Has God been doing some new things in your life? Whether we’re starting a new job, starting a new relationship (courtship, marriage, etc), or taking on a new role within a ministry; It’s important that we embrace what God is doing in our lives, and continue to seek Him. “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19. Today’s blog entry deals with starting something new.
Before I go any further I would like to have you think back to when you were first starting high school (Yup, that good ol’ Freshman year…lol). The experience may have varied depending on the type of school you went to. For example, some people may have gone to a school that had Kindergarten through 12 grade in the same building (or some may have went to high school that had 7th-12th grade in the same building). And if that’s the case, your experience may have been a little different than what I’m about to describe, but there are probably still some things you’ll be able to relate to.
As a freshman, it didn’t take me long to realize that high school was definitely different from middle school/jr. high. For starters, many of the students from the other grades were a lot bigger than our class. It’s one of those things that could really sink in when you’re walking the hall ways and looking at the upperclassmen. As a freshman in high school we also started with a clean slate as far as grades were concerned. Grades were important prior to high school, but the difference now is that my grades would be on my permanent record and would be looked at by the colleges I applied to in the future. So anyhow, long story short, I ended up learning a lot and growing during high school, and eventually went to college. During the transition from middle school to high school, it was important for me to make the proper adjustments so that I could continue to progress. Much of what I did in high school would have an impact on my life beyond my high school years.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – Philippians 4:8
When God allows us to start something new in our lives, it’s important that we continue to remain obedient, and maintain a positive attitude. For instance, if God blesses us with a new job, we should be thankful and give the very best effort that we can on that job. We shouldn’t complain about how bad our old job was. Bringing in baggage from a past (negative) employment experience, can actually hinder your progress on the new job. Likewise it’s important that people do not bring negative pre conceived notions about the opposite gender into a new relationship. If you have been hurt by the opposite sex in the past, do not assume that everyone in that gender will do the same thing. Remember if the relationship is truly from God, you should be willing to embrace it without thinking the worst (and if it’s not from God, you may want to examine why you’re even in the relationship in the first place).
This isn’t to say that things will always go perfect on the new job, or during the courtship, but rather that we should give our best effort and start things with a clean slate. We should learn from mistakes that we’ve made in the past (and negative experiences that have happened to us), but we should not be bound by them. If we’re facing a task that seems too difficult to handle, we should rely upon the Lord, and remain faithful regardless of how we feel. That may mean that we spend even more time (over and above the normal time we spend) praying and reading the Bible, in order to get a better understanding of what we should be doing.
In last week’s blog I dealt with wisdom, and I think it’s very important that we seek God for wisdom to recognize when God is doing something new in our lives. Sometimes when God is on the brink of allowing something new to happen in our lives, we may encounter a counterfeit that could distract from the real thing if we’re not careful. So as we live our lives, let us embrace the new things God is doing, and remain obedient to Him.
“And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.” - 2 John 1:6
Before I go any further I would like to have you think back to when you were first starting high school (Yup, that good ol’ Freshman year…lol). The experience may have varied depending on the type of school you went to. For example, some people may have gone to a school that had Kindergarten through 12 grade in the same building (or some may have went to high school that had 7th-12th grade in the same building). And if that’s the case, your experience may have been a little different than what I’m about to describe, but there are probably still some things you’ll be able to relate to.
As a freshman, it didn’t take me long to realize that high school was definitely different from middle school/jr. high. For starters, many of the students from the other grades were a lot bigger than our class. It’s one of those things that could really sink in when you’re walking the hall ways and looking at the upperclassmen. As a freshman in high school we also started with a clean slate as far as grades were concerned. Grades were important prior to high school, but the difference now is that my grades would be on my permanent record and would be looked at by the colleges I applied to in the future. So anyhow, long story short, I ended up learning a lot and growing during high school, and eventually went to college. During the transition from middle school to high school, it was important for me to make the proper adjustments so that I could continue to progress. Much of what I did in high school would have an impact on my life beyond my high school years.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – Philippians 4:8
When God allows us to start something new in our lives, it’s important that we continue to remain obedient, and maintain a positive attitude. For instance, if God blesses us with a new job, we should be thankful and give the very best effort that we can on that job. We shouldn’t complain about how bad our old job was. Bringing in baggage from a past (negative) employment experience, can actually hinder your progress on the new job. Likewise it’s important that people do not bring negative pre conceived notions about the opposite gender into a new relationship. If you have been hurt by the opposite sex in the past, do not assume that everyone in that gender will do the same thing. Remember if the relationship is truly from God, you should be willing to embrace it without thinking the worst (and if it’s not from God, you may want to examine why you’re even in the relationship in the first place).
This isn’t to say that things will always go perfect on the new job, or during the courtship, but rather that we should give our best effort and start things with a clean slate. We should learn from mistakes that we’ve made in the past (and negative experiences that have happened to us), but we should not be bound by them. If we’re facing a task that seems too difficult to handle, we should rely upon the Lord, and remain faithful regardless of how we feel. That may mean that we spend even more time (over and above the normal time we spend) praying and reading the Bible, in order to get a better understanding of what we should be doing.
In last week’s blog I dealt with wisdom, and I think it’s very important that we seek God for wisdom to recognize when God is doing something new in our lives. Sometimes when God is on the brink of allowing something new to happen in our lives, we may encounter a counterfeit that could distract from the real thing if we’re not careful. So as we live our lives, let us embrace the new things God is doing, and remain obedient to Him.
“And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.” - 2 John 1:6