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Topic: JOY (10/28/21)
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TITLE: Leaving the Valley for the Mountain Top | Previous Challenge Entry
By Art Fahy
11/03/21 -
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I didn’t know God much less understand Him. I created a god that gave me free rein of my life. This didn’t feel right and I wasn’t sure what to do. A group of christian men attended one of our meetings. They pretty much took over and called on each other and they all spoke of Jesus. Some of the old timers were offended and asked them to stop. After the meeting I spoke with two of the men and they invited me to church. I attended bible studies with them and within three months I accepted Jesus into my life as my Lord and Savior.
I was under the impression as a new believer everything would be okay. I would be traveling a smooth road. I took 2 Corinthians 5:17 literally, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here now.”(NIV) I could have never been so far off the beam. At times when I drew close to God, I would get distracted. I would get upset with myself when I sinned. I would confess my sins to God and repent. It seemed not long after that I would commit the same sin again or a new one would emerge.
My friend, Tim, explained to me I was on a journey. “When you sin instead of getting so upset with yourself” he said, “look at it as an opportunity to draw closer to God. When we sin we have step out of God’s will. Use your sin as a stepping stone to build your relationship with God.”
I turned my life and will over to the Lord. I prayed to God to reveal his will to me and to give me the power to carry it out. There were times when I thought God wasn’t working fast enough. I would take charge and only make a mess of things. I thought of Peter walking on water. When he focused on Jesus, things were going well. Then he looked at the rolling waves and felt the howling wind slapping against his face and started to sink and he cried out to Jesus to save him. Immediately, Jesus reached down and saved him. He will do the same for us when we faced adversity.
Sometimes pain is inevitable when doing God’s will. I would rather do it my way and not experience pain. Yet I know and believe God is in charge. Being uncomfortable and trusting the Lord builds our trust. It deepens our relationship with God. I was scheduled to have a mass removed from my right kidney in January 2008. Three days before the procedure I came down with a cold. The procedure was rescheduled for June. I was anxious about the delay but my faith had grown to the point that I knew God was in control. This was His plan. The doctors removed the entire mass. It was cancerous. I had a cat scan once a year for the next five years. Every result were negative.
Jesus’ top priority was doing the will of God. He knew that doing God’s will would bring joy to the Father. Like Jesus we should be in constant prayer with God. Studying the Word daily and putting it into action will bring us closer to God. The more we work toward a right relationship with the Lord the more we will know him. The more we know God the sooner we will know what his will is for us.
To experience the mountain top, we are going to have to spend time in the valley. Remember, God is there with us. He will not abandon his children. We can experience God’s joy seeking his will whether on the mountain top or in the valley.
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