Called

I am impatient.

Impatience is a character trait I’ve battled with my entire life. I don’t like to wait (although, funny enough, waiting in queues and things are fine- I am able to keep my swearing to a minimum) and, often, that causes me to forget about the journey I am on right now.

A few weeks ago I actually chatted about this to a girl at res who I really look up to. I told her I know God has a plan and He wants me to do something, but I’m not sure what yet and that is so incredibly frustrating. She told me something I will never forget: God cares more about the character than the calling.

God has a plan and a purpose for you (Jeremiah 29:11), but often His timing is different from ours. Isaiah 55:8 says, “"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.” 

We may think that we are ready for our “calling” or we may think that we have a specific calling, but God could have a completely different plan for you. Look at Paul in the Bible: he was KILLING Christians, he believed that was his purpose on earth, but then God was all “not on My watch”, made Saul (Paul’s name before his conversion) blind, says in Acts 9:15 “… Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel”, gets Ananias to heal Saul’s blindness then slam dam, Saul becomes Paul and ends up writing most of the New Testament.

Wow. Quite a lot to take in (and my trailer doesn't help much... See the full story in Acts 9) . Don’t get so stuck in your idea of what you think you’re meant to do that you don’t hear God directing you to what He wants you to do. And let’s be honest- most of the time, God’s call over your life will not be an easy one. Looking at Paul, God says in Acts 9:16, “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

Now my English isn’t perfect, but I’m pretty suffering is not a nice way to want to live.

I was so focused on my future that I forgot about my present. I didn’t see how God was using me now, what He was teaching me in this process. I was refusing to enjoy the climb just because I was so adamant that I had to get to the top as soon as possible. Good things take time and just because you feel like you aren’t achieving much right now, remember Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
If you’re willing to completely follow God’s direction, you WILL do what you are called to do. It’s kind of like with a GPS: the GPS knows the fastest way to reach your destination, but if you keep thinking you know better routes and take different roads, you may take longer to reach that destination. God knows our “destination” and the fastest way to get there, but when we disobey Him and choose to go our own way, it will take longer to get there and we may even get lost along the way.

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Often the temptation to leave God’s path is so… (for lack of a better word) tempting that it becomes easy to step off. The sad thing, however, is that it becomes easier and easier with each step we take off the path. Christianity is NOT for sussies, and deciding to stay on that narrow path WILL be difficult. Jesus warns us that in this world we WILL have trouble (John 16:33) and we will all face our own temptations, but choosing to stand against that takes insane, immense, immaculate courage. Deuteronomy 31:6 and Joshua 1:9 tells us TO BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.

You are a warrior and I believe in you to change the world, but can I tell you a little secret?
You can’t change the world by yourself. But you know how we can?
Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
God is with you and He will be with you to change the world. He is our secret weapon; a weapon so powerful nothing can stand against!!!

This is long to quote but Romans 8:31-39 sums it up perfectly:

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.
Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I guess this is really just an encouragement. Don’t feel like you aren’t doing enough now. I’m not saying be lazy, sit back, marry rich and chill (although if you know any rich old men looking for a young stukkie to spoil with gifts- you know where to find me ;) ), but just take time to enjoy the ride; enjoy the climb. I can’t tell you how often I’ve gone on hikes where the fun has actually been chatting (ahem, complaining) all the way up the mountain, seeing unique fauna and flora on the climb, having unexpected laughs along the way…

You are called. God will show you the way. Just try not to travel off the way our “God GPS” directs you… Be EXCITED. Amazing things are headed your way. Just don’t ignore the amazing things happening right now <3

God bless!

Value

Life is full of lessons.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned this year is about prioritising.
Deeeper than that though, was a message I heard in a sermon: you make time for what you value (#PRIORITISE).
That hit me straight in the heart. It is easy to say we value something, but it is a whole nother thing to prove it.

Firstly, what does it mean to “value” something?
Well I went to trusty Google and typed in “value definition” (yes, yes, very scientific and smart I know; sometimes my abundant knowledge surpasses even me) and this is what I found:

“consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; have a high opinion of”

In all honesty, I consider a good burger something that I have a high opinion of. And let’s not forget the new Baywatch movie (no, I haven’t watched it yet but I definitely have a high opinion of Zac Efron without a shirt on…. Hehe). Definitely my gym is beneficial (the burgers may go to the thighs but they end up making less gains than if I wasn’t exercising :P ), and I consider my academics to be important (okay, sorry that’s a lie. Varsity has made me very lazy! Fine another lie. Stupid free YouTube has made me lazy...). My time for series- yup, that’s a very important time in the day.

Uhm, wait a minute…..
Where does God fit into that?

When I heard that sermon I felt convicted. Especially in terms of gym. In the beginning of the year especially, I would plan my life around gym: academics, social, everything. If it happened in a convenient gym time, I would miss it or plan it to fit into another suitable time which is not only selfish, it shows what I truly value. I’ve worked on it though and can honestly say this is switching around! (although the extra 2kg I picked up after these exams may not necessarily be a good thing :P I blame the fact that I studied so hard my brain needed extra snack fuel... Okay I’m just saying that so my grandparents think I worked more than I procrastinated #FreeWifiIsTooTempting)
Gym was my personal struggle, but we all have that one thing. The sad part is, eventually this “thing” will be an idol, it will become the god in your life.
Exodus 34:14 says, “Do not worship any other god for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Firstly, WOW. Just WOW. God is JEALOUS for YOU. He wants your complete and undivided attention. He is so big and mighty, yet He still wants your complete love: He doesn’t want to share it.

Secondly, we become like what we worship. If you worship gym like I did, that becomes your reality. I have had some significant friendships die down because of it, I’ve struggled fitting God into my day because of it, and that is growing time I will never get back. With relationships especially (and God is the most important relationship), what we worship will determine how we act, treat and are in the relationships we have (relationships include friendships, those you meet, coworkers, spouse, siblings etc). At the end of the day, you have to look at what you are giving up and if it really is worth it.

I love gym, seriously being in that weight room is so fun for me, but at the end of the day, I value people more. Some of my loneliest moments have been spent in the gym, it just doesn’t always fill that “hole” you know. At one stage I got very unhappy and negative this year and just started separating myself from God because of it. Because of that, it just got worse! Thank goodness I got a bit of  a talking to from a very powerful woman in my life and that was the start of my journey to redetermine what I truly value.

In earthly terms, I think what I value most is life itself. There are moments (like just before an exam I don’t feel prepared for) that I think life is pointless and hard and I just want to go to heaven now (I am SO excited to go to heaven- just that freedom!!!!!), but Jesus warns us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Deuterononmy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave your nor forsake you.”

Changing your values is a tough process and it will take bravery and determination, but again, at the end of the day it’s all about cost vs. benefit. In business terms, if you’re making a consistent loss, there is not point keeping that business in operation.
Don’t let the wrong values ruin vital relationships.

There are 525600 minutes in a year, which actually isn’t very long at all. Each minute can be used in a very precious way, wasting one is a minute that you will never get back. So please, listen to my heart and WAKE UP :/

Revelations 3:16 says, “So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
There is no time to be lukewarm in our relationship with God. The same with family and friends; the second you’re lukewarm is the time the time you don’t give your relationships the full value they deserve. I feel this is essential for families: don’t sacrifice your children, spouse, siblings because you value a material thing. There is more to life, I promise you. And yes, the refining process is tough. I’m sure the whole process of getting all the dirt and rock off a diamond is neither fun nor easy, but when that diamond is shining, the effort was worth it.

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

This week I challenge you:
Think about what you really value, what you make the most time for and think about what you have had to sacrifice to keep doing this. Is it worth it? (Be brutally honest!!!)
If not, shift your focus. Pray and ask God to guide you to what is most important. Sometimes even writing a checklist helps me because I like seeing what I have accomplished :P

Most importantly, realise it will not be easy. But you don’t want easy. You are strong, brave and incredible. You don’t have to be lukewarm.
Fight for happiness. At the end of the day, God gives His toughest battles to His strongest soldiers.