Clinging to The Constant
Hey Friends!
God has been gently nudging me back into blogging—and honestly, I fought it for a while. But here I am. So much has happened in the last few years, and life truly had its way with me. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am not a fan of change. I love a good routine and a solid plan. Unfortunately for me (or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it), my mother was right—adulthood is full of change. In fact, change might be the most consistent thing in my life right now. Well… change and the Lord, of course.
Let me catch you up on some life things.
Since the last time I truly blogged, I was a missionary for 9 months, living in a constant state of change. When I got home, I was in deep with an eating disorder driven by emotional duress and struggled with readjusting back home. In that season, I felt the most broken. I struggled to find work, friends, and community, and I even struggled to feel the presence of God in my bedroom. When I finally gave up trying to fight my way out of everything, God encountered me and started to light the way. He unlocked doors, led to work, led me to school, introduced me to my church groups, reignited friendships, relationships, and even gave me some new friends that are better than what I thought I was capable of having. All of these events in my life led me back here!
As many of you know and have doubtlessly lived out in your own lives, when the environment, situation, and the people around us change, so do we. As living beings, it is impossible for us to stay the same in the midst of change. Let’s be honest, I was 16 years old when I started this blog. If 16-year-old me met me today, she would probably ask where all of my skinny jeans went. I’m a very different person in almost every way that I could be, and all of that is due to the Lord being who He is. Strong and faithful, steady and gracious, persistent and full of astounding love.
Looking back on this break, I feel like the Lord is emphasizing His consistency. None of where I am is because of me. I fall short and hide from God out of shame. Setback. My schedule gets changed, and I’m suddenly too tired to figure out a new routine. Setback. I get too busy or too distracted, and I can’t focus on my relationship with God. Setback. Do you know who is never set back? God. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Our God is never changing. By His nature, He is consistent.
As a 21-year-old in this modern age, I feel like consistency is already expected to be at an all-time low. I’m supposed to be figuring out the direction of my future, and things are supposed to get a little messy while doing so. Nobody expects a 21-year-old to be perfect. Nobody expects us to have it all together yet. Sure, they expect us to have an idea of how we’re going to get it together, but it’s not realistic that we’re there yet. I can be inconsistent in some areas, and most people would bat an eye because I'm still young and “haven’t figured it out yet”. However, let me just say this: of everything that I am supposed to still be figuring out, I have firmly decided that I need the Lord. I need a relationship with God, and I need it to be a good, fruitful, sustaining, strong, enduring relationship. I need it to be consistent.
For a moment, let’s relate this bond with God to someone we knew from school. We used to walk the halls with this person, in between our consistent, scheduled breaks. It was always the same amount of time, at the same time, on the same days. It’s easy to get close to that friend because the consistency is there. But when school is out and summer hits, all of that consistency stops, and the friendship dwindles. When the next year hits, I either never speak to certain people again, or there is a lot to catch up on, and it would take a while to get the flow back.
When everything around you is constant, cling to God. When everything around you is changing and you don’t have a solid place to step, cling to God. It has taken me so long to be able to look back and see how firm and stable the Lord has been throughout my life. I can’t settle for my relationship with God to be one that goes through the motions. I don’t know much about where the rest of my life will lead, but I know that I need God, and I refuse to only press into Him when I need something.
My prayer and challenge for you guys is that you, too, will press into Him in every season. When it’s easy and comfortable, and when it’s difficult and confusing. Start with a month. Take the rest of April and push for consistency and momentum. Be strict, do more than you need to. Let go of social media, start a devotional with a buddy, and DO IT. Write a prayer every day, study 1 chapter of the Bible a day, just do anything you can to build the consistency, no matter what the day looks like.
Here are a few verses about consistency that I hope will encourage you.
“Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful.”
“Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. ”
