I woke up this morning, receiving a word from God, although I was not exactly sure what it was, I knew where He was going with it. “Just keep moving” and I knew He meant spiritually, not physically.
When I dedicated my life to Christ, I dedicated my life to loving people. I have always been a people pleaser, and so when I realized that following Christ no longer mean pleasing people, but pleasing God it seemed like a hard pill to swallow.
2 Corinthians “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”
It has been hard these past 4 years, distancing myself from friends, but God has moved so much in my life, He has shown me His faithfulness, that it is hard not to want more of Him. The time I spend at church and in worship, is worth it. You are always going to have past friendships who do not understand. They will laugh at you, make jokes to you, I even have some people who try to justify their acts, through bible verses or something they have heard someone say online, but you can only read your bible with your own eye, talk to God and HE will tell you what is right and what is wrong. Every time I have done something wrong, it is as if my faith has taken a step backwards. God is letting me know, “getting colder, dummy” and when I feel convicted about something, I know He is telling me to push past that. When I know I am doing right, God starts showing up. He starts using me, He fills my heart with love and truth and it is undeniable.
I will no longer let my friendships dictate my relationship with God. If they do not like it, are not comfortable with it that is OK. God says to love people, but you can love them from a distance.
Proverbs 19:20 “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.”
I have found new friendships based on our mutual love of God. Our passion for worship. Our passion for doing His works and spreading His good word. I feel secure and spiritually fed with these people; these are the people I want surrounding me. The Iron to my Iron. Following Christ is not easy. People ridicule you. You are accused of being terrible, being in a cult, being brain washed, etc… However, when you have truly opened your heart, you know the love of God is irreplaceable and once you know that feeling, you do not want to feel any other way.
So “just keeping moving” is God telling me I am headed in the exact direction I need to be going in. That I can love friends from far away, surround myself with people who keep me on the path to righteousness. The ones who will correct me in love and in truth, even if I do not want to hear it. Who will always guide me when I am lost back to Him. Because we all get lost. We will all lose our way at some point in our lives. Surround yourself with those friends. God never meant for us to do life alone and he brought me to Hope Point Church knowing the people and friends I would encounter. I trust that He has brought me exactly where I need to be in my life. I will love all of my friends dearly, but I will surround myself with imperfect people, who have hearts for Jesus and always want to be better.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Rich Beauty 