Endurable [5/2/12]

Hello~ kjoosaurus is back!

I hope everybody enjoyed yesterday's post as much as I did... There was a lot of meaning in the post, and I am so grateful for the honesty that came from the author! It was refreshingly beautiful, and it really meant a lot to me. So, thank you!

As some may know, yesterday was a day filled with traveling! I went from Ottawa to Vancouver, and my room is now a disaster. It was so great to see my family; I didn't realize how much I missed them until I saw them again.  It is such a blessing to be part of such a loving and caring family. For many years, I have taken them for granted, and I wish I had known better! But I am now going to try my very best to appreciate and love them as much as I can! It's never too late to start :)

God has provided me with various topics to write about, but He has mostly been pushing me towards the topic of temptation. Hmmm.. Temptation. It existed since the beginning; Satan tempted Eve into taking a bite of the fruit. From then on, temptation has occurred over, and over, and over again throughout the bible. The temptation to sin surrounds us; it comes in all shapes and forms, and they can appear to be so humanly impossible to resist.

Ottawa. It was a place where temptations had a harder time getting to me. I struggled a bit with temptations, but they were easier for me to deal with. Was it because I had such a strong support from my brothers and sisters in Christ? Was it because I had grown so much closer to God?

Vancouver. Oh, Vancouver. Just hours after landing in Vancouver, I was tempted to go back to my old ways. My days of laziness, my days of anger and impatience, my days of selfish desires. I haven't been in Vancouver long, but my initial feeling was a loss of passion; I felt like I had lost my desire to worship and love the Lord. I didn't feel like reading the Bible, and I had no desire to pray. I was tempted to sit in my bed all day and all night, and just waste my time watching dramas, listening to worldly music, and just do nothing.

I was at a vulnerable state. I didn't have the support I was used to, and temptations have been coming at me from left and right. To be brutally honest, and I want to be completely honest with you all, I have been hit by many sexual temptations, and temptations for recognition/attention. These temptations have been VERY obvious since I got home.. Since I have arrived home, I have been receiving quite a bit of attention. All of it from males. These certain people have been saying things to me that perplex and distract me... They give me attention I used to crave so much, but now, I'm just sitting here wondering why God is allowing them to distract me from Him.

At first, I was really torn. This attention I was receiving was attention I had craved for so long. I never ever received this kind of attention, and I had been seeking and searching it for 90% of my life! I was tempted to go back to my old ways, and bask in this attention. I was so close to moving away from God again, and accepting this new attention, but as I've been thinking about it, God has showed me that these are just false rewards. This is not the attention and "love" I am craving. What I truly desire is God's love.

I was telling a brother in Christ about these troubling temptations I've been facing, and he told me to look up this verse.

1 Corinthians 10:13
"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

Our God is faithful! The temptations we face... They are nothing we can't handle. It becomes troubling to be facing a temptation. In that very moment when we are living through the temptation, it can feel impossible. At times, we may feel like there is no other choice but to succumb to this temptation, but trust in the Lord, for He is mightier than any trial or temptation we face. He will always provide us with a way out, and we must look to Him!

I think God really wants us to trust Him and lean on Him. As mere humans, we seem to think our own power is good enough to rely on, but we are so weak. Without God, we are vulnerable to anything and everything, and with God, we are able to get through anything. The situation may seem difficult at the moment, but we must remember we are not alone. Not only do we have God, but He has provided us with people on this earth who are there to support us and pray for us.

James 5:16
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Don't be afraid to share your sins with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ... We aren't meant to keep everything inside, and handle everything on our own. God wants us to pray for each other; I believe this is a part of loving each other... Prayer is a powerful thing and we must use it to help each other as well! Many times, it is so difficult for us to confess our sins to people on this earth. There is so much stopping us; I personally struggle with being judged, and I'm sure there are many other reasons why people struggle with confessing to each other.

I'm not suggesting you tell every single person about your every sin... That's not at all what I mean. We should take note of how the verse says the "earnest prayer of a righteous person..." Those who are true brothers and sisters of Christ are the ones who will have effective prayers. They are the ones who God is able to use to guide you and help you through any difficult situation! It is a great thing to be able to pray for your sisters and brothers in Christ! There's a reason why we have one another. We are here to support, love and pray for each other. We should share our struggles with one another, and whole-heartedly pray for each other! Relationships are beautiful in this way. God uses relationships to guide every single one of us!

Anything is possible with God.

He has provided our every need, and there is a reason for everything that happens in our lives. Whether it be temptations that seem so difficult to endure, or blessings that God has given us. He has designed our lives with such detail and precision; everything was planned out perfectly before we were even born! Let us not forget how truly magnificent and mighty our Lord is! :) Praise Him!

Thank you for reading this post! It's much appreciated :) Here's the song I listened to today - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7QQGPv1Ikc

-kjoosaurus out!