Such as, keeping my room clean. Or blogging. Or, even writing anything at all. I barely see any of my friends anymore. School has taken over, and so has God.
If I thought that God had wrecked me before... well. That was just the beginning. These past few weeks alone have been ridiculous. Although Wicked really has nothing to do with my life right now, "Something has changed within me; something is not the same." But it's true. I went from listening to my some 4,000 secular songs to listening almost exclusively to worship music. (With a side of Mumford & Sons... ) Instead of reading buckets of fiction I've picked up Desiring God and Eternity in their Hearts - but most importantly, the Bible. This one, to be exact.
My brother gave it to me for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. Although NKJV is my favorite translation, NASB is a very close second. I find that the NASB maintains the regality of the original text while putting it in language that is understandable for the modern person. And the Life Application Study Bible especially begs for one to dive into it, and highlight and underline and scribble notes inside of it. It begs to be cherished in that way.
I've found that reading the Bible consistently changes one's perspective. Although I've dramatically changed within the past year, just these past few weeks have brought forth even more change and transformation of heart. Of course, I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I am still too far from Jesus.
I've also found that when you and your perspective change in a godly way, Satan doesn't like it. (Who would have thought, right?) And what does the Destroyer do to things he doesn't like? Well, ...he tries to destroy them. He tries to steal our hope, kill our vision, and destroy our faith. In my life, when he's tried to do this, it's usually come through the discouragement of people.
Just the other day at church, I had several people chastise me. When I voiced my desire for deeper Bible study at my church's youth group, one person told me that I was immature for not getting enough out of the messages as they are. (Um, doesn't the fact that I want to go deeper into God denote maturity instead of immaturity?) When I gave my prayer request for an upcoming mission trip I want to go on, another adult literally tried to talk me out of wanting to do any foreign missions!
But then, instead of getting angry... I realized something crucial. It comes out of James chapter 1 verse 2:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.
James 1:2 is one of those staple verses that people tell us whenever we're going through something rough, and they tend to say it in this "holier-than-thou" tone (though not always). I don't know how many times I've simply passed over this verse because I was tired of people telling it to me. (Like Jeremiah 29:11. A great verse, but I would appreciate not hearing it 10,000 times a day.) I've come to the conclusion that James 1:2 is a verse that you have to read to yourself. And when you do, then it's priceless.
I realized that the fact that I was enduring these numerous trials at church was because I was doing something right. If you look at the New Testament, the authors talk multiple times about enduring trials. And every time it is implied that these trials spring from us as Christians doing God's will, and Satan doesn't like it. So he tries to make our lives miserable. Well ha-ha, Satan, nice try. I'm going to consider it all joy.
And one other thought to keep you encouraged (to be read in the context of, you're seeking God and doing His will):
When the world tells you that you are doing something wrong, it means you're doing everything right.
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