Greatly Blessed, Highly Favored

I was privileged to be able to be in Guthrie, OK for the entirety of the campmeeting. It was so encouraging and helpful to me, and I'm so glad I was able to be there. I have been through a lot of tough things lately, and I greatly needed some time for spiritual growth. There were many challenging messages, but I don't have time to talk about them all. I'll write about a couple of the ones that were most impactful to me.

We also had some very good young peoples meetings. Several of the older saints shared their testimonies of how they found God despite bad circumstances in their home lives or how they had chosen the wrong path. It was such a challenge to me to realize how blessed I am to have the raising I've had in the church. Not everyone has the teaching and instruction I have been blessed with for my entire life. It's not something to take lightly. We were given a pearl of great price, and we can't give that up for the heartbreak that is in the world around us.

My favorite message was one Bro. Michael Smith preached about going back to Bethel. God met Jacob in Bethel, and later on, when times were hard again, Jacob had to go back to the place God had met him and helped him. For me, especially because of growing up in the church, I have felt God's presence and His dealings with me. But the cares of life get in the way and often times I find myself drifting away from the source of life. I need renewal, restoration, and revival. We have to make sure we are living right and sinch it down. That message was such a stirring and challenging message to me. I knew there were areas of my life that really needed work, and I thank God for His mercy and help.

The next morning, God gave me a scripture, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 -
"But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil."
Not only is God faithful to us in helping us become established and ready, He has grace and power to keep us from wrong. God will always be right there after we seek His guidance and help. Faithful means dependent, loyal, stedfast, and constant. Each time we have problems, He is consistent to be there to help us and establish us -- to help us grow in areas we thought we couldn't. He'll anchor our feet on the rock and give us firmness in our battles. Over all of that, he has the keeping power to make us without spot and blameless before His judgment. We don't have to give in to sin and evil. God has grace and power over that. I am so very grateful for His revelation to me through that message and verse.

Another great message was also one of Bro. Michael's messages about the things we need to do. We all have a spiritual checklist with plenty of things on there that we need to do. Yet, many of them are neglected, which is one of the most dangerous problems in spiritual matters. At the end of our lives, our intentions will have no impact on what we did during our lives. Convenience for spiritual things is incredibly dangerous. A more convenient time for Felix and his salvation is never recorded in the Bible. If we pass the opportunities God grants us because the time isn't right for us, it may never be that way. Not only is salvation important, though, but specific issues in our individual lives are things we need to address. We have limited time on earth, and therefore limited time to get those things done. We have to deal with them because growth doesn't come from recognizing the need, it comes from the recognition coupled with prayer and seeking God. Saints have a lot of work to do after salvation. We have to perfect our vessel to be worthy unto Christ. It was very challenging for me. I know there are many shortcomings in my life and plenty of things I need to work on. I want to be active in fixing those things instead of letting them gather dust on a to-do list.

There were many more great messages, and I encourage you to listen to some if you weren't able to attend the meeting. It was such a great encouragement and help to me to realize God is for us, willing and able to help us, and with us every step of the way. Through these hardest months of my life, God has shown himself the strongest. Keep me in your prayers. :)

This song has been a real encouragement to me as well. We have a privilege to take all of our needs and desires to the One who controls everything:
https://www.facebook.com/sherie.benson/posts/1330501030391270

Keep encouraged!