So, I realize this is a little late, but better late than never, right? Every year, I make a New Year's resolution, like so many others. And, like so many others, I fail at them. This year, I decided not to make a resolution.
The past few weeks, and especially this past weekend at the snow trip, I've been told by quite a few poeple about K-LOVE's challenge of picking one word and focusing on that word all year long. Now, these aren't just random people; some are people I've looked up to for awhile and have been making an impact on me for a long time. Others are lifelong friends, and still others are people I just met and have already served as a huge witness and impact to me.
Each of these people have different words, which mean something different to them: faith, hope, dependent, and sovereign ( or soveREIGN). It was really difficult for me to choose only one word, as all of those are incredible and could apply to me. As i thought about it, one word kept popping into mind, and that's the word I chose to focus on all year: unwavering.
When I look back through all the hard times in my life, no matter what I went through, God's always been there for me. Always faithful, ever true, unchanging. Going through those times, I felt alone and that God had abandoned me, but in hindsight I realize I was the one who abandoned Him, He never left my side.
I hear stories all the time of people being persecuted for their faith, yet they didn't back down, they didn't denounce their faith, they did not waver. I've been told by quite a few people that they look up to me like a role model. I'm nowhere near perfect, and I'm sure not unwavering in my faith, and I feel that God's been pushing me to depend on Him more, and not try to do everything on my own, but to rely on Him in everything. In order for me to feel worthy of being a role model, I need to have a more solid foundation in my faith and a more solid relationship with Christ. Sure, I pray every day, or try to, but reading my Bible has never been a frequent thing for me. I realize that if I'm ever to truly become unwavering in my faith, I need to first grow closer with the One I'm trying to represent.
To me, unwavering means several things: to never give up, never back down, never lose faith. Though I am guaranteed to go through tough times and trials, I can't just give up or begin to doubt God or feel like I'm alone. I need to be unwavering through the good and bad. I need to praise Him when times are good, and praise Him when times are bad. I can't pick and choose when I want to thank God. I want to be a representation, a mirror image, of Christ, in all that I do, and to do that I need to be solid in my faith, a rock. When people look at me, I don't want them to see a man with a doubting heart or shaky foundation, I want them to see a true refelction of God, never changing, always solid, never doubting.
For all those reasons and so many more, my word of the year, which I will live by, focus on, and strive to represent, is unwavering. My God is unwavering: He never left my side, even when I turned my back on Him. He is always there for me, He never changes, and that's how I want to be. Never changing, always solid, being that rock that people can depend on and look at and realize that I'm serious about my relationship with Christ. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:13, which says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I've always loved this verse, and its' gotten me through so many tough times, and it always calms me down whenever I'm stressed out, and teaches me to not worry about the small stuff, or anything. God's got my back, and there's nothing I can't do with Him in my life, and I need to realize that. Realize that God is unwavering.
The past few weeks, and especially this past weekend at the snow trip, I've been told by quite a few poeple about K-LOVE's challenge of picking one word and focusing on that word all year long. Now, these aren't just random people; some are people I've looked up to for awhile and have been making an impact on me for a long time. Others are lifelong friends, and still others are people I just met and have already served as a huge witness and impact to me.
Each of these people have different words, which mean something different to them: faith, hope, dependent, and sovereign ( or soveREIGN). It was really difficult for me to choose only one word, as all of those are incredible and could apply to me. As i thought about it, one word kept popping into mind, and that's the word I chose to focus on all year: unwavering.
When I look back through all the hard times in my life, no matter what I went through, God's always been there for me. Always faithful, ever true, unchanging. Going through those times, I felt alone and that God had abandoned me, but in hindsight I realize I was the one who abandoned Him, He never left my side.
I hear stories all the time of people being persecuted for their faith, yet they didn't back down, they didn't denounce their faith, they did not waver. I've been told by quite a few people that they look up to me like a role model. I'm nowhere near perfect, and I'm sure not unwavering in my faith, and I feel that God's been pushing me to depend on Him more, and not try to do everything on my own, but to rely on Him in everything. In order for me to feel worthy of being a role model, I need to have a more solid foundation in my faith and a more solid relationship with Christ. Sure, I pray every day, or try to, but reading my Bible has never been a frequent thing for me. I realize that if I'm ever to truly become unwavering in my faith, I need to first grow closer with the One I'm trying to represent.
To me, unwavering means several things: to never give up, never back down, never lose faith. Though I am guaranteed to go through tough times and trials, I can't just give up or begin to doubt God or feel like I'm alone. I need to be unwavering through the good and bad. I need to praise Him when times are good, and praise Him when times are bad. I can't pick and choose when I want to thank God. I want to be a representation, a mirror image, of Christ, in all that I do, and to do that I need to be solid in my faith, a rock. When people look at me, I don't want them to see a man with a doubting heart or shaky foundation, I want them to see a true refelction of God, never changing, always solid, never doubting.
For all those reasons and so many more, my word of the year, which I will live by, focus on, and strive to represent, is unwavering. My God is unwavering: He never left my side, even when I turned my back on Him. He is always there for me, He never changes, and that's how I want to be. Never changing, always solid, being that rock that people can depend on and look at and realize that I'm serious about my relationship with Christ. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:13, which says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I've always loved this verse, and its' gotten me through so many tough times, and it always calms me down whenever I'm stressed out, and teaches me to not worry about the small stuff, or anything. God's got my back, and there's nothing I can't do with Him in my life, and I need to realize that. Realize that God is unwavering.
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