My Christian walk this far!

Happy new month guys! I thought that as I didn’t upload last week, I might as well give an update of what’s been going on with my walk of faith. Firstly, I just want to say that by me sharing my spiritual walk on a platform like this, I’m not in any way insinuating that I have a perfect relationship with God. But I just wanted there to be a platform for both people who are struggling with their faith as well as people of no faith at all, hence I share my personal experience with you guys x

Just like any Christian trying to break free from spiritual stagnation I’ve found making progress good at some times and other times I’ve found it quite hard. Most days have been good, like I’ve really found my identify through Christ. Genuinely, as I’ve spent more time with God, I’ve started praying a lot more (something I really didn’t like to do before). Nevertheless, despite my growth there’s been about 25% of me that’s struggling, doesn’t want to continue anymore. It comes from a feeling that I think I have to be good enough, when in reality God doesn’t have a criteria for the people he loves. His love is unconditional, it’s not dependent on who I am or who you are, it’s there whether we deserve it or not. I’m not sure if you can relate, but this is something that’s so important, yet I ALWAYS seem to forget it! But it’s so interesting, because there is something, I can do about it & there is something to be done, simply put we can just read the bible more. Again, I’m going to be really candid with you... I used to really dislike reading the bible and used to force myself to read it, but it was a situation where I would actually just be reading words. Nothing ever went in, or I would read the words think I understand then have forgotten it by the end of the day. But it’s funny because the more I asked for guidance (by praying) the easier it became to read my bible. Last week I came across this verse and it really spoke to me and my situation. “Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you. Be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:7-8 GNB

I think this is so important for my journey as I always seem to think that by me ‘leaving’ my worries with God that everything would be perfect afterwards. But I was deceived! I didn’t really understand the full picture it wasn’t until I read this verse, I realised there was more to it than that. Verse 8 is so vital when seeking God. The devil is an ACTUAL opponent, he really doesn’t want to see you winning. If you think you work hard, he works HARDER. He sees you striving and getting closer to God and that’s when he reminds you of your insecurities, your fears and your troubles. It’s so funny the way the devil works! The only practical step I can give you is to try to find meaning in your devotion, we’re only human so spending time with God isn’t as easy as we think it is. We don’t need to get angry with ourselves. Gradual steps are key! We can’t control the way the devil works, but we can control the impact he has on us. The way we can do this is simply by trying to spend more time with God. The more time we spend with him, the better it gets.

I think the word of encouragement for today is: There's plenty in life that you can't handle, but there's nothing in life you and God can't handle together. When you feel like nothing’s going right, there’s usually something you’ve missed. For me it was I didn’t recognise that the devil was an active ‘opp’. What’s yours?