Hello again!
It has been a while since I have posted because I haven't felt very inspired lately, and to be blunt have been going through a bit of a tough time with my walk. Ever since the Liberty fiasco happened, things have been a little weird between me and God, and I realize I brought this on myself, but that didn't make it any less real for me. I think it is important to be honest with where you are on your walk, and to let God know. Of course He already knows, but there is something liberating about being open and honest with Him when you are having an issue. Communication is key to any relationship, whether it is with a friend, your spouse, or even the Lord. Once you get your issue out there, you can begin to work through it and that's when the healing can begin.
I believe that going through a bit of a slump is normal, and I know I'm not the only one this has happened to. Further, I know it will happen to me again in the future. The fact of the matter is it is tough to be a Christian in this world, and we're even told this in the Bible. "... in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -John 16:33 Sometimes we fall and stumble, but to me the important part is getting back up. I could speculate about the reasons why, whether is was my pride needing to be broken, my reliance needing to be placed back on God, or a million other things. That to me is just a piece of the puzzle, and while it is important to try and trace your steps to see how you got there, it shouldn't steal your focus away from your walk. I trip most days while I'm walking around, but I do not let it stop me from getting where I'm going. The same should be true with my walk with the Lord.
God started helping me back up a couple weeks ago in my men's Connect group through our church. It is an awesome group of guys, and even when I'm not the one who asks the questions all the time, I tend to get answers and hear the things I need to hear. As I've said before, God talks to us in so many ways, we just have to be open to it! The following week got better after I got more open with Him, and did an examination of my heart. A self inventory so to speak. Last Thursday I was at the gym running, and You Can't Take Away by Mikeschair came on my iPod. This pumped me up more than I could have expected, and hit me with goosebumps all over my body. The lyrics to this song are absolutely true! You can't take away my God! I'm not pointing fingers at my readers or anything like that, but although my faith can be shaken, my God can not! This is awesome, and brought me back home so to speak.
Another song helped me climb out of the hole too, You Invite Me In by Meridith Andrews. "You invite me in, doesn't matter where I've been, your arms are open wide, there's nothing left to hide." This is a great song, and just shows how great God's love is for us. Thanks to Jesus, no matter what we do, as long as we're in Christ, we're good and right with God! We're never out of reach, even when we start putting up walls in our own way.
As always, thanks for reading, and God bless!
