A letter to those who want to make a difference..
First: I have added something new to my blog.. if you see the right hand side of the page, there is a spot to put in your name and email. This goes straight to me, and it just means that you are subscribing to my blog. Then, when I post a new blog, it gets emailed straight to you! Moving up in the world here on the blog.
Anyways, I'm involved in exciting, overwhelming plans for the New Year and today the full force of discouragement hit me like a train.
I often wonder if it's worth it, if the blogging, and the speaking, and the many different service things I'm involved with are actually doing anything.
And so while I hope this letter encourages you (as all of my writings are meant to)..
it's more or less a letter from me to me, on a day where I have been drowning in worries of the unknown.
Hey, you. Yes, yes, you. Do I have your attention now?
I know that lately you've been down on yourself a lot about what you're involved in and the world around you.
You've been feeling like what you're doing isn't worth it, and that it doesn't change anything.
Your light is growing dim.
You got caught up in the holiday spirit of serving others and being busy along with everyone else, and now that it's over you're wondering "what now"?
You're asking yourself if what you're doing is still valuable.
I know that you think no one sees you.
I know that you think that your age, or your inexperience, causes you to be looked down upon, because people think that someone like you can't have any sort of lasting impact.
And I know you're starting to get overwhelmed at it all.
So, let me fill you in on a couple things.
#1: You are doing the right thing, by doing something.
There is a pull on your heart for what you're doing for a reason. There is a voice in your head that's telling you to keep going, because it's the right thing.
And if the Lord is calling you to do it, He will make it happen. No matter the circumstances, the obstacles, the issues in the way. If the Lord asks you to do it, He will make a way for it to happen. Hold fast to that. It is for His glory, and His glory alone.
In Exodus, we read that when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt they quickly came up to the Red Sea. They were discouraged and began to yell at Moses who had led them out of slavery, because they had this giant sea on one side and Pharaoh 's army on the other side, coming quickly to take them back into captivity. As they waited on their impending doom they said to Moses
"It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." (Exodus 14:12).
Moses' reply to them is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
"The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still." (Exodus 14:14)
If you're familiar with the story, you know that the Lord told Moses to raise his staff and the waters of the sea were parted and the Israelites escaped on dry land into safety.
What a miracle.
And how often do we cry out to the Lord, "why? Why couldn't you have left me? Why did you change this?" or we say "God this is impossible. There is absolutely no way for this to be made right."
And yet in the midst of the obstacles, of the challenges, He is there to fight for us.
We need only to rest in Him and His Word and His promises.
#2: You are going to be overwhelmed.
It will not be easy. You are young, you are inexperienced, you don't have the right knowledge, whatever it is there will be something that will cause people not to take you seriously. However, this doesn't give you any excuse not to do what you're called to do. It just means you will have to work all the more harder.
If the Lord didn't think you were the right fit for it, He wouldn't have put you in this position. You will figure it out.
Keep going, keep persevering, do not give up.
This passage from Jeremiah compares man to trees. (What a comparison).
When our confidence is in the Lord, when we trust that He will take care of us, we have nothing to fear in the unknown and the scary and the fearful.
#3: Keep shining the light.
Christmas is over, but whatever you are doing, wherever you are, it is not. Don't be discouraged by what is going on around you. Don't let the opinions of what others think and say be an influence on how you act. You run wholeheartedly into what you are called to do. Don't second guess, don't look back. You are making a difference. You are speaking truth into lives. You keep shining that bright light, like a city on a hill, to those around you. The world we live in needs it, wherever you are in whatever you're doing, whether that's as a stay-at-home mom, or a college student, or at your workplace.
Do
not
give
up.
You will make a difference somewhere, somehow, with one word, one action, one smile, one hello.
You have an impact everywhere you go, in everything you do.
It is up to you to decide what that impact is going to look like.
So.. I know you've been discouraged.
you've felt unsure and concerned about the path your on.
you've been overwhelmed with all going on around you.
But all I can tell you is to jump straight in. Dive headfirst into the unknown, into the scary, into the unfamiliar. Throw yourself wholeheartedly into whatever it is that you're doing.
Do it because the One who created the world, the One who knows the amount of stars in every galaxy and the amount of hairs on the head of every single person on the planet, the One who causes the breeze to blow and the rain to fall and the waves to move, He holds you in the palm of His hand and He will not let you fall.
And I'll leave you with this quote, by a lady named Beth Clark.
"People who really want to make a difference in the world usually do it, in one way or another. And I’ve noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile. They are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren’t determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they’re satisfied with small changes. Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world."
Be the change.
Be the difference in 2017.
Anyways, I'm involved in exciting, overwhelming plans for the New Year and today the full force of discouragement hit me like a train.
I often wonder if it's worth it, if the blogging, and the speaking, and the many different service things I'm involved with are actually doing anything.
And so while I hope this letter encourages you (as all of my writings are meant to)..
it's more or less a letter from me to me, on a day where I have been drowning in worries of the unknown.
To those who want to make a difference:
Hey, you. Yes, yes, you. Do I have your attention now?
I know that lately you've been down on yourself a lot about what you're involved in and the world around you.
You've been feeling like what you're doing isn't worth it, and that it doesn't change anything.
Your light is growing dim.
You got caught up in the holiday spirit of serving others and being busy along with everyone else, and now that it's over you're wondering "what now"?
You're asking yourself if what you're doing is still valuable.
I know that you think no one sees you.
I know that you think that your age, or your inexperience, causes you to be looked down upon, because people think that someone like you can't have any sort of lasting impact.
And I know you're starting to get overwhelmed at it all.
So, let me fill you in on a couple things.
#1: You are doing the right thing, by doing something.
There is a pull on your heart for what you're doing for a reason. There is a voice in your head that's telling you to keep going, because it's the right thing.
And if the Lord is calling you to do it, He will make it happen. No matter the circumstances, the obstacles, the issues in the way. If the Lord asks you to do it, He will make a way for it to happen. Hold fast to that. It is for His glory, and His glory alone.
In Exodus, we read that when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt they quickly came up to the Red Sea. They were discouraged and began to yell at Moses who had led them out of slavery, because they had this giant sea on one side and Pharaoh 's army on the other side, coming quickly to take them back into captivity. As they waited on their impending doom they said to Moses
"It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." (Exodus 14:12).
Moses' reply to them is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
"The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still." (Exodus 14:14)
If you're familiar with the story, you know that the Lord told Moses to raise his staff and the waters of the sea were parted and the Israelites escaped on dry land into safety.
What a miracle.
And how often do we cry out to the Lord, "why? Why couldn't you have left me? Why did you change this?" or we say "God this is impossible. There is absolutely no way for this to be made right."
And yet in the midst of the obstacles, of the challenges, He is there to fight for us.
We need only to rest in Him and His Word and His promises.
#2: You are going to be overwhelmed.
It will not be easy. You are young, you are inexperienced, you don't have the right knowledge, whatever it is there will be something that will cause people not to take you seriously. However, this doesn't give you any excuse not to do what you're called to do. It just means you will have to work all the more harder.
If the Lord didn't think you were the right fit for it, He wouldn't have put you in this position. You will figure it out.
Keep going, keep persevering, do not give up.
This passage from Jeremiah compares man to trees. (What a comparison).
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,whose trust is in the Lord.He is like a tree planted by water,that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,and is not anxious in the year of droughtfor it does not cease to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8
When our confidence is in the Lord, when we trust that He will take care of us, we have nothing to fear in the unknown and the scary and the fearful.
#3: Keep shining the light.
Christmas is over, but whatever you are doing, wherever you are, it is not. Don't be discouraged by what is going on around you. Don't let the opinions of what others think and say be an influence on how you act. You run wholeheartedly into what you are called to do. Don't second guess, don't look back. You are making a difference. You are speaking truth into lives. You keep shining that bright light, like a city on a hill, to those around you. The world we live in needs it, wherever you are in whatever you're doing, whether that's as a stay-at-home mom, or a college student, or at your workplace.
Do
not
give
up.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden... Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father." Matthew 5:14-16
You may not know how, but you will make a change.You will make a difference somewhere, somehow, with one word, one action, one smile, one hello.
You have an impact everywhere you go, in everything you do.
It is up to you to decide what that impact is going to look like.
So.. I know you've been discouraged.
you've felt unsure and concerned about the path your on.
you've been overwhelmed with all going on around you.
But all I can tell you is to jump straight in. Dive headfirst into the unknown, into the scary, into the unfamiliar. Throw yourself wholeheartedly into whatever it is that you're doing.
Do it because the One who created the world, the One who knows the amount of stars in every galaxy and the amount of hairs on the head of every single person on the planet, the One who causes the breeze to blow and the rain to fall and the waves to move, He holds you in the palm of His hand and He will not let you fall.
And I'll leave you with this quote, by a lady named Beth Clark.
"People who really want to make a difference in the world usually do it, in one way or another. And I’ve noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile. They are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren’t determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they’re satisfied with small changes. Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world."
Be the change.
Be the difference in 2017.
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