Staying in the Fight & Celebrating 8 Years!

Last month, I celebrated 8 years of blogging on Drawing Closer to Christ. It is a blessing to be part of this blogging community. I appreciate all of your support! Thank you very much! 

I heard a pastor say recently that living a life of faith in God doesn’t mean everything will always go smoothly, be easy, and work out according to our plans. Instead, it means we have to keep fighting! And his admonishment reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:7 NIV, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

I have days where I feel like I am struggling to stay in the fight, keep trusting in Christ, and walking by faith. Especially when things don’t go as I thought they would. But praying about everything, holding on to God’s promises, and taking time out to be still in His presence and listen for His voice has helped me to keep going. He is with us every step of the way, we just have to surrender to Him daily and keep fighting the good fight. He will give us the strength, courage, wisdom and protection we need.

Staying in the fight is a daily choice, and we often have to make that choice multiple times throughout our day when faced with unexpected challenges. However, God is with us and has promised to never leave us. He is our faithful Lord, who loves us more than we can even understand at times. And His love never fails.

I pray His love would be revealed to you today as you persevere in your faith. Stay in the fight, God is by your side!

Glory to Glory

2 Corinthians 3:18 KJB “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

I like what Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says regarding this verse, “We see God mirrored in Christ, who is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), and as we gaze, with our face unveiled, on that mirror, a change comes over us.”

It’s so beautiful to know that as Christians, when we keep our gaze on Christ Jesus, we have the privilege of becoming more like Him and reflecting Him to others. Of course doing this takes intentionality. Everything we do should be done with the purpose of reflecting Christ. 

Photo by: Brett Sayles of USA 🇺🇸

God is always calling us higher, desiring for us to go from glory to glory and grow in our relationship with Him. This will require us to not lead a life of control and comfort, but instead a life of faith and obedience to His will. Living life with our gaze fixed on Christ, will lead us to the adventures that He has for us.

We see Him best when we choose to walk in His will, even if we must leave behind control and comfort. Although there are many things in the world that we can enjoy, surrendering to Christ each day, will give us the true fulfillment we long for. And that goes beyond even the best things this world has to offer. 

Psalm 145:16 ESV, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

As you sense God calling you higher, I encourage you to pray about everything and trust Him with each detail of your journey. Don’t let fear, anxiety, or comfort hold you back from the blessings God has for you on the next level. 

Jesus Directs Our Steps

Proverbs 20:24 NLT, “The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”

When we pray and ask God for wisdom, He will guide us and tell us what He knows we need to know. However, humility and trust help us to surrender to God and find rest knowing that we don’t have to understand every detail of every situation. And since He is directing our steps, we can trust Him with what we do not know. We do know that His plans are flawless and He will work everything out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Photo by: H&Co of Taiwan 🇹🇼

It can be difficult at times to choose to trust God with the unknowns we face. But as we choose to trust Him, we will see His love at work in our hearts and lives. There is no detail that slips past Him. He faithfully cares for us and will provide our every need. 

Trusting/Following God During Life Changes

It was a pleasure to join Matt at Jesusluvsall again for a great conversation about trusting God. Thanks Matt!

It was a blessing to be joined again by Dawn of drawingclosertochrist.com for conversation. This time we shared about life changes and following …

Trusting/Following God During Life Changes

A Secret to Long Life

Proverbs 13:3 NLT, “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.“

There is so much good that comes from choosing to guard our tongues. This can be easier or harder depending on personality and temperament. But regardless of, it is wise to control your tongue. It often takes wisdom to know when to speak and when not to. And when we do speak, it takes wisdom to know what and what not to say. The good news is that we can ask God for help.

Photo by: Brett Jordan of England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The average person, probably does not set out to ruin everything. However, this verse warns us that ruining everything is possible when the tongue is not under control. The tongue is a powerful weapon. The words we speak can hurt or bring healing; they can bring death or life (Proverbs 18:21). 

As I mentioned, God is willing to help us discipline our tongues. The Holy Spirit will guide us and impart the wisdom we need to use our tongues for good. And it’s a blessing that doing so can lead to a longer life.

Great Expectation

1 Peter 1:3-4 NLT, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”

Praise God for the living hope we have through our risen Savior, Jesus Christ! I pray the power of His resurrection would give you strength to live each day and that your heart would be filled with abundant joy and great expectation.

Have a blessed Easter! 

Photo by: Alena Koval

Do Good, Bless, and Pray

Luke 6:27-28 NIV, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” 

I think most people can agree that showing love to difficult people is one of the hardest things to do. But nevertheless, God commands us to do good to, bless, and pray for those who have hurt us.

God doesn’t always remove difficult people, sometimes He allows us to walk through the difficult circumstances and learn to trust Him as we grow in love. He never promised us that sharing His love and light would be easy, but He did promise to counsel us, direct us, protect us and love us. So with God on our side, we will be victorious. 

Photo by: Brett Sayles

As you read these verses in Luke, someone in particular probably came to your mind. These verses have given us a reminder to say a prayer for whoever has mistreated us and trust God to work things out as we obey His commands.

Never under estimate the power of God’s love or the ways He is working to bring about good in your life or needed changes in the lives of others through your prayers. Remember, His plans are best, even when we can’t yet see the end result, so continue to trust God.