Stumble

Well, I am all done for this semester and I am very proud of how I handled all of it. Lots of adversity and a ton of credit hours makes for one busy semester. Oh yeah, I also had about 36 baseball games and practices mixed in. God sustained me even when I was not moving towards him; he has pointed me in the right direction and I am going to continue to work at it with all that I am. I am headed to Mason, Ohio next week because we found out last night that we made it into the National Tournament for the NCCAA DII and it should be a very exciting trip. After that, I am off to Georgia to spend the summer and in addition to working, I am going to work on spending time in solitude and listening to God. I have some things I would like to figure out over the summer and I think that being away and alone will be one of the most exciting and beneficial times for me. I feel like I have grown in many ways and am seeing things develop in my life but I still have a ton of work to do to be where I want to be at. I struggle everyday and I battle through sometimes but I just cant seem to do the right thing every time. It hurts so much to work so hard and then throw it all away and I know that I get frustrated when other people do it so I cannot understand why I continue to do it. I can feel what God wants to do in me and I know where he is leading me, it is so exciting and I know I am ready to be moving with him everyday in every way.

I like t try and let God speak to me by praying and then opening up the word and just searching for something he lays on my heart and tonight I came across a very inspiring and assuring verse. It is found in Psalm 37:23-24 and it states, "If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand." Basically if i continue to seek after him and do what I can to serve him, then I will not have any problems to deal with in the end. It will be a rough road but I know that he is going to be right there with me pushing me further than I thought I could ever go and he is going to use me in ways I could never even imagine. I want to be a witness and I want to serve in other areas, I just need to get involved and be ready to go at all times. I have always known that God is with me in everything I do but it is nice to have affirmation, especially form the Old Testament and I think it is something that we all need to hear occasionally. God knows what he is doing even though we question it sometimes and overall I think we should continue to cling to what it is that brought us to him in the first place. He will supply your strength and other needs, all we need to do is look to him for it and be accepting of it when he offers it. Do not ever give up on your hopes and dreams because eventually you will wonder what you missed out on. I am slowly regaining that because I almost had them crushed and then they were reignited by some people and I am ready to pursue it with all that I am.

Please continue to pray for me as I will need some strength over the next week and I am still working on getting over some stumbling blocks. I am praying for all of you and hope to hear from some of you very soon!

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson

The last week has been very interesting to say the least and I am trying to keep from getting in over my head. We have three days left of school, a little baseball, and then I am off to Georgia for a relaxing and fun summer. God has opened so many opportunities for me in the past month and I am finally content with just settling in and letting him work. I have hit some bumps along the way but I am pressing in harder and doing what I can to avoid making some of the same mistakes I have made in the past. I think I handle certain situations better having gone through some previous experiences and I am so happy for that because I would either be in a bad spot right now, or I would have a ton of people really upset with me and I am glad that I do not have to deal with that. I am trying to put God first in what I am doing and when he starts to get pushed to the side, I am ushering him back to the front because I know that it is where he belongs. I am sick of the enemy trying to get up front and control every situation because he knows where I am most vulnerable and he is not afraid to expose me in those areas. Christ is doing some awesome things and he is revealing stuff to me that I never would have thought of and I am in awe of what is going on. All I can say is that you should never try to do too much with a situation and you should not think that you are in control because God will show you just how wrong you are and try to help get you back on the right track. This is not because he is being a forceful God but because he cares and wants what is best for us.

2nd Corinthians 7:1 states, "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." I think this pretty much sums up everything I have been trying to say. Too many times I let distractions get in the way and allow the things that I do to become unholy. I fall down and roll around in the mud and then it is a LONG process to try and get clean again and break bad habits. When we get into the habit of doing things right then we start to be attracted to only doing things right and most people would call that a "goody goody" but I call it being disciplined and understanding what is best. God wants us to be as spotless as possible before him and that is why he has provided purification for the things we have done. He understands that this world is unclean and that we are going to make mistakes now and then, but he wants us to learn and apply the things we gain from those experiences in hopes of preventing an encore. I like to step back sometimes and evaluate where I am and I think the past week could have gone MUCH MUCH better but I am happy with the way it went and think that it provided many valuable lessons that will be beneficial in the long run and I am thankful for that.

Posts will try to stay regular but travel is going to come into effect here soon and so we will just see how it goes. Please continue to pray for me and I will do the same for all of you. Keep seeking him because the tide is still changing and we need to be prepared for what is to come.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson