The Real Meaning Behind My Challenge...

Welcome to my first spiritual blog of sorts. Today, I want to talk about a challenge...

If you don't know what my challenge is, then you haven't paid much attention, have you?! Hehehehehehehe, I kid.

Here it is;

"To Live as a Godly man, not just on the outside, but on the inside, and through everything I do..."

To start off, the story as I how I got this challenge will be up in a week or.

Second, the first meaning. Well for those of you who heard me speak in St. Stephen's Green, you know what it is. But for those who don't, I shall explain. In today's world, its hard to live a Christian Life. Constant pressures from the media, circumstances, and friends and family make it the hardest thing to do in today's life.

Before I went to TeenStreet (which is where I got the challenge) I had been struggling with an addiction to porno and masturbation. I loved God, but it was like I was living for him. Then He gave this challenge...and everything changed.

We are called to live a life solely devoted to God, focusing only on him, and not the world. The challenge is primarily the challenge of authenticity. To live authentically for God, living the life he has called us to live. Ever since the day I got that challenge, I've been praying more, studying His Word more, and loving Him more. My life is totally different now, because I am trying to live the life He has called me to live. And why should I? Cause He loved me so much, He sent His only Son to do in my place. Its the least I can do. And why should you live the challenge? Because He did the same thing for you as He did for me. He died for you, in your place, so that we can walk with Him forever in His glory.

But over the past few days, God has been teaching me a second level of this challenge. If you read my blog on the problem I've been having with Applied Maths, you'll see that I was extremely angry, but I was also worried. After all, this is part of my future. But through reading His word, an excerpt from a newsletter, and a book on purity, He's opened my eyes to something much more.

The day that Applied Maths problem came up, I had received on OM Ireland Newsletter. Inside the front cover was a word from Mike Mullins, head of OM Ireland. In it, he looked at Proverbs 3 v 5-6;

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight."

It talks about putting our trust fully into God, and letting him take control. I didn't think much of it, until I got a phone call from my friend, telling me about the problem with Applied Maths. I rushed to Mum and Dad and told them what had happened. I was breaking inside. And so, I went outside, desperate for answers. I was walking about, trying to get my head around the whole situation, a verse popped into my head...Jeremiah 29 v 11;

""...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.""

I realised that God knew what he was doing, that he had it all planned out. And so I got down on my knees, and I cried out to Him, crying out Proverbs 3 v 5-6. I knew that I had to trust him in this situation.

But how does it relate to my challenge. As I was reading "Tactics" by Fred Stoeker, something he had written gave me a punch to my heart. He had written that in order to seek true intimacy with God, I need to let go, and put my whole trust in him, laying down everything before, and letting Him do what he does best. I realise that if I want to be the Godly man that I want to be, I need to trust Him, not just with the small and insignificant things, but with everything, big and small. The words of Jeremiah 29 v 13 ring true;

""You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart...""

Do you want to take the challenge, to live the life God intended you to live? If so, you've got to put your life before him. Trust Him in everything, and he'll make you the person you were born to be.

Let Him be the Nexus of your life...