Tag: Advice

Live Like There is a Tomorrow

Are you more inclined to live like there’s no tomorrow or like every decision will affect the rest of your life?

A phrase that gets thrown around a lot these days is “live like there isn’t a tomorrow”. The intention behind that phrase is to remind us that we need to take risks and not count on there being some “better” time to do something that we’ve been putting off.

Living without fear of the future and without regrets is super important. I completely support the idea of living that way. But I think we are ignoring other vital truths by acting like we have to do everything RIGHT THIS MINUTE. We forget what it means to be patient.

Now being patient and procrastinating are two very different things.

An example of being patient is when you remain single because you know in your heart that you haven’t met the one God has for you yet and you trust that you’ll meet that person eventually, but for now you are content.

An example of procrastinating is refusing to get into a relationship with someone who feels right because you are afraid of commitment or you want to continue playing the field when you need to be more responsible.

The problem with living too much in one lifestyle, not having that balance of “no regrets living” and “oh let’s wait living”, is that then we cannot fully live life the way God intends for us. If we get so caught up in the moment, we don’t think about how our present actions might negatively affect things in the future. But if we are stuck overanalyzing everything and never make a decision, then we can’t appreciate the joys of spontaneity and trusting God through whatever we end up deciding to do.

Today I want you to think about why you are where you are and why you are doing what you are doing.

Are you going for that promotion because you have worked long and hard, and you know that’s the next step to take in your career? Or is it because you feel like you just have to have the next best thing in order to be the greatest?

Are you in a relationship with this person because you feel like they are who God has given you for this stage of your life and you love them? Or is it because you think you will never find anyone better?

You could fill in the blanks of those questions for whatever you’re doing right now. For me, I’m trying to figure out if the reason I’ve slowed down in my college preparation process is because I’m nervous about making the wrong decisions or if it’s because I want more clarity from God.

Everyone has a different answer to the question of whether or not they are making decisions off of fear of the future happening vs fear of the future never coming. But my overall point is to realize that yes, there may not be a tomorrow. But you do have to think long term and realize that God tells us to both wait and act in the Bible.

Never wait to deepen your relationship with God or to say the words you know someone needs to hear. But perhaps there are other things in your life that need to slow down.

I’m not speaking on God’s behalf. Like with everything else, listen to God and figure out what He’s telling you through everything you’re going through. He understands the best.

Therefore, return to your God,
Observe kindness and justice,
And wait for your God continually.

Hosea 12:6

Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Fresh Start

Are you trying to start fresh but having difficulties along the way?

Sometimes we all just need a fresh start.

Maybe we have to let go of something or someone that wasn’t right for us. Maybe we’re in a really bad place mentally and we have to just get a new outlook on life. Maybe we are just tired of being tired of…everything.

You get this great idea to clear out the clutter, to become a brand new person, and to not have to hold onto the past.

So it’s going well, until…

You suddenly feel like maybe you aren’t making progress. You feel just as bad as you once were. You don’t know what to do.

I know this sounds cliché, but the path to true healing isn’t a straight line. The path to becoming who you are meant to be isn’t going to just feel like it’s getting better and better.

Okay, that’s where the key word “feel” comes in. The truth is, all those steps backwards you feel like you’re taking are actually just tests, preparing you for the end result.

But it’s not going to be easy. It’s not easy for anyone who is actively trying to become who they’re meant to be.

But we can’t let these setbacks hinder us or discourage us from pursuing the life God has called us to. We have to go into the unknown with the knowledge that things won’t be easy, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t working the way they are meant to.

It just means it’s different from what we expect.

Speaking of new beginnings, fresh starts, I am in the process of starting fresh too. I went through some soul searching in the fall and I have come to a better place now. It hasn’t been easy and at times I’ve wanted to give up, but then I remember how God has been there for me in the past and how He has things planned out better than what I can ever imagine or hope for. (See, remembering the goodness of God is a benefit of remember the past!)

Anyway, one of the steps I’ve taken to start fresh is starting a new blog. I haven’t gotten it completely ready yet, but I’ve posted a couple articles. I will still be posting on here too, but I’d love for you to check out this blog as well. In time, I may transition to one or the other only, but for now I’ll be posting on both. I hope you enjoy it and find my posts encouraging and meaningful!

Here’s the link: https://hannahhobi.wixsite.com/mysite

Wherever you’re at in your faith journey, know that you’re not alone in what you’re going through.

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

The Power of Gratitude

Gratitude is the key to joy, no matter what you’re going through right now.

My word of the year, which I may have shared earlier, is joy. I’ve talked a lot about joy on here because joy is such an important component of our spiritual lives, not to mention just life in general.

When we have joy, our outlook on the world changes. It becomes something completely brand new and crazy. It’s amazing.

But sometimes life brings us down. We feel upset over a loss, anger over a heartbreak, frustrated over a job. An assortment of attacks from the enemy can bring us down.

But the number one defense against losing our joy is gratitude.

I recently started a gratitude journal, which I’d highly recommend investing in, but you don’t need anything too fancy to begin your journey to a more joyful life.

Just get out a piece of paper and set a timer for two minutes. During that time, write down as many things as you can think of that you are thankful for. Write down why you’re thankful for them.

Even if you feel like everything’s been taken away, just remember that one thing never will be– God.

God loves you unconditionally and no matter what, no one can take away the incredible sacrifice He made for you because He loves you so much.

A key reminder I heard that I may do a whole post on later is this: Our lives are a mere star in the sky in comparison to the rest of the galaxy that represents our eternity with Jesus. Nothing can compare to the wonder and splendor of life forever with our amazing Lord and Savior. Not even the worst day of our lives.

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

James 4:14

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10

The Rescuer

A lot of times we want to be the one to save people. But how does that align with our mission from Jesus?

My favorite song is Rescue, by Lauren Daigle. The song is all about the love God has for us and how He will come to save us in our times of need. He is our rescuer.

A believer in Christ’s main goal would be to become more like Jesus, right? We watch the way He acted and spoke when He was on Earth. We try to become a disciple of Jesus.

The Holy Trinity– Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit– are the only perfect Ones in existence. Not even the disciples were perfect.

However, I think we can learn a lot from the disciples about how to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

A lot of us want to go on mission trips in order to rescue people for Jesus. I think that mission trips, when taken for the right reasons, are wonderful. Sharing God’s love to people around the world is our mission from Jesus Himself right before He went back into Heaven. But the thing is, we are not supposed to be the rescuer. That job is for God, not us.

Something I’ve noticed while reading through Acts is that when the disciples healed people, they always brought the glory back to God. When they were preaching, it was all about how the people needed Jesus, not the disciples. The disciples made it their mission not to make the people dependent on them, but rather dependent on God. I think that’s an important thing to remember, whether we’re out on the mission field in a foreign country or right at home in our own community.

I was going to share a story about a person at our church who is such an amazing person and has done so much for us in her short time with us so far, yet has taken on perhaps too much because she wants to feel needed. She wants to be the rescuer.

But sharing that story would perhaps be hypocritical and not as perhaps impactful as sharing the story of when I tried to be the rescuer.

I think anyone with the “caretaker” personality has struggled with trying to take God’s role in being the one people need. I didn’t realize that I had this problem until a recent reflection over a few past relationships I’ve had with different people where I was so concerned about them getting on the right path that I didn’t focus on actually building the connection with them, but instead was focused on getting the task done of “fixing them”. (Another important thing to note for missions work: Don’t allow the task to come before the relationship. But that’s another topic for another time :))

Anyway, one friendship I had in particular has stuck out to me while thinking about the issue of trying to be the rescuer instead of God.

I felt pretty close to a friend in my life who was going through a difficult time. I felt like God had placed me in his life at just the right time so that I could help him deepen his relationship with God. We had one or two deep conversations about faith and he sporadically attended a Bible study that I had set up with some other friends of ours. I was so excited that I felt like I was making an impact on his life that, for lack of a better word, I got addicted to the feeling that I was changing his life. Keep in mind who I just said–me.

I went into the relationship thinking that I was being used by God, and I do believe that I was. However, I don’t think I ended up leaving the relationship with the same intentions.

This realization hit me when I was talking with him a few months after he had left the Bible study after moving away. He told me about how he was now a part of a Bible study in his new community. Later on, his mom told me all about how excited she was for him to have these new opportunities to grow closer to God.

My initial reaction should’ve been joy. This person that I’d grown to care a great deal about was now taking steps on his own to form a better relationship with God. That was the goal, right?

But instead, I was filled with disappointment that he didn’t need me anymore.

I think God caused this time of space between him and I for a reason. He wanted to show me that while I had done the right thing by encouraging this person’s faith journey, it was time to let go. It was time to see that none of that was done because of some special talent I had given myself. Rather, it was all done through the Holy Spirit working through me. So instead of being upset that now the Holy Spirit was working through other people in his life, I should be grateful for the time I did have.

The point I’m trying to make here is that yes, God does work through us in incredible ways. I want you to feel like you’re making a difference, because when God works through anybody, they are doing something great. But I want you to also learn through my story that we can’t get so attached to the mission that we forget who we’re working for. God puts people in our lives for a season. Granted, that season can take a variety of time frames, whether it be a day, a year, or decades. But God is the only One there for them forever.

So today, think about whether or not you are trying to be the rescuer instead of pointing people to the One who can truly rescue them. God is working powerfully through you, but it’s always important to remember who gave us our gifts to begin with.

We can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Hebrews 13:6

The Thing That Hurts Us

Are you really angry at someone right now? Did someone hurt you deeply? Here is some advice and encouragement as to how to heal your heart.

I was recently doing a Bible study with some friends, and the message for that week was about how important our thoughts are to our well-being. Not only that, but to our relationship with God.

If you’ve ever struggled with loneliness, anxiety, depression, or stress, I’m sure you can agree that those intrusive thoughts that bombard our minds seem to take over our lives.

But I think something that people don’t often associate with our mental health is anger. Anger can easily take over our lives and destroy our relationships. Not only that, but it can destroy our mental well-being too.

I think it’s interesting, in a sad way, that our society seems to glorify being angry.

“Oh, you’re angry at that side? Excellent, that means that you are the best supporter for us.”

“You’re mad that this person won? Go fight for your beliefs!”

People often support their anger with the story of how Jesus turned tables over in the temple. “If Jesus was angry, then we can be angry too!”

Being angry is natural. But it doesn’t mean we should stay angry, and it does mean that we need to pay attention to what we are doing with our anger. When Jesus expressed His anger over the injustices going on in His city, He did not hurt people with His anger. I think that’s a good question to check ourselves with. When we are doing ____ because we are angry, does that hurt anyone?

The next thing to think about is, where is the root cause of this anger? Is it hurt? Frustration? Something unrelated to the thing you’re fueling your angry energy towards?

Jesus spoke against the rulers that were harming people’s relationship with God. Jesus was frustrated by the unfairness and lies being spread. He was standing up for truth.

I’m going to admit something to you right now. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been very angry at a couple people in my life. I didn’t want to feel hurt, so instead I fueled my energy towards thinking negative thoughts about them. I wanted to feel powerful, powerful enough to be in charge of my feelings.

But then I came across this verse, and it frightened me.

“In your anger, do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Ephesians 4:26-27

Whoa. Okay, just take a moment with me here to think about this. When we are angry, we allow the devil to work through us. That is certainly frightening, isn’t it? That means that instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to be the One guiding us, we are allowing our enemy to take over. That’s such an incredible loss. That means we gave over to our real permanent enemy, not just the temporary one we’ve found in a friend, relative, or random internet stranger.

Then, as I kept reading, I was struck by this additional verse.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirt of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Ephesians 4:30

When we are angry, we hurt God.

I know a lot of times we think we are just hurting the other person when we think angry thoughts about them or when we seek revenge. But the thing is, we are hurting everyone involved– ourselves, the other person, and God. God is involved in our daily lives, which means He knows when we are upset. He understands when we are hurt, but instead of letting our pride get in the way, we need to come to Him and express the deep pain we are feeling.

Because, let’s face it. We are angry because we allowed ourselves to become vulnerable enough to trust someone, and they blew it. They might’ve betrayed your trust in numerous ways. It could be taking the opposite side on an issue you’re passionate about. Maybe they told someone something personal about you that ruined your reputation. Perhaps they didn’t show up in your life the way you thought they would–maybe even in a way they previously promised they would.

Friend, it’s totally normal and okay to be upset when someone does terrible things to us. Or even not-so-terrible things that still hurt us.

But we can’t stay stuck in those feelings. We have to forgive them.

Because if we don’t forgive them, we are losing our battle against the evil in this world. We are allowing our lives to be run by our anger instead of our love.

So today, if there’s someone you need to forgive, even if it’s just in your heart, please do it. It will change your life.

When I took that step to forgive those people, my life didn’t change over night. But I did feel an overwhelming sense of peace and a burden lifted off my shoulders. And the next time I am hurt by someone, I will have to remind myself that no matter how hard it is, I shouldn’t make the hurt worse by allowing resentment to take over.

Instead, let us both place those feelings in God’s hands and move on with our lives.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

James 1:19-20

Forward

Having trouble letting go of someone? Here is some advice and encouragement.

I don’t know who needs to hear this but…

It’s okay to move forward. It’s okay to move on. It’s not mean.

If you needed to hear that, then someone probably came to mind. Perhaps an old friend, an ex, a person from your past that hurt you. But you were close, and you don’t want to let go.

Maybe everyone close to you has told you that you need to let go. That it would be the best thing for your mental health. That you deserve better.

And if you’re at the stage where you know that letting go is better for you, then you agree. You know that you are a child of God, born to love and to be loved back.

But something is stopping you. Something is in your path, denying you the chance to move on.

Perhaps you didn’t get the closure that you needed.

Let me tell you, I lived with the lie–that false belief that plagues our media obsessed society– that we have to get closure in order to move on. Then, literally a couple days ago, a post by a psychology expert changed my life.

To paraphrase, her post went something like this: I don’t know who gave you the idea that you have to get closure in order to move on. Maybe it was all those romance movies or books, the way the media likes to make us feel like we’re the anomaly…but the thing is, so many of us don’t get closure. And if we do, then we still have questions afterwards. There’s never going to be that moment that the other person makes for us where we suddenly lose that love and feel as free as a bird soaring through the sky. But the thing the media doesn’t tell us is that those movies are all fiction. Our lives are our own. We are the only ones who can give ourselves the freedom to move on and enjoy life again.

To add to that, from a Christian perspective, yes, we are the only ones who can bring closure. Except, we can’t do it alone. Jesus is there and He knows what it’s like to feel rejected, abandoned, and betrayed–by His own loved ones! His disciples! He does completely understand how we feel and He is the only one who will never leave us.

Here’s some tough love. You’re not going to get closure.

You’re not.

Not in the way you expect, anyway. Oh sure, you might have a good long talk. You might even part ways as the sun is setting behind the mountains as joyful tears fall from your face. But that’s never going to be enough.

The only way to feel fully content is to find your joy and satisfaction in Jesus. The only way to not be lonely is to surround yourself with God’s love, by praying continually and reading the Bible, not to mention staying in close contact with others who encourage and support you.

You might feel like a mean person for moving on, and I get that. I get all of these feelings.

But the thing is, you are making the choice to move on from this person because they hurt you. Because they weren’t good for you. Because you know deep down in your heart that the Holy Spirit (plus your best friends) told you that it’s time to let go.

So, if you feel like moving on means that you’re still in contact, but just not relying on them, then fine. If moving on means that you’re blocking them for your own sanity, then alright. If moving on means simply having that freeing feeling in your heart and not thinking about them anyone, then good.

Moving on isn’t the same for everyone. But ultimately it means that this person isn’t your whole world anymore. They aren’t going to be consuming your thoughts, bogging you down, or making you feel less than who God says you are.

Moving on means that you’re free. You can finally be who God created you to be without other people getting in the way of that.

I know it’s hard, but I also know you can do it.

Don’t give up.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that tis to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:18

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3

New Year, New Mindset

2020 has been a rough year. Now is the time to reflect on what God was doing through the difficulties. What is the most important thing you’ve learned in 2020?

Looking back on the past year always teaches me a lot of things. Often we don’t feel like we have grown or changed, but in reality, we truly have. God has used all the difficult circumstances we have gone through in order to help us become who we are truly meant to be.

I heard the joke a lot last year (before COVID and the spiraling of events that took place afterwards) that we would have 2020 vision in 2020. I think people assumed that meant that we would have the perfect year since we could see things perfectly.

When I first got glasses, I was amazing by the world around me. I didn’t have horrible vision, but I forgot what things really looked like. That didn’t mean that I just noticed the individual flowers along the path or the faces of loved ones more clearly, though. By having renewed vision, I was able to see all the tiny flaws that had all blended together, safely hidden, while I had imperfect vision.

2020 has given us perfect vision. It has exposed the flaws within our society, within a world that has turned away from God. It has exposed the needs of the people around us who we could more easily ignore when being busy going to social events, the office, or wherever. But 2020 no longer allowed us to deny suffering, inequality, injustice, and most of all, 2020 made us realize that we truly have no control. Only God does. And that’s why we need Him so much.

I’ve thought long and hard about the most important thing I’ve learned this year, and I think that’s it. I’ve learned that we really have no control over what happens in life, but that we can still feel safe when we trust God, because He loves us so much and He will never leave us. God’s plan is so completely mysterious that we cannot even fathom it. That’s why we have to follow His lead and listen to His voice.

This year, I am going to challenge you to appreciate everything that God is trying to do in you and through you. Allow the hard times to be ways of connecting with God that you didn’t think was previously possible. I hope and pray that in a year where we exposed deep wounds, we can now use this coming year as a year of healing and unity.

Happy New Year! May God bless you with joy, hope, and peace as we travel into 2021.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

Jeremiah 1:5

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Don’t Let the Enemy Steal Your Joy

Are you having trouble fully experiencing joy this Christmas? This might encourage you and help you regain your joy.

Christmas time can bring a lot of different feelings for everyone. For some, it might bring excitement, anticipation, and hope. For others, it may bring up past feelings of grief, loneliness, and confusion. I bet that this year is harder than most as even people who normally have a lot to celebrate mourn all that was lost over the past year. I am sending prayers of comfort for all of you grieving someone or something this holiday season.

However, I’m also here to bring encouragement and help you not lose anymore joy this season.

I’ve talked about joy a lot on here, and that’s because it’s an important part of our daily lives. To redefine joy, it’s not just a state of happiness that lasts for only a short time. Rather, joy is a permanent part of us that we can have as believers in Jesus because we have faith in a good God despite hard circumstances. Joy is having hope in the future no matter what happened today. Joy is knowing that we can still be content despite what the world tells us.

On many Christmas cards I handed out this year and received, the words peace, hope, and joy were on them. Those words are often associated with Christmas because we think about how joyful that first Christmas must have been, right? We imagine the little nativity that we learned about in Sunday school where all the people came to the inn with their animals, bearing gifts for the newborn King.

But the truth is, there was a lot that first Christmas that was hard. They had a corrupt government, civil unrest, injustice, and many people struggled with illness, poverty, and uncertainty about the future. Sound familiar?

Basically, if we really think about it, Jesus made quite the sacrifice coming that first Christmas. He entered a world full of sin, a world that can never be made perfect without Him. And to top it all off, Jesus came down knowing how He would be humiliated and killed, rejected and despised, poor and without shelter many a time.

Yet, through Jesus’ love for US, He made that sacrifice to come down for us. Christmas is a celebration of love, Christ’s love, and the ultimate sacrifice He would later make for us.

You may have thought that they had more to celebrate that first Christmas than we do now, what with COVID, civil unrest, and all the other issues plaguing our world today. But as you can see, they really did have many opportunities to lose sight of their joy. Yet the ones who worshiped Jesus, who saw what a great sacrifice He was going to make for us, were the ones who really got a lot out of Christmas. When they turned to Jesus, their hope was restored. Their lives were made new. Their hearts opened to the reality that the most powerful being in the universe came down to save them.

And that’s the way to experience true joy this Christmas, to not let the burdens and hardships our present circumstances bring allow us to miss out on fully experiencing Jesus’ love for us.

I’m going to close with a recent event that happened in my life.

I was driving to the barn where I work and ride horses. As I was driving, I couldn’t help but feel this overwhelming sense of joy and appreciation for Jesus. I started praising Him for everything He has done for me and I knew that the enemy would try to steal my joy. But I told Jesus as I got out of the car that I wasn’t going to let the enemy win.

About an hour later, I was laying on the ground of the arena, my riding partner asking me if I was okay.

The horse I had been riding, who has never spooked on me before, randomly spooked at an unknown thing and I flew off onto the ground.

Standing up too quickly and needing to take a breather, I replied that I was fine, just a bit dusty, sore, and wondering what on earth was going on.

Thankfully, I’m okay. I am still sore and stiff, but after walking around and reconnecting with the horse, I got back on and cooled her down before telling her owner about it. I know that there could’ve been something that startled her, but I can’t shake the feeling that it was also a spiritual occurrance. I know that the enemy was trying to steal my joy yesterday.

But I didn’t let him.

Instead, I am going to use this experience as a reminder of how God took care of me since it could’ve been worse, of how far I’ve come as a rider to be able to just get right back on and explain the situation to others, and to be grateful that I am on the road to recovery.

This Christmas, no matter what you are going through, don’t let the enemy steal what’s rightfully yours. Jesus’ love is for you. It’s for all of us to celebrate and experience. And the joy that comes from that is yours too.

Merry Christmas! I’ll be praying that this holiday season brings you hope, love, and ultimately joy.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:9

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Romans 11:29

Through the Difficulties

How do you often react when life suddenly gets stressful? This might help you put things into perspective.

I’m not sure if anyone will read this, since it’s rather an odd time to be posting. But I just had to share what God did for me today and what God has shown me.

I am a pretty hesitant driver…I was in a car accident about a year and a half ago, and I had a lot I had to go through in order to get back behind the wheel. Being in the car is not my favorite thing, let alone driving one. However, it’s a must, especially since I have a job that’s about twenty five minutes away from my home. Anyway, I’ve had some issues figuring out my headlights lately. It’s really dark when I drive home, so if they aren’t working properly, then no one can see me.

Well, I thought I had finally figured them out, and I was happily driving home from work today, relatively comfortable behind the wheel as I listened to my favorite Christmas tunes. I had this weird feeling several times earlier today to pray for safety, yet that didn’t really influence how I was feeling about driving.

I was almost to my house and at a stop light when a car pulled up next to me and started honking at me. I quickly rolled down my window since he was gesturing for me to do that and the guy in the car informed me that my headlights weren’t turned on and he had almost hit my car.

That was so embarrassing. I was humiliated, especially since I am pretty easily embarrassed. I quickly thanked him and turned the switch to a higher brightness. I hadn’t realized that they were only on in the front.

After getting over my humiliation, I realized that God not only saved my life, or at least prevented me from an accident, just today. I had been turning my headlights on like that for a while now, which means they may not have actually been working in the back that whole time.

I think the enemy was trying to use my embarrassment to distract me from thanking God for His goodness and mercy. Not only that, but today’s events have once again shown me that God still has a plan for me and that He wants to still use me, that’s why He protected me. That’s also why I had that feeling earlier that I should pray for protection, which shows God answers prayers.

While feelings of disappointment, embarrassment, or annoyance are certainly valid, I think the enemy manipulates them so that we forget about all that God has done for us. I’ll admit that I spent too much time being embarrassed and upset over the situation that I didn’t stop to fully appreciate all that God was trying to show me through my experience today.

I know that God has a plan for you. Looking back on this past year, I am so grateful I didn’t give up on so many different things, including on myself. It’s really hard, I know it is, to keep going. But you can do it, I believe in you. God is going to take care of you. Be patient and trust that whatever you’re going through right now, God’s right there beside you. And perhaps if you had a scary or difficult thing happen recently, take a look at how God may be moving through that. God certainly works in mysterious ways.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, sea re my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Leaving the Past Behind Us

Do you have trouble letting go? Here is some encouragement.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten so much out of the “Luke Challenge” this year. If you haven’t heard of it, basically the goal is to read one chapter of Luke every day starting from December 1st until Christmas Eve, since there are 24 chapters in Luke. The point is to celebrate Jesus and learn more about His time on Earth. Jesus has a different message for each of us this year, and it’s important to spend time reflecting on His legacy and on what He’s taught us in 2020.

Anyway, I have felt very convicted multiple times during this challenge, and I’m only through chapter 9! But last night’s in particular stuck out to me. I’ll share the passage below. It’s titled in some translations “The Cost of Following Jesus”.

As they were traveling across the road someone said to Him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” Then He said to another, “Follow me.”

“Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”

But he told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to those at my house.”

But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:57-62

Ok, first of all, let’s just take a pause for a moment and really let those words soak in.

Wow.

I will be the first to admit that I am horrible at letting go. Letting go of what, you might ask? Literally everything. People, possessions, dreams– even when I know something else is better for me. There are so many points made in this chapter, but I’m going to focus on the point Jesus makes about being willing to let go in order to follow Him.

When I first read this passage, I thought, “Wow, Jesus, you’re sure being harsh on them for not even letting them say goodbye to their families or even bury their loved ones.” But the more I thought about it, I think the point Jesus is trying to make is different than just our surface level assumptions.

Jesus is not necessarily (I’m not going to speak on His behalf of course) saying that you have to suddenly ditch everyone and be irresponsible. In fact, God is described as being faithful several times in the Bible, and we should be faithful as well. He is also not trying to tell us to not love others enough to even say goodbye or to not honor the dead.

Personally, I believe that Jesus is trying to emphasize that while we should love others and be loyal, nothing can come between Him and us. When we agree to follow Jesus, we change completely. We are a whole new person with a whole new life. And when we get so focused on our past lifestyle, then we can’t truly move forward with doing what Jesus commands us to do. We can’t have it both ways; we have to pick either our old way of living or follow Jesus and love Him with our entire heart.

I know how challenging it can be to let go of something, especially if we thought at one point that it was meant for us. But we can’t let our dreams, possessions, or even others come in between us and God. We simply cannot truly live for God with one foot in our old life and one foot in the new. It just doesn’t work like that, no matter how much we want it to.

Today, I challenge you to take a step back and reflect on the areas of your life where you may be living as your old self instead of your new self. Stop dwelling on the past, whether it’s mistakes you made long ago or dreams that didn’t come true for you. You are a whole new person now, and those chains do not have to hold you down any longer. Is there anything in your life coming between you and Jesus? A relationship? A job? A habit you simply can’t break?

This is one of the hardest things we can do– letting go. Not only that, but admitting we’ve done wrong in the first place can be difficult too. But it’s so important. Neglecting our need for growth is one of the biggest things that separates us from God.

I’ll be taking this challenge with you and checking in later to see where we’re at. For now, I pray that you can grow closer to God through this season.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24