The Will of God

Hello my lovely people!! I come to you today with my head ducked in shame....it has been two months since I've written to my blog. Honestly, I've had no motivation or inspiration. Well, my inspiration came a week ago, and my motivation hit me just now.

The topic I present to you isss.....*drum roll* "THE WILL OF GOD!"

We (my dad, brother and I) attended a church camp in Albion, IN last week. I must admit, that camp is the cream of the crop! Amazing move of God and PHENOMENAL preaching! Bro. Keith Smith from Charlotte, NC preached Monday night about evangelism, and I have to tell you, God confirmed to me the reason I decided to attend public school, and it also stirred up a HUGE desire for evangelism, which is the reason I'm attending public school. All of the morning services were taught by Bro. Kevin Archer, and his thought for the week was on the Will of God. He taught four different aspects of the will of God, and I'll tell you them in a minute.

The second night, Tuesday night, there was no preaching. The children's choir sing and the Holy Ghost fell in the room! Little children everywhere had their hands raised with tears streaming down their faces, seeking the Holy Ghost. Wednesday night Bro. Bow preached "The Great Escape" and talked about breaking chains that hold you. He read where the Lord gave "some deliverance" to the children of Israel. He was talking about the man (I can't remember....it had "boam" at the end) that was in partial freedom for 17 years. He talked about how some deliverance allows you to worship and feel the Holy Ghost on Sunday night, but Monday morning you're chained down again. It was a really good message and there was a LOT accomplished that night!! Then Thursday night Bro. Bow preached about Two Women. He talked about awakening dreams that have died in your life. Again, WONDERFUL preaching! Friday night, no preaching again.

So Tuesday morning, Bro. Archer preached "What is the will of God." He talked about how misused the phrase "will of God" is, and how people just throw it around. It's hard to summarize an entire message, but his main point was "The will of God is what your pastor preaches." If your pastor preaches that you don't wear the color brown (never heard of that, but it's just an example) then the will of God for you is to not wear the color brown. If your dating standard is 18, (a relevant thing in my life there) than the will of God is that you do not date until you're 18. That message really helped me! Then Wednesday morning he preached about embracing the will of God. A lot of people feel like if you're in the will of God than you're going to be miserable and everything you hold dear will be taken away from you. That's not what the will of God is. He wants to make you happy, and He will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give you what is best for you. The will of God is something to love and embrace. You embrace things that you hold dear to you. You embrace something you love :) The will of God is something to LOVE! The will of God, or the plan of God for you life should make you happy! I tmakes me absolutely THRILLED knowing that God has a plan for my life, and if I'm sensitive to Him and stay in His plan, I will be as happy as is possible for my life. And that if I follow His will, I will have the best of everything in life! It is such an amazing feeling to submit and embrace. I don't want to have to try to figure out what I'm going to do in my life....GOD has it all in control! I don't have to worry about if I'm going to get married, because God knows, and HE has the perfect, let me say it again, THE PERFECT man for me! I don't want the responsibility of planning my life or trying to find my own mate. ~When God sends you your spouse, he/she will walk up beside you, take your hand, and you'll keep walking together~ Bro. Kevin Archer

I really cannot describe to you how much that one message changed my life. No, the will of God might not be the easiest option at the moment, but in the long run you will have a LOT less pain than if you followed your own will, and God will make you happier than you could EVER make yourself. For the first time in my life, I had to make a conscious choice to follow the will of God. I've never come face-to-face with a decision of whether or not I'll follow God or do my own thing. And I'll be completely transparent, it wasn't an easy choice for me. I had to sacrifice my own self-will on the altar....I DID have to give up my will, cry, ask God to help me, ask Him to give me strength...I DID have to tell him, "Lord I don't particularly WANT to do this, but nevertheless, Thy will not mine." Already, God has shown to me that He will bless me for it. I can't explain to you what it feels like to know I'm listening and obeying.

In the past 3 weeks, I have felt pain like never before in my life. I've hurt more than I thought possible, I've cried more than I have in years, and I've been more lonely than I've ever thought I would be. BUT, I know that God is there for me....although we can't see Him, He is there. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He cares about us more than our best friends did. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how God knows what we need, and when we need it. I VERY MUCH needed the messages about God's will at Camp. And then, Sunday night, my uncle Tim was talking after altar call and the one thing he said was "You don't have to be lonely." Even now, seeing that just makes me weep. I'm so thankful to know that God is always there for us. When friends we thought would be close to us forever turn away, when we lose ppl we thought we'd have for the rest of our lives, and when circumstances happen and we are separated from those we hold dear, GOD is there, and HE will never go away. He won't turn His back on us, He won't ever ever ever be separated from us. God is SO good! :)

~My life is not my own, to You I belong. I give myself away~