God's Working

Dear Friends,

I wish that you were all here so that I could constantly tell you what's going on in my life. God has been teaching me so much that it's hard to even begin to explain.
Right now there are two major things that He has been constantly bringing up. I tend to be a bit stubborn...so I have found myself doing a lot of wrestling with God...and losing.

The first thing is that I need to be intentional about my faith. I cannot sit back and expect God to work through my life. Although I am learning a ton through the classes I'm taking, the books I'm reading, the papers I'm writing, the speeches I'm giving, and the profs I'm listening too, I still have to get in the Word ever single day for myself. I need to spend time in prayer. I need to seek God--not simply ask Him to make life convenient. Some of you may think this sounds obvious--and it does. However, actually putting this into practice is hard your first semester. I'm taking 17 credits, I'm nearly 2000 miles from home, I'm surrounded by people to befriend, and I still need to find a job. It's been a challenge to get up early and intentionally spend personal time with my Savior--however, I can already see the difference it's making!

The second thing God has been working on with me is the idea that God is my only Audience. I am not doing ANYTHING to please the world or anyone in the world. My only goal is to please God. I don't need to try and prove myself to my friends or roommates. I need to serve God alone-there is no other option. If I jump in and serve God with absolutely everything, I do not have to worry what anyone will think. Christ was loved the people He was around--but His ultimate goal was to please His Father. This is an idea that I have yet to fully understand. However I know it is incredibly important. In Galatians 1:10 Paul says that if he were trying to please man he wouldn't even be a servant of Christ. I am so often concerned about what people think and I need to change that. Later in Galatians, Paul says that if I walk in the Spirit then I won't fulfill  my fleshly desires--it's really a great passage. It goes on to say that the desires of my flesh oppose the desires of the Spirit, "to keep you from doing the things I want to do"(Gal 5:16-17).

If you're thinking "wow--that's a lot" imagine how I feel! God is seriously molding my life--and it's fantastic!
Please don't stop praying for me!

In Christ,
Hannah