Forthright Fixation

Psalm 96
Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods. - Psalm 96: 1-4 ESV

Au revoir no longer! I’m back to blogging with Forthright Fixation. And very glad to be. Thank you dear Forthright Fixation girls for the grace extended to me in my absence.

The past few months of my life have been filled with a flurry of excitement, disappointments, new challenges and yes, on and on. Yet, and I say this with absolutely certainty, and no shame of being labeled cliche-ish: The God we serve is so good! In celebration of His goodness, I’d like to use this post to recount just one of the several stories of His goodness in my life these past months.

Over a year ago, as high school sophomore, I decided I want to go to Bolivia. You see, I have an uncle and aunt down there who help with a church, run a Christian radio station, preach the gospel…and show the love of Christ to the native Bolivians. In my eyes, I figured that this was it—after my high school graduation, I would go to Bolivia and help my aunt home school her kids, do whatever needed done, and have an opportunity to interact with people who needed the hope of Christ. But God did not see it that way. In fact, I felt like the door was slammed in my face 4 months later when that same aunt and uncle came back to the States and informed us that they were on an indefinite furlough until God let them back to Bolivia. Wham! Yes, the door was closed.

Fast forward to this spring. I’m graduating, I’m looking at colleges, and yes, though Bolivia was removed from my present future, in its absence was the strong, still, desire to work be able to work one on one with people. But I didn’t know what to do with that desire. I think I should go into some sort of counseling, not for career in the field, but for experience for whatever ministry God might call me to in my life. But what is that? I’m confused.

That was challenging. Wait. Very challenging. I looked in Moody Bible College, very interested in their counseling degrees. I sent off for information from The Master’s College. For so many reasons, I definitely did not want to go to the local college, Oklahoma Baptist University. But nothing would come together with Moody and Masters, while the scholarships flooded in for Oklahoma Baptist University.

---

Guess what? As I sit here today, I am enrolled to attend Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) this fall and I am not even going for a counseling type major. And how is this a celebration of God’s goodness and faithfulness? Oh, dear readers, let me tell you of Him! And His work in my life and my heart through this all.First off, He did open an opportunity to me that I did not expect at all! A summer class on Biblical counseling was presented to me, and I quickly enrolled. I couldn’t believe it—here I was, both headed to school in the fall for graphic design and pursuing the desire for ministry. I was stunned. God is good.

And yes, even in more instances than external circumstances. He has become more and more to me. Not because He’s changed, but because He has changed me. Not because He’s given me all the answers, but because He proven faithful to let me rest even without answers. He is answering a cry of my heart: Lord, will you make yourself more real to me than anything else in this world? And indeed, these last months, He has become more real to me than ever before. As I fight the conflicting desires of my flesh versus the new creature I am in Christ, He faithfulness astounds me! He keeps drawing me back to himself! His love is great. In my trial, He is my joy, my strength, my redeemer.

Most days, I’m still not sure about this OBU stuff and my college life. To be honest, I still don’t know…well, much of anything about my “life after high school.” But I am sure about my God. In these events recounted, He has given me yet another a testimony of His faithfulness, and I will praise Him.

Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100 ESV

Filed under: Uncategorized