Blog Post Title One
How do we apply ourselves as believers in the modern world? This is not a new question. This is what I’m asking myself in November 2022. Coming back to faith in Jesus after a 10-year wandering period, I find myself with new challenges. I believed as a child, a teen, a young man; then I wandered away. As a habit, I have continually placed my past firmly in the past. Anything I have done before, especially that which has not worked, I have been content to leave in the past. This includes faith, practices of faith, lack of faith, and practices of lack of faith. How do I reconcile my experience? The world is different now at 34 than how it was at 17. It is important to remember that nothing is new; the more things change, the more they stay the same, and all of my experience is but a blip within a blip of God’s greater plan.
My answer to this question: how do we apply ourselves? Prayer first, I’d say, prayer and reading God’s word. Every day. Start and end each day with prayer and reading. Look to examples of strong men in the bible. Look to Jesus. Take the wisdom, take the lessons. Surround yourself with other biblical men. Go to church. Steep yourself in as much Godly behavior as you can. Then turn around and look at what gifts God has given you. What do you love? What do you yearn to do? What skills do you have? What do others know you for? Lean into those things, all the while putting God as your first step. Before beginning and ending, consult God. Pray. Walk with God. Everything you do is for him. Then bust out. Feel him fill you with His spirit and His guidance. Let yourself be His beautiful creation. Run, hard. Bring others to Him through your gifts. Be loud. Be energetic. Be courageous. Be humble. Then go for it. Everything you’ve ever wanted, keeping your desires below God’s plan, within his plan, never elevating anything into an idol before Him. But pay attention to where your mind goes after Him. He speaks to you. He wants your service. He made you uniquely and magnificently. He knows what you want. He put some of those desires in your heart. Get after it.
To anyone out there who might read this: call me, text me, email me, DM me on social. If you struggle, if you want help, if you want an excited ear to listen to your crazy plan, hit me up. I love you and I want to support you.
-Trevor