Encouraging Thoughts — 3

I was gloriously reminded tonight of a wonderful truth: God is always with me, and He will tirelessly pursue his path for my life whether I want Him to or not. Regardless of how faithful I am to Him, or how often I’ve been reading my Bible or going to church, He continues to pursue me and put opportunities in front of me to make Him known. It doesn’t matter how big of a rut I’ve been in, or if I’ve been too busy with other things and ignoring Him as much as possible; God never gives up on me. He has accepted my offering of my life to him when I made my salvation commitment so long ago, and He has not forgotten, even when I have.

There’s a song by DC Talk called “In The Light” (video below) and the lyrics have a line that says “I am the king of excuses, I’ve got one for every selfish thing I do.” That line describes me all too well. I have tons of excuses for why I can’t make time for finding a new church after my move, or why I can’t read my Bible this morning because I’m busy, or why I can’t work out because I’m too tired. There are a lot of times in my life when I just seem to put my faith on hold so I can live my life. The problem with that is there is no meaning, purpose, or value in my life without my faith. What I’m doing for the kingdom of God is an infinite amount more important than what I’m doing for myself, and I’m so grateful that I serve a God who reminds me of that and fights to teach me that constantly.

Psalms 139:1–10 says: “Lord, you have probed me, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I stand up, you discern my inclinations from afar, you scrutinize my daily activities. You are so familiar with all my ways that before I speak even a word, Lord, you know all about it already. You have hemmed me in both behind and in front and laid your hand on me. Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me, far too high for me to reach. Where can I got to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I climb up to Heaven, you are there; if I lie down in Hell, you are there. If I fly away with the wings of the dawn and land beyond the sea, even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast.”

I love this Psalm because it speaks to God’s consistent presence in our lives at all times. I love that God loves us so much that He is willing to put so much effort into each of us. The reason I was reminded so strongly of this tonight is because I haven’t been doing great with my own walk lately. I haven’t put anywhere near the effort I should have already put in to finding a new church home since I moved to my new place a month and a half ago. I keep making excuses or staying up too late the night before or really just doing anything I can to avoid going to a new church and trying to find that connection. I also have slacked terribly on reading the Word or listening to Christian music or implementing any kind of faith-based activity on a regular basis to keep my mind right on what’s most important: my relationship with Christ and what I’m doing to serve His kingdom. What’s so beautiful about our God though, is that even in those moments He will still find ways for you to do His will.

Tonight, I was put in a situation where I was able to have an incredibly real, encouraging, and fulfilling conversation about the faith with a coworker. We went so deep that tears were shed, and burdens were lifted and it was just an incredible conversation! It was so uplifting to be apart of that! Afterwards, I was able to have another incredible conversation about the faith with another coworker and challenge them to be that light in the workplace and let that be our mission field in this together. As I was driving home, so happy from the experiences I had just had with those two individuals, I was poignantly reminded of the sad state my own faith had been in for the past few months. Instead of dwelling on my own shortcomings though, God reminded me how awesome He has been regardless of my issues. I could see the many conversations I’ve had with different coworkers or family members about the faith during this time that were like marvelous rays of sunlight in thick fog. I had brought on clouds of distraction from selfish thoughts or preoccupation with career endeavors, and God continually pierced that opaque sky above me with opportunity after opportunity to make Him known.

I want to encourage anyone out there who feels they are in a spiritual rut, and maybe you’re thinking that because of the place you’re in God isn’t ready to use you yet. Maybe you think that you have to get yourself right first before you can help others. God wants you to know that He can use you exactly where you are. You don’t have to be a perfect Christian to share God’s love with others. You don’t have to attend church on Sunday to reflect God’s love to the people around you on a Monday. Obviously, it’s important and necessary as a believer to keep your faith fed by reading the Word, praying, and getting involved with a community of believers in Church or a Bible Study. However, you don’t have to wait until you’ve been “good” for at least a month before you feel like you can minister to other people. Please don’t let any of your feelings about the state of your own faith hinder you from seizing every opportunity to love others. Who knows, you may end up like me where the opportunity to share God’s love with others is the thing that motivates you to get your own faith back on track!

I really appreciate any comments, questions, or concerns you may have, and look forward to responding to any messages when I have time. I hope this blesses you and encourages you, and thank you for reading!

Sincerely,

Matt Casperite