There will
come a time in life when we need to step up and be a leader, and there will be
other times when we need to follow. I wasn’t designed to live this life
following other people, but I often do just that. It starts in Elementary
school when we learn what types of music we should listen to, what clothes we
need to wear and how we should think and feel. As an adult, I’m fully aware of
how I should dress, talk, think, work, play etc. Humans live in
communities, which means our lives will always be influenced by how other
people live. This isn’t necessarily all bad, but we need to understand what
makes us unique so we don’t end up living exactly like our friends or co-workers
just because that’s what’s expected of us.
I watched a
video last Christmas from when I was two years old. I can’t believe how eye-opening
it was to watch that video as an adult. I looked at this little girl in the
video who clearly wasn’t comfortable in big crowds but who flourished when she
got to spend time with her own family. That little girl is me, and guess how I
have treated her? Over the years I have forced myself to spend a lot of time in
crowded environments, although my whole being prefers calm and quiet. I have
tried to live the way I’m expected to live based on all the current ideals my
culture holds dear, but many of those ideals don’t fit me. I have thought to
myself: “I should be more like this, and
less like that.”
The truth is
this: God didn’t make a mistake when he created me, I am who he made me to be.
I need to stop trying to fit the culture around me and start being myself. I will
always have areas where I need to develop self-control, strength and character,
but I don’t need to change who I am. My lack of self-control is a problem, my personality is not. When it comes to
the relationship between me and other people I need to learn to be a leader and
stop being a follower. It doesn’t matter what other people think I should do, I
need to be the leader in my own life
and stop following other people’s opinions.
My relationship
with God is the complete opposite to my relationship with other people. I tend
to bow to other people’s opinions when I should take on the responsibility of being
the leader in my own life. When it comes to my relationship with God I need to
learn o be a follower, but I tend to
leave God out of all the important decisions I make. A few years ago, I was
still “a baby-Christian” and I honestly used to think that it was unnecessary
to read the Bible every week and pray to God before making any big decisions. Fast forward a few years later and
it has become crystal clear to me why I need to seek God’s counsel. I could
have spared myself from a lot of unnecessary pain and complications if I had taken
the time to seek God’s counsel before making my big decisions. Nowadays I try
to practice asking God for what I should do before I make big decisions. It’s fascinating
how well things work out when I include God in the decision-making process,
even when it looks like things won’t work out God literally shows up to move mountains
so that things work out after all.
I’m a
perfectionist and a control-freak so to let
God lead in my life hasn’t been an easy transition, mainly because it’s all
about letting go and learning to trust
God. The great news is that the more I have learned to depend on God and trust
Him the less worried I have become. I used to be very worried about many things
a few years ago, today I’m hardly ever worried. Every time I feel worries
starting to creep in I pray to God and ask him to intervene in whatever
circumstance I’m worried about. When I know that God has it all in His hands I
can let go.
Fear is
another thing that wants to creep in and hinder us from depending on God and
trusting Him. My greatest weapons against fear is prayer and worship. When I’m
afraid I pray to God and ask him to bless me with His peace and joy, because I
badly need it. If I’m very afraid I turn to worship next and sing a few worship
songs to God. As I worship God I can feel the fear lifting off me and peace
comes over me. When I’m worshipping God, I’m giving Him control of my situation
and at the same time I’m reminding myself of his love for me, his strength and
his power. Here’s three of my favorite worship songs that I like to sing to God
when I’m afraid:
“You Never
Let Go” by Bryan&Katie Torwalt
“Call Upon The
Lord” by Elevation Worship
“The War” by
Leeland
Why does God
want me to be a follower? It’s not because he’s a control-freak or some strict
military sergeant. The Bible describes God as “our Heavenly Father”. God wants
me to follow him because he loves me
and wants what’s best for me. God will not always call me to do things that are
fun or easy, but He knows what I need. One year God might ask me to forgive
someone when all I want to do is
stay bitter. God might ask me to give up some comfort in my life to be able to
help someone else. Over the years God has asked me to do both things I just
mentioned and countless other things that I did not feel like doing. Sometimes what God is calling me to do will be
fun and exciting, other times it will be the last thing I want to do. Did you
want to do all the things your loving parents told you to do growing up?
Probably not. Are you grateful today that your loving parents taught you many
great lessons that developed good character in you? Yes. Following God will not
always be easy, but God knows exactly what he is doing, He always has our best interest
at heart.
Today I can
look back at the last 15 years of my life and see how God used many difficult
situations to form me, teach me and grow good character in me. I made some bad
mistakes along the way that caused me (and others) pain, but now I know better.
The more I learn to follow God and His
plan for my life the more joy, peace, meaning and contentment I get to
experience in my life every year. Every year I think to myself: “Life doesn’t get better than this” and
then it does! The following year I get to experience even more peace, meaning and joy. God truly is the giver of good gifts,
when you think life can’t get any better he surprises you with even more
blessings!
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