Hallelujah! God is Good!

Our God is a God of wonders, miracles, creator of the universe, builder of the mountains, and yet finds the time to love me and sees importance in my miniscule unimportant life! I am so in awe of my God right now. I've been praying about a question in my life for a while now, something that I haven't been able to let go of for a long time, and tonight through a couple avenues He answered my prayers. I had been begging for clarity, I was so confused, completely turned on end, and begging Him to be blunt with me. He's just smacked me over the head with His goodness, His wonder, and His truth. 

Let me just say that there is nothing better in this world, or anywhere, than the love of Christ. He quenches all thirsts, makes any anguish disappear, and gives a peace that passes all understanding. I have been in agony over one of my relationships, trying to figure out God's will for it, and have been torn between my wants and what I have thought God had for me. How foolish am I to think that my ideas could even start to compare with His plans? There is a part of me that longs for immediacy, I want what I want, and I want it now, and part of me would settle for less just to be appeased for the moment. But what I've realized is that God's plan is immensely better, bigger, and completely perfect, while mine is utter folly. What may appear to me to be an appropriate solution in my mind is a waste of the plan that God has for me. That's like me saying that I really appreciate the effort that Jesus put forward in his death and resurrection, but I'll find my own way to salvation. His plan is ALWAYS better!

It's like when I told God that I would go anywhere but Rochester for ministry; He knew where He wanted me, where I would end up, and had a plan to get me back here. I went my own way, and frankly, made a mess of the last 5 months. So what now? Now it's time to stop trying to live by my own power. I know that I can do nothing on my own, only by the power of Christ can I do any small thing, let alone something huge.  

1 Samuel says that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" and 2 Timothy says to "fan into flames the gift of God, which is in you". God's Spirit lives in those who follow Him. It's not something that we have to get back, it's not something that we can lose. We fail, habitually, and God knew that we would! He knows that we aren't perfect, He knew before we were each born how we would screw up, and He made a way for us to be with Him eternally, even though He knew our hearts. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, we have the Spirit of God, the power of God, living in us! How amazing is that? Paul writes to Timothy that he only needs to fan it into flames. It's there, burning, it just needs something to catch on, something to stoke it. If we would be willing to become alight of the Spirit, He would burn eagerly within us and use us to do His will in the world.

God is doing amazing things here. I will update more next week, but know that He is really moving in Rochacha. There are 200 students registered for this weekend's Fall Retreat!!! So please pray for safe travels, and great times this weekend, that God would really show up and lives would be changed.