Well hello there everyone! Long time no talk, eh?
Honestly, I've been avoiding writing anything because I've really been going through it. I've been allowing my feeling to dictate my actions towards God. I haven't felt like writing. Though I've read my bible, I've barely spent any time with God over the past few weeks. I can feel myself drifting away from God and Him constantly pulling on my heart to get my attention. Then I began thinking, "why write? No one really pays attention to this stuff anyways. No one really cares."
A week ago I saw "1 Peter 5:2" pop into my head. Not the actual passage but the word and numbers. Since I was not familiar with the passage I took out my bible and read it. It says:
"Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve" After reading it, I shrugged my shoulders and said "okaaayyy??" It seemed slightly irrelevant to what I am currently going through and how I'm feeling (I'll get into that in another blog). So I dismissed it.
Fast forward to a week later as I am trying to write this blog. I was writing on something else when the Lord showed me the 1 Peter 5:2 again. I reminded Him that verse was irrelevant to my life. As I was struggling to write what I wanted to write, and the Lord kept pressing the verse on my heart, I decided to obey the Lord and take another look at that verse. That is when it hit me! I am not, nor am I ever, writing this blog for selfish gain, accolades, or recognition! I am writing this blog out of obedience for The Father.
There are times we get stuck in a rut and wonder why or if we should continue on with something. We feed into our negative feelings and emotions and use them as excuses to why we should cease what God has told us. We become discouraged when we don't see immediate responses or when people don't respond with how we feel they should. When we do not see the responses we are looking for, we start thinking God didn't tell us to do this. Then we begin to question God because things didn't turn out how we wanted. This is what we have to remember: our riches will not always be seen on this earth. Our greatest reward will be a "...crown of glory that will never fade away..." (vs. 4). What we do is not for our own gain but for the glory of the Lord. We do what we have to do not because it is what the Father requires of His children. Our Father wants to use us to show His love and shine His light on this dark world. He wants us to be an example to other people to keep striving when life get's tough or when you want to give up. Though it may not feel like anyone is watching or paying attention to us, there is ALWAYS someone watching, God. Don't let the devil trick you into thinking that because you don't have 1,000 followers 100,000 views, then you what you're doing is worthless and a waste of time. Remember, Jesus went through the most gruesome death with the knowledge that not everyone would believe in Him, worship Him or spend eternity with Him.
I believe I may make this a series and continue adding to this. When I keep breaking down 1 Peter 5, it is such a powerful chapter and relevant to everyone's life! So be on the look out for part 2, 3, 4 (maybe... I see how the spirit leads me! lol) I pray you all have a great week! Don't give up. God has a plan and purpose for you life. It may be difficult to see it now but it will all make sense one day.
I will talk to you later! If anyone needs prayer, let me know!!
K. BYEEEEE!
~Meghan A. Harper