Day 14

People try to tell me that I am not good enough, people form opinions about me but in the end, it is only God's approval that I need. If the things I do in private reflect my image in the public, then I can go through my day with integrity and know that God is using me in awesome ways to reach the lost. As I said last night, people might have their own views of me based on my past experiences and decisions but that is the past, it is time for me to move on and I will not turn back to the lifestyle of old. I have worked to hard to get to the point in which I am at and God is not done working in me, he has not put in the time and effort to get me here just so that he can watch me revert to things of the past. I know that adversity builds me up and it allows me to prove to people that I am stronger now and that God is going to allow me to overcome the pain and emotional suffering that I have been through. It is not my place to try and shove it back in people's faces, but I am allowed to follow God's plan and prove them wrong because part of the road to redemption is proving that you have moved on and show the strongholds in your life have been broken. I have had various people in my life tell me that I am not good enough, that I am not strong enough, that I need to grow, or that it is just too tough for me. I refuse to accept that I cannot do something just because someone else has a negative viewpoint about it, they are so quick to judge but fail to see the effort in their own lives. We all fail, we all struggle and people make mistakes, how we bounce back is indicative of our maturity and strength because we can either choose to continue what we are doing or we can turn and show everyone that God has done something radical.

As I was writing this, I was trying to think of what God could use for me to convey this through a Bible story and I just recognized that the story of Paul is a great illustration. When Ananias was told by God that Saul was going to come and begin to minister, he was very skeptical and just replied, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. He has come her with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name " Acts 9:13-14. The Lord told him that he should not worry about that because God he had been restored in Christ and was working for the purpose of the kingdom from here on out. When Saul came into town and met the disciples, they said, " 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? and hasn't he come here to take prisoners to the chief priests?' " Acts 9:21. The disciples rightfully could be a little skeptical because they were afraid that he might be putting on a show so that he could have them all arrested and ultimately killed. However, God works in amazing and mysterious ways that we are unable to fathom at all. Ananias knew that God was serious and along with Saul, he had to convince the disciples that a conversion had taken place and this was going to revolutionize the world. Paul was such an integral part of the church and without this newly developed trust, he would have been alone in his ministry. I really like verse 22 here which states, "Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ." Saul had a transformation in his own life and he was able to show the Christian world that God had done something within him and that made his message so much more effective. Let God's story in your life speak for itself, do not let other people dictate where you are going or what you are doing as long as you are staying on the right path and allowing God to direct your steps.

Thank you all for your faithfulness in reading. Two weeks down and a lot more to go, the journey is getting off the ground at this time. Please continue to keep my in your prayers as the semester comes to a close over the next 6 and a half weeks. God has awesome things in store and I am excited to see where he leads me.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson