Being in college, I'm constantly surrounded by people- which I LOVE, but it doesn't leave much time to spend alone with God. It's so easy for all of us to get caught up in doing other things. Especially for me- I love being involved and having something to do all the time. Being busy is fine- God wants us to be surrounded by his children, but as soon as our focus comes off him, it's so easy for Satan to step in and distract us with that busy schedule.One of the hardest things for me is finding the motivation to spend time in the Word. I admit, I don't wake up in the mornings and have an urge to read and learn more about God. The stories of the Bible telling about God's amazing power fascinate me once I find that motivation, but usually I just don't make it there. I've been praying lately for God to give me a passion for reading and learning from devotionals, or the Bible or anything. I still haven't quite figured out if that's a legit prayer or not..I mean, we should want to be learning how to live the wonderful life God intends for us to. But as humans, we just slip up. Whenever I have prayed for motivation to read the Word, however, my prayers have been answered and I find a passage that I haven't read before or one that applies to me perfectly. So, I'm assuming it is a legit prayer!
Another humbling lesson I've been learning is that I can't plan out everything that's going to happen in life. I've always been a planner, I want to be a wedding planner as a career, I have my whole future planned out. But, of course, God keeps letting me know in not-so-subtle ways that he has a plan for me too, and they don't always match up.
Matthew 16:25 tell us that "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it". That verse drives me nuts sometimes. I just want for my plans to fall into place, for my life to be saved. Whenever my plans don't match up with God's, I lose them. Usually I'll get angry, be moody for awhile, eventually accept his plan when I have no other choice- and then be overwhelmed every time by how great his grace is. As soon as I lose the life I want to do his will, I find great joy in life in what he initially had in store for me. Broken at first, and then complete.
So, I've begun getting up in the mornings to go to the gym. I'll run for a bit on the elliptical and listen to worship music. It's the best way I've found to start my day off with the Lord. It gives me a sense of peace to get through my busy days so I can stay on track (and get fit of course). Starting off my morning focused on God sets a pattern of me relying on his plans above my own for the hours following. Letting go of our own desires is one of the hardest things God calls us to do, but it's so important that we do it, and not be consumed in the the patterns of this world. When we stay on God's path, it is a gooood good place to be.
Unashamed- Starfield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vs3vrbVMP0&list=FLhanvSM9aYKVpDM10265vMw&index=2