Skip to main content

The secret to a full life

I used to think that doing God's will, or doing the "right thing", always involved making sacrifices, dying to myself, and ultimately--having no fun.

For the first three years after accepting Christ, I felt restrained and limited in what I could/could not do and found little joy and freedom in following Christ. A lot of these misconceptions I had were results of me living in darkness and being dishonest/fake/a complete fluke with God. But slowly as I came into the light and admitted to how I genuinely felt, the transformation and renewing of my mind began.


In the Bible, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). AKA Jesus came so that I may experience life to the full. The best life I could ever imagine. The life I've always wanted.


I always knew this truth in my head but couldn't confidently testify to it personally until very recently. Often times when I thought about what I am pouring out my energy and time into right now as a college graduate, I could not help but wonder if this was really the best life I could be living. Working in Detroit? Living in Ann Arbor? Having a lifegroup co-leader as the most frequently contacted/involved guy in my life? CMON LET'S BE REAL. Still, by head knowledge I believed that doing God's will right now was the best life I could be living.

When it came to this past Memorial Day weekend, part of me wondered again if spending the extended weekend with a group of undergrads would really be better than venturing off to a thriving city or just kicking back with my peers. But God assured me of the promise that doing His will was really the BEST life I could be living. This weekend I had a mindblowingly AWESOME time with the girls God has been miraculously(!) growing my heart towards.

I don't normally post photos like this in my blog (and this is where I humbly admit having a tumblr or posterous would be much more appropriate).. But these photos remind me of God's promise that a life pursuing after Christ is THE secret to a happy and full life.
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:11-13

Roaming around a furniture store = definitely something you can only do during all-girls lifegroups

"OMG this is the best... food.. I've ever tasted in my LIFE!" hahah tania, my new lcg, being a cutie as usual. i am learning from her on how to be cute. haha

Absolutely gorgeous day at the dunes!

Pastor Jean puhahahahaha


My silly co's spelling out GPS in the shadows.. puhahahah

God THANK YOU for using this weekend to remind me that your intention is not to harm me, but to have me prosper and thrive in this life, fully enjoying every day you've given me, and being thankful always. YOU ARE SO GOOD!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Delirious

delirious (adj): marked by uncontrollable excitement or emotion; ecstatic; filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy (1 peter 1:8); me I don't think I had a personal relationship with God until 2 weeks ago. There have been a lot of formative moments and experiences in the past 6 years of me considering the existence of a higher-being, 3 yrs of being a Christian, 1 year of living by faith, 6 months of serving on church leadership, 1 month of dire circumstances, each of which have been challenged and supported by specific instances in my life.* But it's only been 2 weeks of finding pure joy, satisfaction, and freedom in Christ (alone). Though it's been 6 years since I first stepped into a church building and 3 years since I accepted Christ, I was always afraid to admit that I didn't know what grace, freedom, repentance, or Jesus meant--in terms other than the ones I had heard or read--it was always a theory and never a reality in my own life. After years of doing chur
5 comments
Read more

And just when you least expect it..

Today I went down to the food court with another intern and as I opened my box of sushi, I hesitated. Feeling as if there were too many eyes on me (I only ate with one other person -_-), I questioned whether I should pray before my meal, in fear of social rejection. After I prayed, she asked me if I was a Christian, and I awkwardly responded that I was. Then she said, "Finally! What a relief to know that there are other Christians!" WHAT THE.. I couldn't believe it. Here I was, sitting with a co-worker that I had simply exchanged cordial greetings with, now talking about God haha. Even though I was scared and honestly did NOT want to pray, God used a habitual thing like that to open up opportunities for me to invite her to small group and share my faith. Crazy how He works when you least expect it.
5 comments
Read more

Honesty

If you're my friend, teammate, lifegroup member (or you have any context with me at all), I've probably hurt you. I've probably hurt you in the way I approached you, made you into an agenda, or seemed disinterested in our friendship at times when we weren't being "purposeful". I probably gave you the idea that I didn't value our time together unless we were doing something "productive"--and in all honesty, you were right--you read right through me, and knew exactly what I was thinking. Ever since experiencing God (personally) for the first time three weeks ago, I've seen how my skewed relationship with God has affected so many other parts of my life. Before, I saw having a relationship with God as a list of tasks--in my warped point of view and biases of being an already-too-task-minded person, if I wanted to know God, I needed to read the Bible, persevere in prayer, get involved in biblical community, and serve the church. If I did all these
2 comments
Read more