Unknown Territory

It's never completely easy to march into unknown territory. Sometimes we feel brave enough to push our chests out and walk into it with a little less fear than usual. But I've found, for my own life, it's usually quite unnerving. I get nervous, sometimes a little fearful (or a lot, honestly), I start worrying about what could go wrong. But after I go through the motions, I usually get to that place - surrender. It's a place I've come to enjoy quite a bit. Fully surrendering all that I am to the One who charts my course. Jesus takes me into the unknown, arm in arm, tearing down my curtains of fear, breaking down my walls of anxiety, and putting all of my doubts to rest.

He risked everything on me when He died on the cross. He braved the unknown, facing fears beyond any I've ever realized, and went through incredible suffering that most of us will never understand. He never stayed comfortable. He was constantly pushing the boundaries, taking new risks and diving headfirst into the unknown. And we are supposed to be following His example. He has promised us in return that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will always be with us, in any and EVERY situation. So why not jump into the adventure?

I believe once we get to that place of complete surrender, in every instance, true adventure, beyond anything we could imagine, takes place in our lives. God takes us on a roller coaster which, at times, can be frightening, until we realize that it's meant to be full of fun and surprises, and in the end we will arrive at our destination safe and full to the brim with excitement.

The unknown. It's not meant to be comfortable. It's not meant to give us peace all the time. It doesn't put us into a life where we always know what's going to happen next, and we never have any surprises...what's the fun in that?! God wants us to have adventure, fun, and throughout everything, trust Him completely.

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the One who will keep you on track. Don't assume you know it all. Run to God!.." -Proverbs 3:5-8 (Message Bible)

No matter where He takes us, who He brings into our lives, how crazy things get, how uneasy we may feel, He is "the One who will keep you on track". We have to trust in His voice completely and trust that He knows what He's doing! We may not fully understand His plans, but they are "fool proof". So join me in the adventure! Join me in life! Let's uncover all of the secrets and treasures the Lord is leaving for us. Let's become one with Him and His will. Let's march into the unknown, knowing only one thing: the Lord is good, and the Lord loves us. With that revelation, we are completely safe.

Doubt Is Not A Friend

It's funny how easy it is to doubt. When we are unsure of our surroundings, our circumstances, our feelings, our emotions, or our relationships, we can either let doubt in or let God in. We either doubt, or we trust. Lately, to be completely honest, I have not been trusting God at all. Sometimes I forget He has everything under control. He knows the future, and worrying and doubting does nothing good for my soul; it only makes me scroll through my insecurities like a tv guide.

When everything seems to be going wrong, it's so easy to let our feelings get compromised and let doubt in. Doubt tells us that it won't work out, our efforts will come to nothing, God isn't really interested in our situation, it will end terribly, we don't really know what we're doing, our feelings aren't real, etc. Instead of doubting, we should be trusting the Lord and trusting His plans. If we submit ourselves to Him, doubt doesn't come easily. When we are in-tune with His will, doubt isn't our go-to emotion. Trust, trust, trust. Because in the end, doubt will do nothing for me. It will only leave me in my insecurities, and rob me of something that could potentially be the best thing that ever happened to me! Doubt keeps me from exploring, because I'm too worried it just "won't work out", or I'll get hurt.

Let's look at a recent scenario of mine: feelings. I am a feeler. It can be good and it can be bad at times. Because I am a Christian, I am always trying to make sure that I stay in the Lord's will for my life, so my feelings are usually guided by that. If all goes well, my feelings are in-tune with His, and I can determine whether my feelings are from Him or from a different source. Now, to be honest, things don't always go well. Sometimes the devil likes to come in and tell me that my true feelings (from the Lord) mean nothing. I begin doubting the Lord's voice, questioning myself, questioning Him. It's a never ending doubting circle. The only way to keep myself from falling into doubt, is to guard my heart from outside voices, knowing my Father's voice clearly, and knowing myself. It's funny when you realize you've been wrong, and you come to the light - everything feels different. Everything feels better. I think "how could I have believed anything else? How silly." Exactly. How silly doubting is. Especially when you're doubting the most important things.