Psalm 27:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Do you really believe that? That God will really give you the desires of your heart? I had become very good and choosing which things I thought I could take care of without God's help. But if you give it all to God, He will satisfy YOUR desires. He did make you after all and He knows every part of you. And maybe, just maybe, if He made you, the only way for the desires of your heart to be completely fulfilled, are for them to align with the desires of His heart.
The Lord wants the best for my life and He has proved that to me in this last month.
You might think taking a Gap Year would be a year of giving. But the truth is I am constantly receiving. I am learning and understanding how to live such a fuller and richer life.
The beginning of this year for me, and every other high school senior, was filled with decisions. You have to decide where you want to go to college and what you want to study. Which is all very exciting. But I became paralyzed by this fear of a life of monotony. Every stage of life seemed like planning for the next stage. Go to high school so you can get into a good college. Then go to University so you can get a decent job. Then maybe some time for love and marriage. Until you get too busy with a job and kids. Then you send them to school so they can repeat the process.
Where is the living in that? Where is the time to simply enjoy and thank God for creating you?
(disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the truth. I'm just saying these were my fears.)
As ridiculous as this sounds, life after high school seemed stripped of excitement. I was thinking the classic cliche, my life is over. The route of college, marriage, job, kids seemed like it left no room for adventure. I didn't want to count down until weekends and holidays. I didn't want to live my year only to enjoy the weeks off from work.
I wanted to experience freedom, spontaneity, and God's plans.
But I think I understand now. Life really is not all about work and money. Work should be something you are passionate about. And it should be a means to the end of glorifying God. And that is where the adventure is found. Living your life for eternal impact on the Kingdom of God.
And the change you make does not have to be a drastic change. It probably won't be. I probably won't change the world or save thousands of lives. But all the glory goes to God anyways so why does it matter? Be willing for God to use you in whatever capacity He desires, and in turn He will bless you so abundantly. If we wait on God and His plans, life will be an adventure.
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
1 Corinthians 2:9 "But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”
Proverbs 16:3-4 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble."
I'm not saying that a life lived for the Lord will be easy. But I can promise it will be an adventure and it will be anything but boring.
These were my struggles. And everyones are different. But hopefully what I have learned can encourage somebody reading this.
I always kind of assumed that if I gave me life completely to serve God that I would miss out on too much. But that is so not true. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of YOUR heart. Who better to receive blessings from than the creator and orchestrator of the entire universe?
He wants to use you in ways that fit your personality. I love to travel and I LOVE experiencing new cultures and how different people do everyday life. So here I am. How can He use you through your passions?
Nicole
Do you really believe that? That God will really give you the desires of your heart? I had become very good and choosing which things I thought I could take care of without God's help. But if you give it all to God, He will satisfy YOUR desires. He did make you after all and He knows every part of you. And maybe, just maybe, if He made you, the only way for the desires of your heart to be completely fulfilled, are for them to align with the desires of His heart.
The Lord wants the best for my life and He has proved that to me in this last month.
You might think taking a Gap Year would be a year of giving. But the truth is I am constantly receiving. I am learning and understanding how to live such a fuller and richer life.
The beginning of this year for me, and every other high school senior, was filled with decisions. You have to decide where you want to go to college and what you want to study. Which is all very exciting. But I became paralyzed by this fear of a life of monotony. Every stage of life seemed like planning for the next stage. Go to high school so you can get into a good college. Then go to University so you can get a decent job. Then maybe some time for love and marriage. Until you get too busy with a job and kids. Then you send them to school so they can repeat the process.
Where is the living in that? Where is the time to simply enjoy and thank God for creating you?
(disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the truth. I'm just saying these were my fears.)
As ridiculous as this sounds, life after high school seemed stripped of excitement. I was thinking the classic cliche, my life is over. The route of college, marriage, job, kids seemed like it left no room for adventure. I didn't want to count down until weekends and holidays. I didn't want to live my year only to enjoy the weeks off from work.
I wanted to experience freedom, spontaneity, and God's plans.
But I think I understand now. Life really is not all about work and money. Work should be something you are passionate about. And it should be a means to the end of glorifying God. And that is where the adventure is found. Living your life for eternal impact on the Kingdom of God.
And the change you make does not have to be a drastic change. It probably won't be. I probably won't change the world or save thousands of lives. But all the glory goes to God anyways so why does it matter? Be willing for God to use you in whatever capacity He desires, and in turn He will bless you so abundantly. If we wait on God and His plans, life will be an adventure.
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
1 Corinthians 2:9 "But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”
Proverbs 16:3-4 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble."
I'm not saying that a life lived for the Lord will be easy. But I can promise it will be an adventure and it will be anything but boring.
These were my struggles. And everyones are different. But hopefully what I have learned can encourage somebody reading this.
I always kind of assumed that if I gave me life completely to serve God that I would miss out on too much. But that is so not true. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of YOUR heart. Who better to receive blessings from than the creator and orchestrator of the entire universe?
He wants to use you in ways that fit your personality. I love to travel and I LOVE experiencing new cultures and how different people do everyday life. So here I am. How can He use you through your passions?
Nicole
Hi arrived at highs Friday from the werths started. Out from home on the eighth enjoy reading your blog sounds like you are keeping busy excuse the mistakes I don,t know how to correct them and have lost this twice already just call me a computer flunky I guess will miss brants race this year it is this next weekend hope to get to visit Anna and Elise during this trip October a,lays meant a Halloween party in the classroom will you celebrate Halloween there nana Brownlee called families to be sure to come to her house I live too close to get any come to my house instead they go into town and walk door to door highs send their love too gma benson
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