Today I feel like I accomplished something, I fought through my own mind and let myself win the temptation battle. I could have easily given in like I occasionally do or I could do what I did and not give in despite what my body was telling me. I knew that there was a better reward for me if I just overcame and that would be peace as well as thankfulness to God for giving me the strength when I could not do it on my own. You see it is not always that hard to do what is right, it just takes one instance of listening to your conscience and you then know that you CAN resist what the world is telling you is okay. I kind of upset a teacher today but I was respectful even when he was not. I was looking out the window because the blinds were open and I was appreciating the clear skies we have in Minneapolis for once, unfortunately, twenty seconds is too long and my professor asked if I was disinterested in his class. I respectfully replied that he mentioned "We will spend time looking out the windows this semester." We have not done so in three weeks so I decided to take him up on his offer and admire what was being accomplished outside the classroom. I knew what he was talking about as he had been covering the topic for well over 10 minutes (with tangents and the like) and at that point he was talking in circles adding superfluous information that I did not feel like I needed to write down, BUT I was STILL listening. My point is that even when you feel like you are listening to God, he gets this impression that you are not because your attention is focused elsewhere. You might be listening but you do not think it is important so you pass it off as though you had better things to be doing. Now my professor did have a valid point but in all fairness, I did as well and I was not afraid to justify my inattentiveness because I am an auditory learner (if I care to listen).
God moves everyday whether or not we know it or acknowledge it. He is constantly trying to grab hold of us and use us for His kingdom and we would benefit from joining in on the party every day. Our love for him can never be as great as we would want it to be, but we can try to elevate our love to the supreme level everyday and that is all that he asks for. In Hebrews 13:15-16 it is stated, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." I have posted on sacrifice and that is not my focus here but sacrifice is a form of love and when you give up something that you have been holding onto, you get a little closer to him and you show your love a little more for him. Our goal as Christians should be to do that everyday. When you get knocked down, get back up and creep a little closer, then step a little closer, then jump a little closer, then run as far as you can so that you can gain as much ground as possible. God can do amazing things, we just have to let him.
Please continue to pray, I will remember those of you that read in my prayers as I always do.
God Bless,
Joseph Robinson
