2013: A Year of Learning?

"Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks." ~ Issac Watts

I know I haven't written in awhile, but deep down I am not a writer. I write when I feel there is something to write about, or I want to remember. 2012 will be remembered as a year of change, however, I look forward to what lies ahead of me in 2013.  I want to remember the learning and to write down what learning I have done so far this year.

Through reading the bible more and attending small group, discussing different topics with friends, I come to find that I am learning or hearing from God. There were many months last year that I just didn't exactly feel connected with God. I'm not sure if it was because I was distracted with all that happened in 2012 or if I purposefully disregarded the fact that I needed God more than ever. I realized I needed to get back to Him.
The past few months have been good, but they were hard. Don't get me wrong, my life is good. There has been a lot of great experiences and many more to come. Yet, getting married, moving to a new area and being away from the comforts of college was a difficult transition for me. It still is. I still have moments that I feel lonely and cut off from the workings of school that I had adapted to for 4 years. Although, the people I have met at small group has helped, it just takes me some time to adjust to a new area.

Lately it seems that things are starting to connect for me. Not just because the songs on Pandora seem to make sense for my situations, but because the Bible is almost relevant. I have been reading through the Bible chronologically and I have made it to the book of Joshua. That means I can now say I have fully read Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, some of the most dreaded books of the Bible to read. They are all Old Testament and ways of the old covenant, but it shows me a whole new side to what Jesus did. I am not that far into Joshua, but something God told him seems to reverberate in my mind. I haven't kept count how many times that God has said this so far, but it's by far important if he keeps repeating it. God tells him to be strong and be courageous. Those 5 words have had more impact for me lately than most things I've read. I can't imagine how it would of been for Joshua to hear that and how he could only be encouraged from that every time. It seems I can relate to Joshua a tiny bit. He was the new appointed leader of the Israelites and he was in charge of leading them into the land promised to them in Egypt, the one flowing with milk and honey. Now I'm not a leader of thousands of people in any way, but I can feel for him when going into a new land. A land that is promised, but not necessarily an easy task. The one thing that Joshua has, as do I and you too, is that even as daunting as the new land or any new situation you are going into, the Lord is with you. He is leading you the way he sees fit. He will lead us to greatness, handing us those problem areas to us in his time, just like that of the people who lived in the land that were given to the Israelites. This information has given me new hope and more determination to not fall into the trap of worry, which I frequent more than I would like to admit. God has been reassuring me that i need to be strong and courageous and even to not be afraid nor discouraged. I think there are so many things that make us discouraged. If it seems to be a lack of an answer or an answer we don't want to hear, we become scared and worried if it will happen. We have to stand strong in our faith that the Lord has our best interest in mind. He is simply telling us to wait. And in our waiting we are not get discouraged because we don't see results. We should look to him and be happy that God doesn't want bad things for us. In that we can be strong and courageous.


"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."~Joshua 1:9