Five Things 2016 Taught Me.
1. God is faithful! I literally don't think there are enough words to fully describe this: HE. IS. FAITHFUL and constant, and true! He met me at every lack, whether it physically, spiritually, or doubt, and filled me to overflow every time. "...if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13)
2. I don't have to run from honesty. Satan dwells in fear and ignorance. When I didn't want to confront issues because they were "too hard" to hear, I was allowing my heart to become more hardened to what God was trying to free me from. Honesty can be hard to receive from others, and to admit to both yourself and God, but it is so freeing. "But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:16-17)
3. I am accepted in the beloved just as I am, and that's a very good thing to know. We're not made to walk through life alone. I dealt with rejection SO badly. Honestly, not even realizing that I'd dealt with it my entire life, it finally hit it's pinnacle during this past year. No one could fill that void of acceptance but Jesus. I learned that I could lay rejection at the cross, and allow the Holy Spirit to walk me through healing in the deepest crevices of who I am.
4. I can be proud of myself! Living for God will not necessarily make you popular... especially when your reality doesn't match "what God has told you." Had I known last January what I'd have to walk through the entire year, I don't know if I would have ever told God, "Yes." On this side of it, though, it is SO cool looking back at what I walked through. It definitely wasn't easy, but it was necessary for where He's taking me. "I can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
5. There is always JOY, and the best is yet to come! Don't give up. Keep loving people. Keep pressing forward! It doesn't matter how the year went, He's the Potter and we're the clay, and He will always make something good. "So I went to the potter's house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. The God's Message came to me: 'Can't I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?' God's Decree!" (Jeremiah 18: 3-6 MSG)
P.S. I'm not usually one to pub a song, but "Potter and Friend" by Dante Bowe ft. Jesse Cline is SO GOOD! GO LISTEN to it on Youtube, or Apple Music, or whatever!! This song is AMAZING!!