So I am Complete in Christ....Now what?

I know. I know. I wrote that last blog post at the beginning of January and here it is February 1 and I haven't written another thing. Horribly lame way to start a blog. 

I hope none of you read my previous post thinking that once I had the epiphany that I was complete in Christ my life became sublime. It didn't.


It is so easy to write a blog post about realizing that you are complete in Christ. Do you know what is harder? Living like you are complete in Christ.

Even though I knew I was complete in Christ, life was and is still a struggle. I had also forgotten that the Bible doesn't say "if" trials come upon you, it says, "when" trials come upon you.

After listening to a sermon by Ben Miller, I was reminded that our lives are going to be filled with struggles and trials. The Lord puts these struggles and trials in our lives to bring us closer to Him and to glorify Himself.

It is easy to spend a lot of time trying to figure out the reason the Lord has placed a certain struggle in your life.

I spent lots of time wondering why I was having such a hard time having a third child. Was it something I had done in my past? Was God judging me? Why did we wait so long to have kids? We shouldn't have waited so long. Why do I keep having miscarriages? Why, why, why, why.......

Eventually the Lord changed my heart and made me realize that reflecting on the past and wondering about this or that doesn't really help address the present. It certainly does not change the present either. And you may never figure out why God is working your life out in a certain way.

The Lord doesn't want us to meditate on these unknowns.
  
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8

The next time you catch yourself jumping into Alice's rabbit hole of self-reflection and pity, remember what God wants you to reflect on: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praise-worthy things.