn was that there is a difference between praying and begging. Praying means that we talk to God and make our desires known by letting everything go and communicating with him as much as we can. Begging means that we demand and attempt to put stipulations on our conversations with God. Sometimes praying means that we have to let go of whatever we are holding onto in order to gain what God has in store for us.
Begging does not speed up the plan that God has for us. Praying gives us many opportunities to grow closer and as God speaks back into our lives, we gain an understanding of the calling that he has for us. Without prayer, it is hard to stay connected and into the commitment that we start with God. Take time to pray and take extra time to pray with others. I promise, because I know, that God will show up and deliver whatever he has in store for you.
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:20
I sit here on my front porch writing this book watching the cars go by. I am living in Ohio with my wonderful husband, surrounded by family, and finally happy with my job and life situation. As I reflect I can’t help but wonder to myself, “How did I get here?” Oh yeah…I gave up on my own plans and found God. It dawns on me that everything I have including my happiness I didn’t achieve on my own. In fact I didn’t get here on my own. I didn’t fall in love completely on my own, drive the car I have on my own, and get my job on my own. It is all the result of two people coming together to create my best life. God and I. Don’t get me wrong my husband fits in there quite nicely. It is amazing for me to think about all that
God has done for me in recent years. It brings me to a place of total gratitude and confidence in my future. A place I wouldn’t have made it to without God. A place where I now need to sit, rest, and just enjoy all that he has given me. I don’t need to keep wanting, pursuing, or reaching for the unattainable. I have already achieved it with his control. I have learned things I never knew, I have developed friendships I wouldn’t have had, and all for just listening, trusting and following the Lord no matter what the cost.
As I think about the origin of The Commitment, I realize that it began before it even began. In other words, my past experience, feelings, emotions, and familial status all drove me to the commitment. The entire time God was with me but I didn’t realize that He had a plan for my life, or really even that He loved me and wanted me to have a relationship with Him. It wasn’t until I began searching to fill that void that the discovery and surrender began. I feel like in some small way we all have holes, or a void that we are looking to fill in our lives. For me, I really didn’t know what I was searching for; I just knew that I wanted more. I wanted more than earthly relationships, conditional love, brokenness, and compromise. I wanted real love, a purpose, a plan for my life, and ultimately happiness.
After trying to complete my life on my own and failing with feelings of desperation, I finally surrendered. It was so enlightening to think that there was another way to this life of mine. I was going to finally stop trying and let God be the director of every step I took. This began my journey which lead to a lot of spiritual growth and a lot of blessings. I didn’t know it would be so hard. I didn’t even know that at times I would want to give up. I had the faith to believe that God would never let me down. It was scary at many points along the journey, and sometimes still is. There were many times when I wanted to give up because settling for easy things in my life seemed so comforting at the low points. What I realized was that after I had committed to God, He wouldn’t make the escape from Him easy. He knew that there were many moments of doubt and He continued to show up so that I wouldn’t give up. I can’t say that I would have changed anything. I can only say that I wish I had someone in my life early on to tell me about the commitment. That is when I knew. I was going to have to tell my story for anyone that needed it.
I was so driven by the thought that there would be someone out there just like me who didn’t have anyone to speak the word of God and truth into their lives. It was time for me to collect my thoughts and put them in order for someone else to hopefully grow from. As I mention in the book, “our journeys won’t be the same but our God is identical.” So my motivation grew into a finished product. I hope that we can all find some faith in our lives because the thought of living without God in this world could mean that we sacrifice everything. I don’t know any other truth or any other way to live. It all begins with Him. To get a glimpse into The Commitment and my story, you can access the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oddomi9keizbt5p/AuthorTalk-341543_1.mp3?dl=0
