Filling Your Fanny pack

Imagine your life as a fanny pack. Throughout your years, you can only carry in the fanny pack what is important to you on a daily basis. Obviously, as you change, grow, and age, you will fill the fanny pack with different things. But your space to fill is limited. 

Now imagine that fanny pack as your soul. Over the years you stuff different things into it that appeal to you. Things promising happiness, fulfillment, love, and lasting joy. You fill it with whatever fits into your stage of life. But what if I told you that fanny pack was missing its bottom piece and everything you stuffed in it passed through?

Every single human being on this earth has a God-created void in their soul. A space of emptiness, loneliness, a desire and longing for the space to be filled. Nothing of this world--no matter how appealing--be it material possessions, money, a career, extravagant car and home, drugs, sex, alcohol, or a live it up lifestyle will ever fill that void. It will pass through you like a bottomless fanny pack, and leave you even emptier than before. How can you be certain of this when everything this world has to offer looks like so much fun? Well, the Bible says it loud and clear: that void was created by God to be filled with a relationship with Him. 

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water leading to eternal life." 

-John 4:13-14

Take a look in your fanny pack. What have you been stuffing in there? Open it up and open up your heart to the one thing that will satisfy your void and change your life, a personal relationship and friendship with Jesus Christ. No matter how much we have in this life, if we don't know Him, we will always be thirsty, and our fanny packs will always be empty! 

He who suffers

Following up from my last post about suffering through challenges, today my eyes were opened to the magnitude of suffering that was endured before us to make it possible for us to call Christ our Lord and Savior. My eyes were opened to seeing that what we suffer in this life, no matter how big or painful it may seem, will never be as large as the pain Christ endured for our sake.

The most humbling part of the suffering He took at the cross was that He didn't deserve a single ounce of it. He did it for those who betrayed and mocked Him in front of his eyes, for the sins that had been committed before Him and those that were yet to be committed by you and me.

When we suffer, we have the comfort of knowing God is by our side and there will be a purposeful outcome to what we endure. Whether it be a breakthrough in a relationship or character and perseverance we build, we know that God works all things together for our good. Christ purchased that reassurance for us by dying on the cross. Even after His death and resurrection, Christians endured persecution. Everything we have access to today--our salvation, relationship and personal friendship with God and Jesus, membership to the family of Christ, the Bible, His protection and blessings...it was all purchased through suffering.

Joyce Meyer writes in Battlefield of the Mind: "It isn't our suffering that glorifies God, but a Godly attitude of patience and seeking Him through our suffering that brings Him glory." 


You might think Christ's suffering was worthwhile because He did it for the millions who follow Him today. But the magnitude of lives salvation would be available to was not what made Jesus submit to selflessly dying on a cross. He died for you individually. If you were the only person on earth, He still would have endured the same amount of suffering! He loves us more than we can ever grasp. Use your suffering to bring Him the glory He deserves.

The Privileged Club

God has blessed me with many successes and a variety of accomplishments in my life. But from a young age, I have been required to work hard. Most of the time, harder than those around me. I went through a season of frustration because in pageants or job positions, whatever I was competing for at the time, it seemed that I had to exert so much energy and effort to be in the running, but there was always someone who beat me out that seemed to have life handed to them on a silver platter. One of my goals in high school was to be valedictorian of my class. I took a challenging schedule of honors and advanced placement courses and I knew from the start that I was unlike most of my peers who were naturally gifted with intelligence. Mathematical equations and scientific concepts just seemed to flow with ease from them, but it took me hours upon hours of studying and diligence to make my name as a "smart" kid.

In my season of frustration at life's "unfairness," God revealed to me that there is purpose and reason behind every suffering we endure. He began to change my heart--I started to look at the extra challenges in my journey as privileges. I am required to strengthen my faith muscle because there will be heavy lifting along my life's journey I'll do for His kingdom. Don't be discouraged that things don't come easily to you. If it is easy to attain, is it really worth receiving? The things we value most in life require hard work.

So consider yourself part of God's privileged club. He has called you aside and will ask you to do big things in your lifetime. You will need every ounce of strength, perseverance, and character you've gained from the struggles you're facing right this moment.

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come our way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. You know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." 
-James 1:2-4


"Winners aren't always the most talented, but champions put in the most effort. Champions acquire the skills necesary to excel in their profession: they build their foundation of confidence on persistence and overcoming adversity." —Dustin Hillis

Lemons

Its hard for me to believe that a week has already passed since I was in Fresno competing for Miss California. It was not my year to win the crown and job, but I was happy to have finished in the Top 10 again this year and also won top interview. Although, it wasn't my win, because I had asked the Lord for months to speak through me during my interview. He did all the talking, I just stood there in a pretty dress and perfectly teased hair!

To say I wasn't disappointed and sad would be to lie. I was upset I didn't win and confused at why God didn't put me in that position to bring Him the glory. But, I never once lost sight of the fact that it is not my right to understand how He works. Who am I to question His plan? He reminded me throughout the week of competition to trust Him. "Rachel, just trust me." And I kept my sights on Him. I hope I showed the audience, the judges, and the 58 girls I competed with His light.

My mom reminded me of something I had told my sister earlier this year when she was in a dry season for her acting career. She had gotten a lot of auditions and come close many times to booking the jobs, but it was always her age, her look, the timing, whatever the reason, that kept her from booking. At this point, most kids her age turn around and head home and give up on their acting dreams. While I could see the doubt on my sister's face for months, one morning when I walked up the stairs to our apartment past the lemon tree in the front yard, something clicked. We watch those lemons ripen on the tree like hawks! Because they are all nicely shaped and bright yellow in color, it is hard to tell if they are ripe enough to pick.

I told my sister her career was like a lemon on that tree. If a lemon is picked too early, they are too tart and sour to eat. Their life is short-lived. But if the lemon hangs on the tree until it is ripe and mature, it will be picked at the perfect time. Even if we think we are ready, only God knows when the time is right for us to blossom. We may never be picked for a certain job or position, but that is only because God has something better, bigger, and more perfect for us in store. I'm going back on the tree to grow until I'm ready to be picked--according to His timing.