I cannot believe it's finally here, the year 18. I
remember dreaming of this day. Mainly because it was the day that my parents
said I could get my own dog. But you all know they caved and I have two sweet
fur babies. Besides the point life has flown by. I'm ending my high school
career, starting nursing school, and trying to be an adult...some days are
easier than others. But over these 18 years you could say I've been through
some storms. But through it all God has taught me some things that have been
life changing. So I though I would share eighteen little encouragements that He
has shared with me.
1.You only need His love
You don't need
satisfaction of others. You don't need to please others to find love. Find your
true love in Him and your heart will be satisfied.
2.Dont have
expectations for people who don't know Jesus
Having expectations for
people who don't need Jesus is like putting your trust into a lifeguard that
doesn't know how to swim. The more you don't have expectations for people that
don't know Jesus, the less you get offended and it becomes easier to forgive
the ones who have hurt you.
3.He loves you at your darkest times
When
you are all alone. When you feel like you can't go on. When you feel like you
have done nothing right. He still loves you. No Matter What.
4.Come to Him
as you are
You don't have to clean yourself to come to him. He welcomes you
with open arms no matter what you have done. He loves you and wants you to turn
to Him no matter what you are going through.
5.If He brings you to it He
will bring you through it
If you are called by Him to do it, He will do
everything to make it happen.
6.He knows what's best for you
Sometimes
trials hurt. But God knows what you need to go through. Sometimes it hurts but
in the end you will come out stronger and your relationship with Jesus will
grow
7.He's going to shut doors
If you are trying to pursue something
that is not His will, He is going to shut doors to make it not happen. Yes, you
might be confused on why it is happening. But in the long run it will all make
sense.
8.He is going to take people out of your life
God knows who
you need in your life. He is going to eliminate the people that are not good
for you. People who make it easy to fall into sin. But be careful. He may bring
these people back for a season of life. He may be testing you to see if you are
going to trust Him.
9.Cling to the King
When things don't go your
way. When you are feeling down and out. Cling to Him. Run to Him. Vent to Him.
He loves to hear you
10.Jesus loves you more than anyone else not really
but kind of
Jesus has the same amount of love for each and every one of
us. We each are His favorite and we are children of the One True King
11.His
plans are better than yours
Remember He has our whole life planned out
before we are placed in our mothers’ womb. Every day is numbered. Don't try to
control every bit of your life. If things don't go as planned. Know that
everything is in His timing, and His plan is better than our own.
12.He
strives to have a relationship with you
I've used this analogy before. But
man I feel it is so relatable, so here it is again...Your body craves nutrition
and exercise but it is not going to shout and tell you that you need to do it.
You have a choice to take care of your body. He is not going to push you or
keep reminding you to turn and follow Him. He simply is always going to be
there, and when you chose to change He will be with you every step of the way.
He craves your attention but sadly our world craves different things. Just like
our body craves nutrition and exercise our God craves for a relationship with
us.
Exercise and proper nutrition
benefit our body if we take the time to pursue it.
And Christ will benefit our life if we just
give Him our attention.
13.We fail Him daily but His love for us never
fails
We fail to meet expectations every day. We sin on the daily. We
fail. But God will never turn from you. He welcomes you back with open arms
every day. Nothing is too big for our God to handle
14.He is with you
every step of the way
When you feel alone and feel like no one is on your
side know that God is with you in every situation. Cheering you on. Wanting the
best for you.
15.Lean of Him for your firm foundation
He is your
rock. If you lean on worldly things in life when the waters get rough you will
sink. But if you lean on Him, a firm foundation, you will stand strong in the
midst of the storm.
16.When you fall He will catch you
I'm going to
tell you now that you are going to fall. There are days where everything is
going to feel like it is going wrong. But know that God is right under you
always ready to catch you if you are willing to lean on Him and cling to the
King.
17.Sin is only satisfying for a season
Sin may feel good. But
eventually it won't anymore. Everyone has a hole in your heart that is
specifically designed for Jesus. When we don't fill it with Jesus and we try to
fill it with things of the world we will never be satisfied.
18.Your
suffering will come to an end
It may seem never-ending.
But eventually this season of pain that you
are in is going to end. And in the end you are going to look back and be
thankful for the situation because all of the pain that you went through didn't
break you but you had many breakthroughs
