Lessons Learned

Hey guys! I'm new at this whole blogging thing, so it may take awhile for me to get use to it. A good friend of mine recommended that I start a blog to help me sort through some of my thoughts and feelings. Lately it seems like everything that could go wrong, has. Now, I am starting to see how a lot of it is helping me come closer to God, and I believe that in the end the lessons learned are worth the pain that you have to go through to get there.

Recently, I have found the book of Hebrews very helpful with some of the things I am going through...

If you'll take a look at Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." When I think about this it amazes me. Whether people are professed Christians or not, when they are going through a rough time they come to the Bible for comfort. All you have to do is scroll through your live feed on Facebook and look at the status updates. How many of them have a Bible verse in them? When I am having a bad day, I try to find a verse pertaining to how I am feeling and read it. I feel so much better, and relieved about whats going on in my life, and it is all thanks to God. It is so cool to see the different ways God teaches me.

Now if you will look at Hebrews Chapter 12 with me. Verses 1 and 2: "1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Since I was a runner in high school, the end of verse 1 has always caught my attention, but until these last couple of weeks it didn't completely make sense to me. The word ensnares means "to entrap, or entangle" and thats exactly what our sin does to us. It traps us, but if we surrender all our problems to him, then we have nothing left behind to tangle us up! I don't know how much you guys know about running, but in Cross Country one of the most important aspect is endurance. To make it through a 3.1 mile race, at a decent time, one has to know how to pace their self and also how hard to push it at what point in the race. This is true with our own lives too! Life is our "race," and God is the only one who knows exactly what is going to happen to you. It takes a lot of patience to just wait around to see what God has in store for you, trust me I know, but in the end it will all be worth it. Endurance is so important because you don't want to get burnt out during the first part of your life. You have so many things to look forward to, don't put all your energy into one part of your life. Split it up so that you still have the strength to finish your race.

I could say so much more about these verses, but for now I'm going to leave you with this. I hope you find this scripture as useful as I have. If you have any questions please feel free to ask! Have a great day! :)