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UNDAUNTED
For a few very hard years this word was my mantra.
The word means
-undismayed; not discouraged; not forced to abandon purpose or effort
-undiminished in courage or valor; not giving way to fear
But the truth is, I was often dismayed by everything that had taken place, and I did battle discouragement. I battled fear and doubts. I hurt and was angry, and sometimes "undaunted" sounded more like a mockery than a mantra, and I was determined to be real about all of it in these posts, thus the name, Undaunted Reality. More than that, though, I was determined to live undaunted, not because I'm so great or strong, but because my God is, and no matter what this world looks like, He is the only reality that matters.
I pray I live the reality of Him beautifully undaunted.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Genesis and Everything Else Begins the Same Way...with God

Two weeks ago I posted about the 2010 and 2011 and how our life changed. I said a foundational piece for me was that God created a whole universe out of nothing. Everything that had never been...from nothing.

But there is something more fundamental than even that. You know, the story didn't start with creation. It started with God.

In the beginning, God.

Everything starts with God.

I've been thinking about this because people want shortcuts, and there are no shortcuts, but people try them. They try the book studies and the conferences and the whatever classes because those are supposed to be life-changing events.

As someone who attended book studies and classes and retreats, I can tell you none of them changed my life. Because none of them changed me.

What changed me is far simpler than that.
1 I read my Bible every day.
2. I prayed a lot.
3. And I started agreeing with the Bible, not with what I wanted to hear or how I wanted life to be.
4. I admitted when I sinned by not acting in accordance with God's ways.
5. I did the hard things that obedience requires instead of taking the comfortable road with its explanations and excuses.

Simply put. I chose God.

I stopped looking for books that helped me feel better about myself and looked to the God who wanted me to have the best version of myself.
I stopped looking to retreats to have some amazing encounter and focused on creating time in my every day for intimacy.
I stopped looking for spiritual highs and decided I would take whatever truth did, even when it hurt, as long as it meant I got Him.

And He has been faithful to respond.

In Jeremiah 29, God says, "You will find me when you seek me with your whole heart."

I wanted everything He is so I made Him my discipline.

If I had to choose between sleep or prayer, I tried to always get up and pray.
If I had to choose between TV or reading my Bible, I read my Bible.
If I had to choose between my ego and becoming like Him, I choked down more humble pie.

Everything starts with God.
Everything I want to be.
Everything I want for my life.
Everything I want for my kids.
Everything starts with God.

Want to change your life?
Start at the beginning.

In the beginning...God.

Jerri L. Kelley
www.jerrikelley.com

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