Hello dear friend!
This is the month I turn 20!
I can’t believe the time has come to move on from the “teen” ages into my twenties! Honestly I’m so excited. I’m excited to move onto *hopefully* better and brighter days.
The past decade has been rough. Through major health issues, struggles with my faith, depression, loneliness, sickness, loss, and many other things this decade that has been hard.
It has also been beautiful. I’ve got to know and see God in greater ways than I ever had before. I am now strong and solid in my faith in Jesus Christ. God is healing me and has been taking me on a healing journey (spiritually and physically). I feel confident in who God has made me to be and the call He has on my life! It’s been YEARS to get to this place. I’m so thankful God brought me here.
I’m hoping and expecting big things in the coming future. I’m thankful for all of you who have been on this journey with me the past few years.
I thought I would share 20 things I’ve learned and that God has taught me in these 20 years of life. Honestly I could write down SO MUCH MORE but here are just a few things I’ve learned.
The waiting seasons are not wasted. Every season is used by God including seasons of waiting which may lead to further growth than you ever thought possible.
Pray about EVERYTHING!
Trust God above all others! There is NO ONE better to trust than Jesus!
God can let you go through things you don’t think you can handle. Things that are harder than you ever could have imagined. You can’t handle it on your own. Those seasons (if you let them) will push you into greater dependence on God and grow your relationship with Him greater than you knew possible.1
Sometimes the walls in your life you think you can never get through are made by you. God can give you clear direction but then we can go off on our own plans and wonder why we are stuck.
God is always on time.
You are in this season for a reason. God has a plan for you. So how can you grow or find contentment in this season?
The waiting is where God prepares you and strengthens you. Think of it like training ground. If you are not trained and prepared then you aren’t ready for what’s next.
God really does comfort you in your darkest moments.
God is persistent. He has always been here for me!
The Holy Spirit’s voice in my life really is that still small voice2. Soft and loving and gentle. Yet it has grown louder and more clear as the years have gone by.
God started speaking to me when I started to read the Bible consistently (getting to know His voice). When I started to take Him seriously He in turn started to take me seriously (at least that is how it felt).
Truly nothing is impossible with God!
The Bible has truly changed my life! It has changed who I am for the better. It really is the bread and water of life. I cannot live without the Bible!
When you feel that still small voice (or gut feeling) listen. Even if it is small and you think it is silly or insignificant. It is in that small obedience that leads to greater obedience and greater calling from the LORD.
Grief is devastating. Jesus wept3. He knows our pain. He was a man equipped with sorrow4. He comforts us5 and is compassionate.
We can go to God with all of feelings (good and bad) because He already knows.
Betrayal is one of the worst things you can experience (to me anyway). Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest friends. He understands. Still He forgave and so must we.
Recently I’ve felt so dissatisfied with the world. There is an emptiness. Emptiness in books, movies, music, stores, and social media. Our satisfaction must be in Jesus. He is the only thing that can fill the ache—the hole inside of us. We can try to fill the emptiness but we will never be satisfied unless we have Jesus.
God’s not done with you. If you are alive and living and God is giving you air to breathe then God is not done with you. He has a plan and a purpose for you. Trust in Him! Trust that He is in control and has a plan because He is the one who is in control.6
Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day! I’ll see you in next week’s letter with a special announcement!
Yours Truly, Moriyah
Think of stories like Job and Daniel in the Bible!
And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. —1 Kings 11:11-12
“Jesus Wept.” —John 11:35
“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
—Isaiah 53:3-6
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” —Matthew 5:4
(This verse has been so comforting to me in this season)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord. —Jeremiah 29:11-14
What a lovely post, Moriyah! Happy 20th, and may He bless you, keep you, and make His face to shine upon you for however many years you have until you see Him face to face. 💕