Encouragement

This morning I woke up at 6am and slowly and reluctantly crawled out of bed and went to the gym. Aside from it being -1314535 outside, it was so nice to be back in there lifting and sweating again :)

However, after 10 min on the stair master I could only think,"Am I back in shape yet????" 

Stair master:1 Me:0. Maybe next time.

One of the great things I love about the gym isn't just to relieve stress and "get away" for some me time, but to actually spend time in prayer. It's my time where I am by myself and think about how God is using me, where he wants me, and what I can do to be a greater servant for Him, my husband, family/friends, church, and others. Sometimes it's incredibly great and I feel so thankful for the blessings I have been given and that I know what He wants from me on certain days. Then other days I'm feeling overwhelmed and wondering what the heck He wants of me, 1 in 8 billion people, to do and if He really needs me?

So, this morning I decided to read in the book of Acts since that is where we are studying in church. Two verses stood out the most to me and I know God wanted me to register these. 

The first one is Acts 3:25-26

"You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness."

This verse is a great reminder. We are the generation from Abraham and his sons. What a gift and blessing to know that Jesus came and lived the perfect life and died for US. That God made this covenant so long ago, knowing we were in this promise and in His plan. There are times where I feel so small and maybe even forgotten at times, but to know that I, 1 out of billions of people, am loved unconditionally and that He has and never will forget me. Same goes for you who is reading this post. I know some of you Christians reading this can feel rested, reminded, and reassured knowing that we have the free gift of the Holy Spirit because we believe and follow this promise that was followed through. And I would encourage anyone who is searching or wondering about who God is to follow through on those questions you may have. Do some research and lots and lots of prayer. Prayer is so powerful. 

The next verse is Acts 4:29-31

"And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

This was great for me because it shows the apostles asking God for boldness. So many times I think I should have it together by now and be able to witness to people confidently. When the time comes around where I have the opportunity to share the Gospel; I am confident in what I believe and am saying, but nervous about if I am explaining it correctly for them to understand. I also get so nervous about how they will react.  But what made this verse realistic to me was that the apostles were being real. I can only imagine witnessing back then. There was such harsh punishments that happened and also facing the authority and speaking for their actions. Boldness would definitely be the thing to ask for! Especially for the new believers. If I lived back then and had just got saved and had to go out and spread the Word I probably would be pretty flippin scared. So this verse encouraged me that I need to also ask for boldness. To help me be confident when witnessing. Simple as that. I love learning how God used the apostles to be an example for us and that we should learn from their actions that God called them to do. And as far as how people react, you just can't control that. All that is in God's hands.

Hope this encouraged anyone reading this and that you find it helpful like I did.

:)