I'm starting this new blog because I really want to share what God is doing in my life again. Not that I'm anything special or that anything I'm doing is all that special but maybe God will be able to use me to bring a message to people through this. To serve the Lord you must be open and willing to do whatever he wants you to do and I just felt that this was something I needed to do again...
Recently, I was struggling a lot. The devil was really trying to wear me down and he was using every trick in the book to do it. For example bringing up old sins that I've committed in my life and telling me that I am not good enough because of them. Tempting me with new sin that I could tack on to what I've already done. And it's sad but true, he was really clouding my mind and making me think that I was not good enough for anything from God. He was succeeding in the battle over my life. I prayed extremely hard, and talked with my parents and I just couldn't see a way that things were going to get better. It was getting me into a very depressed state, though I hid it from people pretty well I think. I finally had to get away and think about things, I felt that going out to my cousins house in the country was going to be a good place to do that. Away from many of the things that were irritating me, getting me down, and tempting me, I just felt that this was the right thing to do. I went out there and right from the start I began to feel better, I began to forget the struggles I had been facing. I got to go sit out in the woods three different times this weekend hunting and that was really beneficial to me. I never killed anything but for me to be alone with my thoughts and prayers and fresh air was wonderful. But the biggest blessing of the weekend came Sunday morning when the pastor at my cousins church delivered a message that I knew was God speaking through him to me.
He went over the first part of the story of Samson in the book of Judges. Samson's birth and Samson's marriage. You see Samson was set apart from birth. God told his parents that he was to be a Nazarite, which long story short meant that he was going to honor God in everything that he did (not perfect, don't get a Nazarite confused with Jesus) but there was a certain code that he had to follow as a Nazarite and it was a very tough life but a very God honoring life. But Samson, like every man that has walked this earth had his flaws. He got selfish. He got a bit big headed and pretty much thought he could have whatever he wanted. And he saw this girl one day in town who was a Philistine and he wanted her. Long story short, he got her and she cheated on him.
Now I don't say all of that to just leave you there and hope you can make sense of it. My point is to show that we cannot become selfish. We live in a world where we can drive 4 minutes to a Walmart and buy whatever we want. We live in an age where information is at the click of a button. We live in a time where many people believe that statement, "Whatever makes YOU happy." This statement is killing our country. What we should be saying is, "Whatever makes God happy." I'm not downing Walmart or the internet, those are huge blessings in our lives but what I am trying to point out is that we have become caught up in wanting more and more. God has huge purposes in every one of our lives if we would just seek Him and His truth He would show us what they are. Many people are afraid to ask God what He wants them to do with their lives because they are afraid that He will answer.
There was more to this sermon which I did not put down. But this is the part that I am really challenging myself on, to not be selfish. To not always want what "I" want and expect to get it. I am trying to put on the full armor of God so that I can resist the devil and he will flee from me. And this is my challenge to you, become less selfish and find God's purpose for your life. He has one, and don't let the devil bring you to the conclusion that you don't have a purpose and that you are not worthy. Fight the devil at every step and know that God is with you everywhere you go. God bless.
