Decisions, Decisions

Have you ever wondered why life is so hard? And for those of you who have reached the stage between teenager and young adult, have you been amazed at how many decisions you have to make on a daily basis? For some of you, you did not decide anything before you went off to school; your parents decided everything for you, right down to what you were eating. Some of us (like me) had more control over some of the decisions we had to make, and a say in others.

Decisions are not always easy to make. Decisions like what you are having for supper are relatively simple ones. Start thinking about harder decisions. Like where to go to college. What to do with your life. Who to be in a relationship with, or whether to have a relationship at all. Who to have friendships with. You have to decide what influences you want in your life. You need to decide who you want to follow; the world, or Jesus.

Let me be super honest with you. I like to listen to me. I like to do what I want. I want to have control over myself and my life. And I have tried to live my life that way.

Let me tell you something... It has not been working well for me. It isn't easy.

And living for Jesus isn't easy either.

In fact, it is tough. You have to give up your own wills and desires to live for Him. Sometimes, you will have to make super tough choices, and give up the things that you want every single day. I'm learning all over again how to do that. And it is tough. Every day is a struggle. But living for Jesus will give you such peace in your life, and will help make a lot of the tough decisions easier. PLEASE NOTE: I did not say it will make tough decisions EASY. I said EASIER.

When I left school, I had high expectations for this summer. I knew God was going to do something awesome. And I had that in mind, plus the things I wanted. I wanted to combine the two. However, God threw some obstacles in the way. And I don't know if I am completely correct in saying this, but maybe this is what God had me excited for. Who says awesome things happen in only good times? Sometimes we have to go through some tough things to see amazing things happen. And I know God is working on me. I know in the end it is going to be amazing, even if right now it hurts and is uncomfortable. How do I know all this? Well, I don't have concrete evidence. I try to operate on faith. Many times faith has helped me more than concrete evidence. (If you don't know what I mean by this, think of someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, and given a certain amount of time to live and that time passes, they are alive, and then beat cancer. The doctor's report; the "evidence" showed one thing, but faith shows another... hopefully that made sense.)

The main thing I am trying to get to is this: The decisions you have to make in life won't be easy. Deciding whether or not to follow Jesus is one of the most pivotal and important decisions you will have to make in life. But I can promise you this; following Jesus will help you so much in your life, with decisions you have to make, and just with life in general. I invite you to join me in learning/learning over again, how to let Jesus make the decisions in our lives. It'll be a bumpy ride, but, my friends, it's gonna be worth it.

Romans 5:5-6
"Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."