Day 23

It is pretty ironic and somewhat weak-minded for me to read something one night and then not apply the warning to my life the next day. Today I slipped up but in no way did I take a step back from where I am heading. I think of it more as a warning that my work is not done as I grow in God. If I feel that I am complacent where I am at right now, I will fall back and be at ground zero again. Fortifying the structure and solidifying my stance is the only way that I am going to be able continue on.  Another thing is that my heart has to be 100% in it, there is no well I want to run from this temptation but I am not going to put forth my best effort. When I put forth my best effort, I am able to overcome; but when I think that I can just say that I do not want to give in, it is simply not enough and I fall more times than not. Think about that.

Today I read Romans 9:18-27 and meditated on it so that I could take it in and apply it instead of feeling sorry for myself. I am not going to go through the whole passage but I am going to highlight the key points that I feel are the most important for me to apply. Verse 18 states, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope, that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. " What I gather from this is that when I sin, I get frustrated not only with myself but with the sin itself and my job is to grow in God and find out how to eliminate that foothold that Satan has in my life. By becoming frustrated with sin, I should strive to grow and one day, God's glory will be revealed through me. Many Biblical people had to suffer and overcome sin before God's glory was revealed through them. David committed adultery but God still used him, Saul/Paul persecuted Christians and he later went on to write a good portion of the New Testament, and Sampson had to learn from his mistakes with Delilah. Though we make mistakes and we sin, we have the hope of Christ and his return and when he comes back, we will know that His glory reigns supreme and there will be no more suffering or frustration.

Verses 26-28 state, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we out to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the minds of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." As we stand strong in the Spirit, we will be guided and will have the strength to overcome everything that comes against us. I know that an area that I need to grow in is living in the Spirit because as the verse says, I need the Spirit to intercede for me and to work through me and in me.

In closing, do not feel like a failure when you make a mistake or sin. This is how Satan wants you too feel because he wants you to feel like you are not good enough. Sure you are going to be frustrated, but let that build you up and increase your commitment to Christ. Learn from mistakes so that they do not become habits and when you are confronted with the same temptation again, ask God and the Holy Spirit to guide you and run away from that temptation. God is waiting to reveal His glory through you, continue to seek his love and plan for your life and direct you as much as you let him.

I am still praying for all who read this and hope that some of you take me up on the offer to discuss some of these posts. Hope you all have a great afternoon, and God bless.

Joseph Robinson

Day 22

I would say that this week has been amazing to say the least. Elections have passed, I finally started to search for Baseball schools again, and best of all, I made a new friend who has encouraged me in the short time i have known them because they share my beliefs. I have definitely hit some rough times but God has helped me through and I am thankful for that. I have enjoyed spending time in the word and showing people what God is doing in my life and I hope that you have enjoyed reading. 

Today I was thinking just what does it mean to be strong in the Lord and to stand firm in the Gospel. Not only does it mean building a strong relationship with him and spreading my faith but it also means protecting myself from everything that is evil. Of course the easy answer is to put on the Armor of God, but exactly why would I do such a thing? If God is already for me then why do I need to put on all this extra equipment? The answer comes from Ephesians 6:10-13. It states, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." 

What I have not understood about what these verses mean and what it means to put on the full armor of God has led me to destruction and almost pulled me away from God. It is one thing to be saved and trying to live for God and then the next level is to seek God and prepare for the attacks of Satan. Adam and Eve sinned based on the choices they made but they were tempted by something not from this world. They were not fully aware of the consequences of their actions and they did not know how to defend against Satan.  This is where we know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, there are other forces out there that try to tear us down. Sure we act on our own sometimes without much persuasion but that is because we are already being manipulated by the devil. There were times when I would get on the internet and knew what I was doing wrong but it was almost as if my mind was not fully there. I was in a trance so to speak and it was almost like my conscious was irrelevant. Putting on the full armor of God means being in the word and praying everyday while letting the Holy Spirit come in and take control of your life. In the John 1, chapter 4, we are also told to test the spirits and make sure that they are from God because there are many out there. Now the Holy Spirit is one and there are no other spirits like it, but we need to make sure that we are getting the truth and not being led astray. Being able to discern what is good is part of putting on the armor and is a part of growing in God and being close to him. 

I know that I have struggled with this in the past and I feel that God is telling me that it is time to strengthen the walls. I need to do this so that when I am being attacked for my beliefs by those I know as well as those I do not know, I will be able to stand strong and fight back in the proper way. Instead of attacking them we should be sharing with them what is true and staying on a level that is above theirs. Then when Satan comes to get us, we should be able to stand strong and show him that we have been tested and will continue to pass his tests by the grace of God and because we have the One, true God on our side. 

A little side note, I had a friend who was verbally attacked on election day for her beliefs and for voting for McCain. She was mature and stood strong in the Lord instead of stooping to her attacker's level. Being able to do this shows inner strength and shows that patience comes from God and works through us as long as we remain faithful. Continue to stand strong in the Lord and in his mighty power and people will be able to notice that there is something different about you and God will be well pleased.

Phone line is still open, and it is the weekend so I have tons of time. The number again is (480)292-1754. Feel free to text or call me anytime to discuss or just talk about anything. Have a great night!

Joseph Robinson

Day 21

Well, as many of you know. I am currently at Kansas State and I believe that this is where God has led m, but some good news has come to me since the last time I wrote you. Many of you are unaware that I am looking to transfer universities to play Baseball as long as it does not compromise my education and an opportunity has possibly opened up for me. Point Loma Nazerene University's head baseball coach is interested in having me workout for him over Christmas break and so I am going to see what their school has to offer as well as whether or not I will have an opportunity to play there. Please keep praying for me regarding this matter. I am still seeking God's guidance and am staying humble knowing that God can take this away from me if I get too arrogant.

Today, I am in Proverbs chapter 13 verses 1-10. The book of Proverbs is pretty much a book of advice that is in the Bible if you will. It instructs you by comparing the pros and cons of certain topics among other things and also heeds many warnings. I think in some ways I have failed my readers as well as myself because I feel that some of the days I was more focused on what I wanted others to hear rather than what I needed to hear. I am going to try and stick to me and then address how it applies to all of us at the end.

Verses 1-3 state, "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke. From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a craving for violence. He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." Most of the time I have a hard time listening to what God wants for me and I tend to just ignore it. It applies the same when I feel that i do not agree with my father when he tells me something. Sometimes I will scoff at what he his saying and then in the end it comes back to hurt me. Listening to what God has for me is definitely something I struggle with and feel that it is an area I could grow. I do not know how many times I say something that is selfish or something to hurt a person and it just escalates the situation but when I speak kind words and lift people up, I tend to feel better. I think God is telling me that I need to watch what I say and make sure that I am always building others up (Ephesians 4:29). 

Verses 4-6 state, "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. I have found that when I am lazy or I am not seeking God, things tend to get worse and I do not see much in the way of blessings. However when I am seeking God and following his plan for me, i am able to do so much more and he is able to work for me and in me. I have seen that when I was addicted, all I was doing was bringing shame to myself and disgrace to my family and parents. They stayed away from that and hated it, but I was caught in sin and would not walk away.  Now that I have found that I have overcome the power of the devil, I am saved by faith through grace and have righteousness. 

Verses 7-10 state, "One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. A man's riches may ransom his life; but a poor man hears no threat. the light of the righteous shines brightly; but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. The first two verses about being rich or poor have a much deeper meaning than just referring to money. I believe that God is telling us that we can feel as though we have everything but still be empty because we are living without him. I have been in that position and I pretty much felt like I was living a lie. Now that I have given myself up to him, I have been learning that it does not take much to please God, I JUST HAVE TO TAKE ACTION AND DO IT. Life may be easy and I could have everything in the world but I am risking my eternity without God, every time I think about falling into sin, I need to remember what I am here living for and what my goal is. If I have Jesus than I can be assured that whether I am alive or dead, I will still be with him for eternity. Paul states in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I believe that he is reiterating the fact that being poor means that man hears no threat. Regarding the light and the lamp, people will be able to see that we are living for God based on our actions and our execution of our Faith and God will guide us. It is no longer good enough and has never been good enough to be just cruising through life and being a Christian when I feel like it. The lamp unto my path will be extinguished if I walk away from God and I will be lost just as I was before. In regards to Pride, I have let myself get arrogant from time to time and it only leads to destruction for me and I get brought back down to normalcy but when I follow God's guidance and listen to the instruction of those around me, I am able to do more than I could have ever imagined.

I am really struggling with managing my time and doing this devotion when i feel that I have to get it done sometimes. I am going to make a conscious effort to get this done when I am bored instead of putting it off until I feel like it needs to be done. I should not have let it get to this point but I have recognized it and I know that it is not just enough to do it everyday. I need to do it because I WANT to grow, as should everyone. Please pray for me regarding this matter and continue to pray for our country.

As always my phone is always open for discussion, my number is (480)292-1754 and the comment box is still open so please do not feel intimidated to post. I want people to discuss and grow from it. I hope that you are taking this stuff to heart and not JUST reading it because I think that you can get something out of it as well. Hope everyone has a great night.

Joseph Robinson

Day 20

So today has been rather eventful. Waking up with a new president elect is always a little different. However this was not why my day was eventful. Sure I had class and was busy but that really just was not it either. Today I found that Satan is trying to tear me down in other ways than just sin. He knows he is losing the battle for my soul and he is starting to try and distract me from my work for God's glory. I could not seem to get a quiet moment tonight to do my devotional, something was always making a noise or someone would walk into my room. He was trying to make me fail. Instead, I entered into prayer and asked God to speak to me so that I could share what he is doing in my life because that is really what this blog is all about. I still feel that we need to step out and start making changes in this nation and I do not mean political ones.

Isaiah 40:1-2 says "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." I tend to have a hard time remembering that even though I have been through some tough times and have ignored God, those times were my hard service and Jesus' death on the cross has paid for those sins. When I asked God to forgive me, my sins were forgotten and I am able to move on as a new person. In the same way, I need to encourage others who fall and let them know that God is merciful and they should have peace now that they have accepted God and asked for forgiveness.

Isaiah 40:3-5 states, "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for out God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind will see it. For the the mouth of the Lord has spoken.' " My job as a Christian is to do exactly this, to prepare the way for Christ's return. People need to be educated and need to be ready for when He comes again. I must also be watchful though and not lose sight of the Lord in my quest to make a path for him. What I mean by that is that I need to make sure that while I am helping others come to Christ and grow, I must not become complacent or forget about helping myself grow. Evangelizing and being a missionary towards all people needs to become a priority in my life, not just towards those I feel comfortable with talking to. All mankind needs to see the glory of the Lord and it begins with me and other like me.

Verses 6-9 proclaim, "A voice says 'cry out.' and I said, 'what shall I cry?' 'All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows  on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of our God stands forever. You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up high on a mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; Say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!'  My take on this passage is that my job is to show the people that without God, they will fall and die forever. But with God, they will live forever. Sounds easy enough but how many times do we think that everyone already knows that? And they choose to live the way they do. It's time for me to stop being so afraid of speaking up because I do not like talking face to face with people who do not know the Lord. It is time to show people who God really is and take the word into the streets. People need to see who God is before they can accept what he did for them.

We say say that it is just dumb voters who voted in Barack Obama but are we the ones truly to blame? Who says that we could not go out and change America for Christ and they would have a better insight to abortion, religion, and what it really means to fight for your country. If we want change in this nation, it starts with Christ. I do not care what people say about Separation of church and state, because if we had enough people on the side of the church, separation of church and state would not be an issue! I know God is just and has a plan so I am not worried  about what will happen from here on out because of the decisions already made. I am a Christian and if the end is near, I am already on board. The question is, who will I take with me? and who will be left behind?

Continue to seek God and his plan for your life. If you just recently started reading this, I encourage you to go back to Day 1 and catch up. I have come a long way and have learned a lot, I think you might learn a little as well. Keep praying and as always, my phone is always on and the comment section of the pages are free to discuss. I will not judge you or fight with you, I think discussion is essential to growth in Christ and that we can all learn from it.

Have a good night and God bless!

Joseph Robinson

Day 19

Well, today is Election Day and whether we like it or not, we are going to have a new president. We might not agree with all the views of the elected candidate but we still live in a country that has been blessed by God and we need to continue to pray for guidance for our leaders. We may believe that our country is headed for horrible times in the next few months and years until we finally get someone in office who will be perfect for the job. The problem is that we cannot get a “perfect” president because every person in America will not agree 100% with one candidate or another. I’m not here to talk about politics though, this is just a little intro to what I have in store.

I felt that God was leading me to a book near the back of the Old Testament today. I had no idea what book or what concept I was looking for and then I came upon Habakkuk.  Chapter 1 is a great example of how we live our lives most of the time and how some of us are looking at this election. Habakkuk is almost literally wrestling with God over what is going on around him. He says, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” I do not know how many times I ask God why I keep going back to that one sin that I keep committing or why that person has to push me away when I try to reach out to them. Why did one of your faithful servants get called home before I got to see them one last time? Why did that person get put in charge of me when all they do is degrade me or they do not listen to me? Why does this person treat me poorly when I have done them no injustice? Why is everyone out to get me? It is easy for me to complain when things do not go my way or when I do not understand why God does not make things easier for me. I tend to complain about a lot of stuff and I still really do not understand why God made this last year go the way it has. I worked so hard to be able to go to college and play Baseball and it seemed like he did not even care about that because I did not even get a real opportunity. At first I did not even understand why I was at my first high school and questioned why I would get placed in such a bad situation when I could have gone to school in California IF we had just stayed there. Complaining is much easier that giving glory to God and thanking him for what he has given us and the work he is doing in our lives.

God’s response to Habakkuk was, “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” God then goes on to explain how he is raising up the Babylonians to sweep across the land and take out some of those who are evildoers. The scripture is not very clear on what they will do, but from what I can gather from the context, this seems like the explanation God is giving. Basically what this means for me is that even though I do not fully understand what is going on, in time, God will execute his plan for my life and clear up what I believe is a mess although in his eyes it is just careful planning. Trusting in him and believing that there is a way out and he does listen, it just takes time for the execution of the plan. Once again, patience comes into play. If everything were as easy as just asking for things to be taken care of, there would be no faith involved in being a servant and loving God. I must remember that even when I feel like God is not there and I cannot believe how something so horrible could happen, he is really right there and comforting me because he said he would never leave us or forsake us.  Therefore, it is imperative to accept what God has for my life and understand that things will get better after the storm, it just takes getting used to going through the tough times.

That being said, no matter who wins the Presidential Election, and no matter how bad we think our president is, we must remember that God is taking care of things. We might not see how he is working but he is looking at the big picture while we only look at how things affect us directly. We must pray that his love and mercy is poured out on those who stand on the principles in which OUR great nation was founded on. Those who refuse to say that it is okay to take God out of our nation, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, instead of going with the crowd. I believe that every generation in this world has had this concept of waiting for the end of the storm. Israel dealt with it while wandering in the desert; the Jews and the rest of the world survived Hitler and WWII though there were many casualties, God intervened and made sure those who were evil were punished; Women have seen civil rights for themselves rise up from nothing; racism is not completely gone but God has helped empower people to fight back and limit it. There are many examples that could be used but the point is that sometimes it takes time for us to understand how God’s plan is going to be revealed through what is going on.  We must embrace who ever becomes president whether we agree with them or not, the only way we can make change work is by trying to help those who are lost and do not see things the way we do. My last reference to God’s plan would be in the future, how could God let the tribulation happen? Satan ruling the world and so many people being subjected to such horrors, the persecution and killing of Christians as well as people having to carry the mark or die? The answer is that hen comes the return and the triumph of OUR LORD the ONE TRUE GOD. The banishment of Satan to hell forever as well as freedom pain for those who chose to follow. The truth is that we know things are going to get worse before they get better so we must prepare and stand strong as things begin to get tough. God lets bad things happen because he is sovereign and he shows us that after the storm will come great rewards and treasures. We just need to trust him and seek him instead of complaining to him about how bad things have become.

I love each and every one of you who reads this; God has great things in store for us. Continue to seek him everyday and if you are not a Christian but want to know more or are ready to give your life to Christ, contact me and I will discuss what it means and walk you through it. I will also get you in touch with someone who can help you further. Feel free to call me anytime or comment on here. Hope that everyone who could vote did vote. Have a wonderful day.

 

Joseph Robinson

Day 18

So today I had no idea where God was going to lead me in my study time with him. I prayed that he would guide me to what I needed to hear but I could not I guess I was just distracting myself by listening to my Christian music too loud. As I finally settled in, I came across Colossians and a big side note in my Bible titled "Letting People See Changes In Your Life."  Seeing this sparked a conversation I had with my roommate who brought up the fact that I had been a little quiet lately and keeping to myself. I responded to him by saying that I was just making some changes right now and I was dealing with a lot inside of me that was causing this change in attitude. People are beginning to notice that I am not who I was when I showed up here. I have tried to slow things down and just really become who I am. I have known who I am but it is nice to finally become that person. I believe God is happy that I decided that and he probably said, "I'm glad you are ready to be you Joseph, because we have an awful lot of work to do" (This comment is actually taken from Rob Bell which he made this statement concerning Abraham in one of the videos from his "Nooma" series). 

Anyway, the text is taken from Colossians chapter 3:5-17. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming." I believe this is a warning about the end times though it is not directly in Revelation but it refers to the coming of Christ and how these things will continue to get worse as the end nears, therefore we should rid ourselves of them before that time comes so that we are not deceived and drawn back in. At the same time it is referring to the fact that since we are now made alive in Christ after receiving him, we need to rid ourselves of these because they are not acceptable. Verse 7 picks up saying, "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of such things as these: anger, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." The reason my roommate found that I have been so quiet is that I am trying to prevent myself from saying things out of anger, being crude, or tearing a person down with a smart/offensive comment.  I have found that it is better to say nothing at all than to escalate the situation or to respond in the same manner. I am not perfect at this however and I know when I slip up and make a mistake but I try to correct in when possible.  I think that quite a bit of what we say comes in quick reaction to things that happen around us and it is hard to control what comes out sometimes or we just do not think about what we are saying and the consequences of our statement. Verse 9 goes on to say, "do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge and image of its Creator." The transformation that is made when you commit to God fully should be noticeable by others. It is not about being praised for being different or getting a pat on the back for living for God, it is about doing what you have been commanded to do by God and knowing that you are being a good servant.

A little shift to what I should be doing instead of what I should not be doing. Starting with verse 12, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together." These verses state exactly what I have been trying to do since I began this journey about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Trying to build others up, forgiving those who have hurt me, being kind, gentle, compassionate, and being patient, all these have been struggles for me in the past. I am not a very patient person and sometimes I do what I can so that I can get under people's skin because I would enjoy being impatient and in the end making someone else feel dumb when I could have just been understanding, patient, and kind. I have always been a caring person but not always the most gentle or kind when it came to voicing my opinion about what was going on in other people's lives. If I have done this to anyone who is reading this, I am deeply sorry and I will do my best to keep it from happening again. Verse 15 begins, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in the word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." I must say that I have been at peace since I began opening up to the Lord. I have had so much provided to me and I cannot thank God enough for what he has done, He has blessed greatly.

I will say this, someone seeing the change in me definitely lifted my spirit. It showed me that things are changing and a new era in my life has begun. Making changes and letting people see those changes should be a number one priority. Take off the old self and put on the new self. Take a leap of faith and see what God can do for you. The side note in my Bible that caught my attention said, "Have your friends or family members noticed any changes in you since you became a Christian? If so, what changes have they specifically mentioned? How does that make you feel? If no one has ever mentioned anything to you... perhaps it should bother you a little. God isn't interested in simply saving us; he wants to change our lives from the inside out."

I keep saying this, but change starts with us and our generation.  Change is the theme of the election this year, and what better time than this for the Christian church to start changing lives as well as the next generation. It all begins with our hearts and who we decide to show the love of God to. Keep praying and seeking guidance on who you can reach out to and change. For those who are not Christians, take to heart what I am saying and consider taking a chance. Keep reading what I am posting and if you do not have a bible, consider getting one. I will still buy one for you if you would like.

I am praying for my blog everyday and that correlates to me praying for everyone who is reading this, so I am praying for all of you who read this and hope that you are touched by it. My phone and the comments are still open if you would ever like to just talk or discuss the something about my blog, the Bible, or just life in general. Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Joseph Robinson

Day 17

I am not exactly sure why, but I feel kind of sick right now. My stomach is just churning. It might be from the heat or it might be that Satan is trying to pull me down from where I am at. Anyway, I have been thinking quite a bit about girls this week and I feel that God is speaking to me through people and through my own actions. When I say I have been thinking about girls, I mean relationships and how I perceive my female friends. This has not really been a huge struggle for me because I have only had one legitimate girlfriend and that was a tough situation for both of us and I believe it was too rushed. More on this later though...

Well, today church was amazing and I enjoyed learning about finances and how it applies to marriage as well as to an individual who is just trying to get by. Every time I look at the cross on my desk (see day 7) I go back to Jeremiah 29:11-13. It simply states, " 'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. YOu will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.' " This has more meaning than "oh God has a plan for my life, that is great, I have heard that a million times." God wants us to be patient and wait for his plan to take affect. We cannot expect immediate action and we cannot speed up the process. Being patient applies to all aspects of life, not just waiting on God. We must learn to be patient and try to understand people and the things they do instead of shutting them out and condemning them or calling them sinners. We tend to believe that another person's problem is not my problem, but if they are hurting spiritually because of something then it IS your problem as a Christian and it should be our goal to try and help them in any way possible. This is just one example of being patient and waiting for God to use you and bless someone through you. It might not be an easy process but in the end it will be worth it if you just trust God's plan. The same holds true when things do not go our way or a prayer is not answered in a timely manner (in our opinion) or in the way we expected it to be answered. As the verse says, if you continually seek him, he will be there for you and will be found by you. Do not ever give up on God and his plan for your life no matter how grim things may seem.

Now for me, patience applies in a very different way of life, relationships. I always seem to feel that the next sweet and cute girl I meet might be the one that I will end up dating and possibly marry some day. I want that companionship NOW and not in a few years. I understand that this is in our nature and do not get me wrong, it is OKAY to feel this way by all means. What I need to understand though is that God has a plan and the time will come when I meet a special woman who will change my life completely. The woman that will always be there for me, who will encourage me, love me for who I am, be an accountable partner, be honest 100% with me, who will miss me, one who will stick with me until the end no matter what, the woman who everything I do not deserve but am blessed to have, and one who has remained pure for me because she LOVES me that much. In turn, I will be the man who loves her unconditionally, provides for her, calls her beautiful and pretty because she is, not because I want something in return, the guy who cannot love anyone else or desire anyone else because I am wholly devoted to her and my covenant with her and God is that sacred, and the guy who would do anything to make sure that she gets the best because she deserves the best. It all starts with God though and following his plan. This girl is out there and it cannot be rushed. I have had one relationship, which lasted 5 months, was long distance and was rather hard to hold onto. Some amazing circumstances led to a quick beginning and then I had to go to college and things fell apart on my end. I should have known better at the beginning but I was passing up God's time and was moving on my own time. I tried to make myself believe that it was right but God had other plans and I am okay with that. Then I got dumb over the summer before I came to college and met another girl. Same story, different setting and time. I wanted to believe this girl was right for me, and trust me she is going to make some man very happy one day, both of the girls I speak off will make their husband very happy. What I learned through all this though is that it does not matter who you date and and fast you start dating them or when you get your first kiss, it is about building a strong friendship and working into the relationship, it takes work and time. One of the girls I have separated from a little bit and the other one is a girl I can still talk to and have an interesting and great conversation with. Who knows, maybe it was not the time for us to be together and it might be down the road at some point, but I'm not counting on it. I am just going to let God guide me and direct me down the road in which he has planned for me. I have also learned that relationships cannot make you happy and fulfilled unless God is enough for you when you are not in a relationship. Sure they will fill the void for a little while but then you return to that empty state because God is the only one who can make us whole and entering a relationship with him at the center as well as with him as your primary source for happiness is going to make it that much more enjoyable.

Continue to seek him everyday and find strength in him. Please talk to me about anything and do not be afraid, I am not going to judge you. I have a sincere heart and I love to help people so do not hesitate to comment or come to me with questions or needs.

Joseph Robinson