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February 1, 2024 at 5:21 pm #175045
Iām creating this topic for the purpose of sharing what God is doing in our lives! I love hearing from others what God is teaching them, what Heās done in their livesā¦ anything big or small! Hearing about His faithfulness in someone elseās life always encourages me that He will be faithful to me, too, and stirs my faith to believe He will continue to move in my life.
So this is the place to share! It doesnāt matter how small or insignificant- what God is doing in you can be an encouragement to someone else. It doesnāt have to be a big testimony (although those are great too!). It doesnāt even have to be something recent- you can share things He did several years ago. Really, whatever you want to share in regards to your relationship with God! This space can also be open for asking questions, too.
I look forward to hearing from you all! I will be sharing, too.
Tags- @janellebelovedpig @savannah_grace2009 @vinagirl @walkbyfaith @stephie @hybridlore @anyone-and-everyone
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
February 1, 2024 at 7:05 pm #175047*subscribes*
This is awesome. š Iāll be sure to share something later.
Write what should not be forgotten. ā Isabel Allende
February 1, 2024 at 7:48 pm #175049I love this topic!
Something God has really been opening my eyes to these past few days is keeping an eternal view. I worry and focus so much on what is temporary, treating it as if it matters the most. A few nights ago I read 2 Corinthians 4, and it really resonated with me. Paul and the other apostles went through so much: scoffing, ridiculing, beatings, and some of them were even martyred; but they never gave up their faith. They knew what was the most important. Paul even said in Philippians 1 that to live is Christ and to die is gain. He counted everything else a loss for the sake of Jesus! (Phil. 3) He looked through an eternal lens, a lens that focuses on Jesus and the eternal life Heās given to us who believe. I want to do the same. Iāve been reminding myself to look at the big picture these past few days, and itās eased some of my anxiety, and put certain things in my life that arenāt eternal in their place. (Also itās pretty humbling to remember who we are in the grand scheme of things, and itās amazing to realize what God has done for us out of love, even though he doesnāt need us ā¤ļø)
Iām also looking at writing on an eternal scale. While my stories might not become the next C.S. Lewis and go down in history, their impact is still eternal in some ways. The connections I form while writing, the message that reaches peopleāthose things will last. Iām taking my role as a writer for Godās Kingdom more seriously (or at least Iām just beginning too š).
Hope this encourages someone else!
(Sorry I kinda rambled hehe)āSquidward that wasnāt the peace treaty that was a copy of the peace treatyā -SpongeBob
February 1, 2024 at 8:43 pm #175050Great idea!
Thatās basically what Iāve been thinking about tooā¦like asking myself āwill this matter in 50 yearsā? A lot of times the answer is no, so I can breathe and let it go.
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333February 2, 2024 at 9:37 am #175065Thatās good! Thatās definitely something I donāt think about very often, either.
I think one thing Godās been continually trying to teach me lately is that He is the one who can satisfy every desire.
Two and a half years ago, I was finally starting to see some friendships blooming that I had been longing for since middle school. I was really excited, but also terrified that it wouldnāt last, and it started to consume all my attention. I remember coming back from hanging out with them one evening and telling myself, āYou finally have what you wanted. Are you happy now?ā And when I answered my question honestly, the answer was no. I felt God nudging me to surrender these friendships, but I was clinging to them tightly because Iād desired them for so long and it finally seemed like I had them.
The timing was such that this was all happening right before my family was to leave for a long trip throughout the West/Midwest. We would be gone for almost a month, and I was afraid that being gone so long would cause me to lose those friendships, but there wasnāt much I could do about that. I also knew God was asking me to surrender those friendships, and in a way, I was almost relieved to be leaving, because I really needed some time to pray through this and get clarity about it, without all the distractions.
That whole trip was so deeply impactful to me spiritually. (Maybe sometime Iāll share some more stories, but it would take too much time to detail them all here) But the most impactful moment for me occurred in the North Cascade mountains of Washington.
During our stay there, the weather wasnāt the greatest. The one day we hiked, there was a lot of fog, and we couldnāt see very much beyond the valley we were in. I sort of liked the fog; it gave off vibes from a mystery novel or something. But I had no idea what was on the other side of all that fog, so I didnāt know what I was missing. The next day was raining early in the day, so we couldnāt go out for a hike, but it tapered off in the afternoon, so we decided to drive up the mountain weād been on the day before, to a viewpoint, and see if the clouds would clear off to give us a bit of a view. My dad had his heart set on seeing Mt. Baker, so we sat in the parking lot at the top of this other mountain, waiting as the clouds blew past, hoping for a break in the clouds long enough to give us a view.
Amazingly enough, the clouds did clear off partially- not enough to see more than a brief glimpse of the tip of Baker, but they cleared almost completely from another nearby mountain, Mt. Shuksan. At this point, the sun was moving towards the western horizon, causing a beautiful glow on the glacier-pocked peak. It was absolutely gorgeous!
But the best part came as we started driving down the mountain. My dad pulled off, and we walked back a short trail to a lake. The view took my breath away- Mt. Shuksan, against the blue sky, with the sun illuminating it, reflected in the lake! In that moment, I felt the pure love of the Father rush into my heart, and it was like everything else I had desired fell away instantly. The friendships Iād wanted looked so pale and unappealing in comparison. I was so in awe that I could hardly even speak, all that bubbled up out of me was worship for Jesus. That moment marked me, and allowed me to surrender those friendships, believing that Jesus had something better in store for me.
After we returned from our trip, I went from homeschooling to public school (thatās a story for another time, too) and a couple things happened throughout that year that were really difficult for me. As a result, it felt like some lies started creeping in about God, and itās been a process of God highlighting those lies and revealing to me where Iāve been believing that He wonāt fulfill His promises and that He canāt fully satisfy my heart. In hindsight, Iām so glad I didnāt keep the friendships I wanted, but God has started bringing better friends into my life since then. It didnāt happen in the timing I thought or wanted, but Heās been showing me that He really knows whatās best for me.
So anywayā¦ thereās my long speech for the day lol.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
February 2, 2024 at 11:29 am #175067Thatās inspiring! Awh, God is so good. Good seems like such a little common word for His grandeur and kindness.
Stories coming soon!
February 2, 2024 at 5:26 pm #175102Iām gonna try not to go TOO deep hereā¦
About a year ago, or a little longer, I was hanging out with the wrong people. My friends (or more accurately, there was one specific friend I will not name) mocked religion. I used to deny that I was ātoo religiousā or that I actively practised Christianity. There were a lot of negative things I associated with religion in general, and I thought of it as like being a prisoner. However, my family began to go to a church, and I slowly rebuilt my relationship with God. I decided to get baptised (my parents had left that decision up to me, instead of baptising me as a baby) around this time last year. I wanted to know the truth, so I prayed that He would reveal it. And He did. Gradually and painfully. (Thank God for gradually, ācause otherwise it wouldāve hurt more).
Hereās how I like to explain it: itās like when somebody turns on the light, and your eyes are used to the dark. It hurts. But after my eyes got used to the light, I realised that it was WAY better than the dark was, and that it made things a lot less confusing. Hope that makes sense š
Before, I had some mental health issues (none of which were tooĀ bad, but still). Now, theyāve been slowly disappearing as Iāve learned to care less about what people think about me, and more about how to follow God and please Him. Iām still trying to improve upon the notācaringāaboutāwhatāothersāthink thing though, because itās HARD.
The really scary thing about the whole experience is that I realised how fragile the human mind is. The fact that I was convinced of such wild things and that I was prepared to fight for harmful doctrines actually terrifies me. However, in the long run I think maybe God is preparing me for life, and helping me develop critical thinking skills which will serve meāand othersālater on.
So there we have it. Godās worked miracles in my life!
"Courage, dear heart." -Aslan
February 2, 2024 at 5:57 pm #175105Thatās amazing! Iām sure all youāve faced is only making you stronger and giving you the tools you need to bring that light to other people!
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
February 2, 2024 at 5:57 pm #175106Oh girl, I can completely relate to this, and thatās kind of how my journeyās been over the past couple years/months for me too! <3
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333February 10, 2024 at 11:23 pm #175622This isnāt a huge thing, and God has certainly done huge things for me, but this happened recently.
A while ago I asked God to see something powerful. David praises God for the mighty breakers that God is above, Miriam breaks forth in song as the horse and rider are no match for the control of the Lord, and Mary extols in the magnificat of being a virgin with the Christ conceived within her. All these and more see something powerful and vivid in their life and it brings out praise for the glorious Lord. I wanted something vivid and powerful to do that to me too.
Ā
Then I just realized. He has shown me something powerful.
Ā
Heās shown me His love.
February 11, 2024 at 8:19 am #175655Thatās so good! I think itās so easy to forget the simple things that are really the most powerful!
Ā
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
February 11, 2024 at 12:43 pm #175660 -
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