A Personal Note

December 3, 2006

Tonight, the Navigators Student Leadership Team had their last meeting for the semester, and I feel absolutely fantastic. It wasn’t the meeting itself that gave me this feeling of peace about…everything about where I am right, but it was a conversation I had with a good friend afterwards, coupled with the recent completion of a fast in which I learned a lot about self-control and dependence on God.

I’ll start with the time of fasting that I had a week ago. The week before Thanksgiving break a couple of friends and I decided that we would fast the week after the break. So, when I got back, I began, and it was hard. It was hard just to live with my roommate who wasn’t fasting. The temptation to give in was all around me, during meal times and anytime someone even cooked popcorn for a snack. But the biggest temptation came on the second day of the fast when I worked the dinner shift at the Derby Dining Center (the dorm cafeteria). As the week went on, I began to lean on God when temptation grew around me. Every morning I would pray to God for the energy to go through the day, and for the strength to maintain my self-control and not give in to temptation, and he answered everyday. Through the course of the week, I faced temptation so much that it became almost natural to deny my urge to give in. At the end, when it came time to break the fast, I wasn’t as eager as I thought I would be to taste food again. My self-control was immensely bolstered through that experience, and afterward I took that lesson of self denial and applied to an area that I had struggled with and it hasn’t been an issue since. Plus, I feel that God really has shown me what it is to truly walk and live in the Holy Spirit. I felt closer to God in the last week after the fast than I have all semester, possibly closer than I’ve ever felt.

Then, a week later, I had a talk with one of my close friends about a family issue that I was facing and she gave me some excellent council and insight into the situation and how I needed to approach it. Then after talking about some other things that I had on my mind, her answers to some of my questions allowed me to let go of some things that I think were holding me back from following God with all that I am. With those things now put to rest, I really feel that I am closer to God than I have ever been. I can’t explain how absolutely wonderful it feels to know that God is working in my life, that the creator of the Universe, the almighty God of everything is coming close to me and calling me even closer. It’s absolutely exhilarating. I’m now two weeks away from winter (Christmas) break, and I can’t wait to spend some time totally dedicated to thinking about Christ and what he did for me, about the miracle of his coming into the world and the cost of his call.

It is now my prayer that you, whoever you are, whoever is reading this right now, could feel what I feel right now. Whoever is reading this right now, I want you to know that no matter what you’ve done, no matter how good or bad your life is, no matter if you think you are worthy or not, God wants to know you, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus Christ, the son of God, came into this world and died for our sins, not because he had to, not because that was his purpose, but because He loves YOU and wants to bring YOU into a relationship with God. He did it because he loves you. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, what you’ve done, where you live, or how old you are; He wants to know YOU. He loves you more than anything you can imagine, and he wants to know you. Just stop reading for minute and think about this for a moment: Christ Jesus, God, the almighty creator and master of the entire universe wants to know YOU.

If you truly want this, all you need to do is pray (say out loud or in your head) “Jesus, God, I want to know you, show me who you are.” He wants to know you, and he wants you to come to him. The ball is in your court now…