Catalyst Journal: Day 1

February 10, 2008

Well, if you worshiped this morning at Suncrest (or caught the message at our website) you know we’ve been issues a 21-day challenge to read a selection of scriptures each day and meditate and pray on it, then journal a response. Since I need to blog more anyway, I may as well use this space to do my journaling! By the way, before I jump into this, many Suncrest staff are contributing to the “official” Catalyst “21 Day Challenge” blog at http://suncrestchristian.blogspot.com/, so check it out!

Day 1: 1 Samuel 12:24;

But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

Man, simple at first glance: revere God, serve him, remember what He has done. Sadly, in my life it seems the more He does for me, the less I am to appreciate it– I get into this “everything’s fine” vibe and totally lose track of how I’ve been blessed. For instance, last week I got what was probably the third best piece of news in my life (which I can’t quite talk about yet– but I can say the first two are the Gospel and Patti saying “Yes” when I proposed), but I was so preoccupied with my activities for the day I didn’t invest the time and emotion I should have in thanking him. For a long time in my personal devotions I used the classic “ACTS” method (Adoration, Confession, Thankfulness, Supplication), not because prayer needs structure, but because it forced me to process through all the things I should be thanking God for (I never had problems in the supplication [asking] part)! I think I’ll implement it again for awhile.

This scripture was timed perfectly– as this morning’s message emphasized, we can see clues to where we’re headed based on what God has already done/is doing in our lives. The thing He impressed most on me today, both out of this verse and the worship experience this morning, is how many relatively crappy things in my past I should be thanking God for. I’m a natural critic of the “everything happens for a reason” line of thinking, but man, if my path in life had been any different (for instance, if I hadn’t got fired from a job last year, which at the time hit me pretty hard) I wouldn’t be where I am right now, and man, I love where I am.

God, it blows my mind to think about all you’ve done to get me to where I am. I can’t wait to see what is next!

Posted in Suncrest, Kevin's Life