Why Boldly Seek? He doesn’t expect Perfection.

When Rebecca first approached me about this dream, it was at just the right moment in my life. I had been toiling for the last few months about what I am supposed to be doing in my life. I’d prayed on it, slept on it, talked about it, and, through it all, one thing seemed clear: I’m called to be a part of something greater than myself.

Rebecca and I had started to do weekly car talks and devos when she expressed the want to create Boldly Seeking. At that point, I had been quietly growing in my faith: being more willing to put some praise toward God on social media, adding a verse to an occasional post, mentioning my faith here and there, but nothing incredibly noteworthy. I know I love Jesus, but there were, and still are, times I get so nervous that I’ll alienate people, offend somebody, or someone will make negative judgments about me based on my faith. I felt challenged to overcome those anxieties and give all glory to the one who goes before me. 

James 4:8 hit me with some hard truth. “Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You sinners, clean sin out of your lives. You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure.” Woah. Read that last sentence again. “You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure.” Make your thinking pure. I never once looked at my anxiety about talking about God as serving the world, but, truly, when you let that voice overcome your want to talk about Him, that is putting worldly opinion completely over God’s teaching. How the freaking heck am I supposed to speak His word and proudly give Him praise when I’m over here focused on how my friends will react? Also, how am I supposed to talk about Him? 

Think about how easy it is to talk about people we know. We have no inhibition when doing so. When I talk about my fiancé, I don’t just talk, I gush. I could talk about him for hours on end and sing his praises so easily. I should be able to do the same with Jesus, right? The truth is simply that I just don’t know Him as well as I could, or really as well as I should, because I don’t have a fully formed relationship with Him. Boldly Seeking exists to speak to people like me, who want to grow their love of Jesus and truly enter into that relationship. 

What is the first step in that? How am I supposed to have a relationship with God?

Romans 12:1-2 says “So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. Do not be shaped by this world; instead, be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” 

God made you perfectly in His image and likeness. Though He made us perfect in His image, He doesn’t expect perfection from us. He wants nothing more than to grow with you, learn with you, support you, and love you. All we have to do is say “yes” to the call and come to Him with open arms. He is the true father and, like your own parental figure, He wants to be there through the good, bad, and ugly. He wants you to bring your joys and sorrows to Him. He doesn’t seek to punish, but to help you grow from the pain of sin and to turn away from it. When we come to Him, He shows us more and more of His path and His joy. From experience, I can look back on my life and see His hand in every little thing. Things I thought were curses were blessings. Closed doors have become a row of doors wide open. I often stand in awe of how different my life would be if I hadn’t trusted God or followed the path that He laid out. 

The craziest thing about a lot of those encounters with God is that a lot of them happened when I was not walking with God. I was sure I was forsaken. I was positive that no one was out there seeking to love and forgive me. I was positive I was broken and no longer welcome. But God said, “That isn’t true.” He was always there. Always. He never punished me or left me on my own. No matter what, I was still His daughter. I was raised in the Catholic faith and, when I fell away, I thought I could never go back. But, in the spring of 2015, I re-surrendered my life to God. Since then, I have come back to church, my fiancé (who also was struggling with faith) recommitted his life to God and we have grown closer to Him every day of our lives together, my mom has come closer to God, and I actively feel His presence in all of our lives. 

Right now, we are all going through one of the hardest trials we will ever face. This virus and this quarantine bring about a lot of angry inner demons, but God still has us. He still loves us. He is still working for us. 

I challenge you, no matter where you are in your walk with God, whether you’re a strong believer, someone who is questioning, or someone who has turned away from God altogether, to sit down and look back on your life. What negatives turned into positives? How do you feel Him move in your life? What do you see on the horizon? What can you bring to Him? How can you give Him the glory? It is my prayer that you find those answers, find your place in your walk with Him, and choose to keep going, to grow closer to Him, and give Him the glory.

Psalm 100:1-2 “Shout to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with joy; come before him with singing.”

Find something to sing about today and spread His love through all that you do. 

I can’t wait to Boldly Seek with all of you!