“His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inability is an insult to the Creator. The deploring of our own incompetence is a slander against God for having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining in the sight of God the things that sound humble before men, and you will be amazed at how staggeringly impertinent they are. “Oh, I shouldn’t like to say I am sanctified; I’m not a saint.” Say that before God; and it means - “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are chances I have not had; so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble before men, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Again, the things that sound humble before God may sound the opposite before men. To say Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified is in the sight of God the acme of humility, it means you have so completely abandoned yourself to God that you know He is true. Never bother your head as to whether what you say sounds humble before men or not, but always be humble before God, and let Him be all in all.
There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfil His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
~Oswald Chambers (from My Utmost for His Highest, Nov 30)
Love be still
Love be sweet
Don’t you dare
Change a thing
I want to photograph you with my mind
To feel how I feel now all the time
Say that you’ll stay
Forever this way
Forever and forever
That we’ll never have to change
Don’t move
Don’t breathe
Don’t change
Don’t leave
And promise me
Say you’ll stay
We’ll stay
This way..
I am my own worst enemy..
I remember gr 12 was a really difficult year (spiritually and emotionally). I struggled with “voices” that told me I was smart enough or good enough. (I’ve never “heard” the voices, but sometimes my thoughts were so loud it was like I could almost hear them.) I was frustrated because it all seemed hopeless - no matter how hard I tried, I would still fall short my own expectations. I know now, that I probably had/have crazy high and unreasonable expectations.. Anyways, it got to the point where I thought really negative things about myself…I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was facing spiritual battles. Satan was trying to tell me stuff like “if you don’t make it into Mac Health Sci then you’ll be a failure to your parents, yourself and you’ll be shamed… What? If you can’t do well on this math problem, how can you expect to do well in university?” I remember crying DURING a calculus test because I couldn’t stop telling myself “you’re so stupid…why don’t you understand? you can’t do anything right…”
It’s sometimes really hard for me to NOT be negative. It takes all my willpower to stop those thoughts before they “consume” me. What’s more, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for yourself…pitying yourself. But thinking negatively about myself and the situation will do no one (especially myself) any good. In a way, my stubborness to lean on God and ask him for help is a bit like saying “God, I can’t do this (whatever the difficult task is) and I don’t believe you can either”.
I still struggle with thoughts that I know aren’t glorifying to God…At times like these, I have to stop listening to depressing music (Linkin’ Park, Fort Minor etc)…and I have to hang on to truth…”Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things” (Phil 4:8)
There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less.
The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved-loved for ourselves or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.~victor hugo
True love causes pain. Jesus, in order to give us the proof of his love, died on the cross. A mother, in order to give birth to her baby, has to suffer. If you really love one another, you will not be able to avoid making sacrifices. ~Mother Teresa
