Finding Value

Ephesians 2:4-9
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,"

So I was thinking to myself as my 26th birthday fast approaches what have I done with the first 25 years of my life? I mean my goodness it's a quarter of a century and what do I have to show for it? As these questions continued to circle around in my head the enemy way quick to respond. He showed me what I was lacking: a husband, a full-time job that I love, a house, debt up to my eyeballs. As I began to feel down and depressed about my life God wanted to come to my rescue. His presence of peace and love was so overwhelming and the truth he revealed to me was so needed. You see before I allowed God to speak into my situation I was trying to erase my doubt and insecurities on my own. I was going to family and friends hoping that their encouraging words would help. They would mention college or church and for a few moments I would feel better, but it wasn't sustainable. The feelings of doubt and regret would still creep in. Then finally when my walls were down and I took a moment to be silent and still God revealed something amazing to me. It's not always easy to take a moment to simply stop everything to hear what God wants us to, especially with the way our lives are nowadays, but when we do it is totally worth it.  When God spoke into that situation I felt immediate joy and peace. I am always so amazed by what we find as valuable compared to God. In our world it's about what we have and we measure success based on how much we have compared to others. Yet God values how much you give, not in the financial sense, but in what you give to give to his kingdom. In the moment when I was looking for value he showed me that I had accomplished more than I had ever thought. He told me that I had been faithful and in my faithfulness my family had been saved. God showed me how he used me in my family lives to plant a seed. Knowing that 5 people who I love so much would spend eternity in heaven with him is more than I could ever ask for. To be a vessel for him is by far the greatest gift. So now as 26 approaches I'm not thinking about the past 25 years. Instead I'm thinking about the future and it excites me to see what God has in store. So my challenge for you is to find a moment to silent and still. God is always speaking to us, but we just have to listen. So take some time to listen because I guarantee that you will be amazed at all He has to say.