Pushing

The Lord has been dealing with me lately and he has given me some great people to talk to. My roommate next year is going to be the best one I have had yet. Not only do we play baseball together but we can sit for hours and talk about many different things even theological topics. I am growing each day and seeing exactly what God has planned for me. I have found that I am much better at helping others than I am at helping myself. For some reason I can give advice and make people see things differently but I cannot seem to see things differently for myself ever. If someone wants me to try and help them fix their problems, I can assess the situation and give them pretty good advice, I cannot say I am always right but I try to give people a new perspective on what they are going through. I have no formal biblical training so to speak but I try to find anything that I can use to help people in their time of need. Of course I would never be able to do it without God and I know that he gives me the words to speak to people and part of that is seen based on what I write here. I get people who thank me for what I do for them but to be honest it is not from me and it is not all that great. Basic biblical verses are all it takes to understand certain situations and how to deal with them. When times get tough, these are the times we especially need to go to God. We cannot just discern things through prayer because we do not always hear the voice of God. We need to be in the word and we need to listen to what he has to say to us so that we can figure things out. Turn off the noise of life and just begin to take in what God has for you. Do not give into the pressure anymore, do not settle for not knowing what to do and just walking blindly into something without having faith. Trust God and let him lead your steps throughout life, he will not disappoint you if you continue to follow him.

Psalm 86:1-4 states, "Hear O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul." Sometimes I feel like I just cannot hold onto things long enough or I chase after the wrong things. Usually I am left feeling like things could have worked out more in my favor but I know that I have a tendency to force things and I end up screwing them up. I know I need patience in most situations but I feel like I have to push to get things done or it will never happen. However, God is so amazing at making me feel better when I go through a rough time and I am usually left with a sense of growth after coming through an uncertain time. I am glad that God has blessed me with being able to talk to people and be very transparent but there are times in which I feel that ends up hurting me more. I do not doubt God's plan and the characteristics he has given me though so I will just do my best to trust that it is a positive thing in my life and that he will continue to be my strength throughout the process. True character comes out when nobody is watching and when you are alone for the summer and cannot get a break, your response should be the number one thing that you look at. Do not condemn yourself by making a mistake because you are upset things did not work your way, instead work towards God with every passing moment and turn the focus on him and what he can do for you. God is prepared to hear your call to him when you are unsure of what to do and he is always willing to assist. We need to always be prepared to receive. I think the number one reason we miss things from God is because we are too preoccupied with other things and then we complain that he did not hear us. The truth is that we just left the gift unopened on the table and did not even recognize it was there.

I hope that everyone had a great day and that God is continuing to do great things in each and everyone of you. Please continue to pray that my last month here goes well and that God really speaks and prepares me for the upcoming year.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson