Day 31 of 31-Lessons Learned.

I cannot believe it is Day 31 of 31 Days of Seeking God!

Here is a recap of everything we have been challenged with this month:

1. The importance of intentionally seeking God. (Day 1 and Day 2)

2. The importance of unplugging and having silence and solitude before the Lord. (Day 3 and Day 25)

3. The importance of trusting God fully in times of seeking. (Day 4)

4. The importance of keeping the Gospel center of all that you do. (Day 5)

4. The importance of being flexible and realizing that life throws us curve balls. (Day 7 and Day 8)

5. The importance of waiting on the Lord during these times. (Day 9)

6. The importance of prayer. (Day 10, Day 18, Day 15 and Day 19)

7. The importance of letting the love of Christ control us. (Day 11)

8.  The importance of worshiping and surrendering all. (Day 16 and Day 17)

9. The importance of fasting. (Day 21)

10. The importance of being in God’s Word and hiding it in your heart. (Day 22 and Day 24)

11. The importance of community and seeking wise godly counsel. (Day 26 and Day 29)

12. The importance of journaling. (Day 28)

About halfway through this process, I blogged about the lessons I was learning in seeking God. I have realized the lessons still have not changed. Here, again, is what I learned through this journey:

1. This wasn’t an easy road…

This was a challenge for me in every way. First it was a challenge to carve out time to write everyday. A good challenge, but a challenge. Second, it was a challenge to live out what I was writing. Actually putting all this into practice was difficult, and I failed. A lot.

2. But God is faithful!

I am thankful that God is so faithful, even when I fail. He has been so near over this past month. He has guided me, even when I can’t see the next step in front of me. God has spoken truth through His Word, my prayer time, and through godly counsel. I do not deserve His faithfulness. The funny thing about God’s faithfulness, is that it makes me want to be even more faithful to Him! I love how that works.

Will you join me in continuing to seek God even after “31 Days” is over?

Day 30-My Prayer.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this amazing month of seeking You. This journey has been a challenge, but totally worth it all. Thank you for working in and through my life and revealing your truth. I pray that you will continue to show me your ways and reveal your will. I ask that you continue to be near and go before me. Please help me be aware of the gospel in all that I do. Bless those that have been on this journey with me. May you continue your work in and through us. May you receive the glory in all we do! We love and praise you for your faithfulness and grace!

In Your Son, Amen.

Day 29-Counsel.

Do you seek godly counsel as you are seeking God? Read what Proverbs has to say about wise godly counsel:

“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance” (1:5); “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (11:14); “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (12:15); “By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom” (13:10); Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (15:22); “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future” (19:20); “Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war” (20:18); “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel” (27:9).

As we can see, seeking godly counsel is very consistent not only throughout the Proverbs, but all throughout Scripture. We focused on community last week, because it is very important to involve people in your life while you are seeking God. But, there is something essential in seeking Godly counsel from a select few of people. We should have mentors in our life that will speak truth into our situations. We need godly men and women to give us prayerful advice in our times of need. We need godly men and women to give us unbiased biblical truths that will help guide and direct us in the Lord’s way.

Sometimes, seeking this counsel may be hard on our pride, because it takes a humble heart to ask for advice. But the risk of being vulnerable and transparent is worth all the counsel, love, support, instruction, wisdom, and guidance we will receive.

Are you seeking godly counsel in this time of your life? Are you willing to take heed to what they may have to say about your current situations in life?

Day 25-Silence and Solitude.

Its Day 25 of 31 Days of Seeking God! October is flying by!!

On Day 3 we emphasized the importance of Unplugging. Taking some time to get away from all the distractions in your life and focusing on the Lord.

Today, I want to continue that idea and focus on having some time of silence and solitude. When we approach God with no distractions and come before Him with silence and solitude, we are more likely to recognize God’s voice when He speaks to us. We can be more alert to the Holy Spirit’s leading and guiding. We are able to listen and be still before the Lord.

We see this modeled for us by Jesus. Many times the Scriptures says: “He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray.” (Matt 14:23);  “In the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.” (Mark 1:35); “And when day came, He departed and went to a lonely place” (Luke 4:42)

I am going to do this very exact thing today. Unplug, get into solitude, and be silent.

Will you join me in practicing silence and solitude as we seek God?

Day 24-Memorization.

“Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors”

Psalm 119:24

Memorizing Scripture is a way to store God’s word in your mind and heart. When we memorize Scripture, it is available for the Holy Spirit to take and bring to our attention when we need it most.

Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life states this about Bible memorization:

“If you know your birthday, phone number, and address, and can remember the names of your friends, then you can memorize Scripture. The question becomes whether you are willing to discipline yourself to do it.”

I don’t know about you, but that convicts me to the core! I need to be better at disciplining myself to get in the Word and memorize it! I know that God can use Scripture that we have hidden in our hearts to reveal Himself to us, right when we need it! Whitney states that the Holy Spirit will bring Scripture to our mind in providing timely guidance for ourselves. As I am seeking God, I need timely guidance. I don’t wanna miss out because I haven’t taken the time to put God’s Word in my heart!

Will you join me in being better disciplined in the area of Bible Memorization?

Day 26-Community.

Community. I am so thankful for my community. I need community now more than ever. I am so thankful for the community God has placed in my life during this season of my life. He knows that I need it. As I am seeking God this month, my community is walking through this time with me. As I am seeking God about a decision, they are praying daily for me. As I am traveling uncertain roads, they have my back.

When we seek God, having a community of loved ones behind us is so key. We need support, love, encouragement, rebuking, challenging, and most importantly prayer. I am so thankful for my community. God places people in our lives to do these very things…welcome it with open arms.

Where does this community come from? It can come from a wide varieties of areas:
-Your family
-Your friends
-Your small group
-Your mentors
-Your church body

Are you apart of a community that is supporting, loving, encouraging, rebuking, challenging, and praying for you?

If not, open up and find community. Get them involved in your life. You need them!

Day 28-Journaling.

Journaling.
Do you journal? I am a inconsistent journal-er but I love to journal! Let me tell you all the benefits I get from journaling:

1. When I journal, I think more clearly. Sometimes, my thoughts are so jumbled in my head that I can’t discern what is what! Journaling helps me to think slowly and more clearly.
2. When I journal, I am able to be more organized. When I journal I can look at my writings and see in an organized fashion exactly how I am feeling and where my heart is. Writing is a good way to slow my brain down and organize my thoughts.
3. When I journal, it transforms my prayer life. Writing down my prayers helps me to focus in on talking with God and helps keep out distractions. It helps me to express my thoughts and feelings to the Lord.
4. When I journal, I can look back and see the hand of God in my life. I love looking back and reading my old journals. I can see my joys, excitements, celebrations, victories and my fears, heartaches, struggles, and pains. But most of all, I have a record of God’s hand through it all. It helps me to stay more faithful to Him because I see how faithful He has been to me.

Here are some practical ways to journal:

1. Journal as a part of your quiet time. This can be an easy way to record all that God is teaching you in your time with Him.
2. Journal when you are seeking God about an important issue. Even if you aren’t someone who journals daily, take time to journal when you are going through a time of seeking.
3. Journal by hand. This is a great way to slow down and think about what you are going to write/pray.
4. Journal electronically. I have an app called Memoirs that I LOVE! It is password protected, so no worries about anyone sneaking a peak at your journal!

Will you join me by trying to be more consistent in journaling?