The Long Road Traveled

For years, I have traveled down long roads.From one place to another, I go many different ways.I ran, I run, I have run, and I continue to run... I have learned much, yet there is still so much I have yet to learn. My heart is not hidden for it is well known.I am determined to live as a transparent glass.I have been blessed, but I have also been tested.Many things were given up to live in the life I live.Much has been gained from the sacrifices made.People go by; to and from I see them.They pass by me, and I pass by them.How many souls have the truth?How many people are on the right path?There are so many questions to ask, but so little time to ask them.Who could understand a single mom and her struggle?Who will know why a person does drugs or alcohol?Why does a woman abort a child?To what end does a man have sex before marriage?Why do people lie?Really, people have reasons they do wrong,But the truth is that no one can ever say why sin is so appealing.You see a man crawling on the sidewalk.He has blood in his hand, and he looks injured.Do you stop to help?Or do you stop to stare?So much has happened because of sin in this world.A person may not stop to help because they might think the guy is dangerous.He might be a serial killer, a rapist, a con-artist, or a thief.Sometimes, I wonder when I stop to help someone.It has been a long road traveled for us all.Green apples taste so smooth going down,But too many will take away the taste in one's mouth.Sin seems so sweet when it presents itself.However, its end is what we live in now which leads to death and Hell.Life seems so wonderful, yet it is really a growing process.How many people will we reach with love and truth?A man is born into a world.His life begins in a place that is filled with violence and death.Drugs are on every corner, and he sees these things.He learns of many sins at a young age, but even being subjected to such things, he chooses not to do such things.He sees his family torn apart, and he becomes a part of a new family.He still remains in touch with his whole family though.He hears every side.He is left alone many times.By all accounts, this man should turn away from all good.His heart is still honest though.He had tried in his younger years to be hateful to God, and everyone else.However, this person still had a heart of kindness, love, and forgiveness.It was not the man's ability to love,For it was Christ affecting his life before he even really knew who God was.Why would God take the time to show a man who wanted nothing to do with Him, who He was?It was because God loved Him first.Are we servants to do what we want?Or do we do what God wants willingly or unwillingly?How does one even begin to explain free will?There is much that I know, and there are a whole lot of things that I shall never know. After my time at work, some relationships, and so many tests, trials, and temptations, I have learned something.We will never know the full will of God unless God comes down and reveals it to us.I have been trying for years to figure out what God wants exactly for my life.I can't do it...I have turned many stones.I have listened, prayed, and read.I have served, and I have rested.All I have done was succeed in figuring out the next step I needed to take.The path we know.It is to trust God, listen to God, witness to the world, and end in heaven.The next step we carefully take, but what happens inside the path.Could you tell me that at 2 years old, you knew you were going to be exactly where you are today?I never know what tomorrow brings.At one point, I think, I am going to study this day.Two days later, I get the study time, but it was not when I planned it.My plans are made.They happen in sequence and work, but God changes when the plans work.I pray and plan to write a book.My writing is stopped.I then start writing three weeks later, and it is right after something happened to help me understand the subject better.My truth is that God loves me.I have never been able to take a step without Him standing by like a true parent.My entire life is testimony to God's love, grace, mercy, ability, and His overall glory.I have done nothing to receive God's love because He loved me before I even existed.Nothing I own is mine because I am simply a steward over what God has given me.I have started to think that life is just our path towards God or away from God.Any man that chooses to stay in the center of the path will still be away from God.In our walk, we need to give others a chance to be what God has made them to be.We also need to give ourselves a chance.I have learned that nothing presented to us is too much to handle.Yes, the obvious is that we need God to overcome the obstacle.Of course, those things we don't always see are also available.God has His people placed in positions to help.God has made our bodies ready for the load we must carry.Confidence is not the belief that we are great.True confidence is knowing that God made you with a purpose to carry out.It is being able to see the resources that God has given us to accomplish a task.It is realizing that we are loved and God created us for victory and not failure.Sometimes, it does rain hard.We need to not think defeated, but realize that the rain will end.Sometimes, the release is death.But it is better to die as Christ unto Him than it is to gain the whole world.My truth is one of victory over turmoil, strife, toil, and circumstance.Everyone can be a victor though.It must start by first believing that God is God.How can we say that we understand God, if we don't understand that we are safe with God?I speak with conviction because I realize that I used to worry about a lot.The truth is that tomorrow can worry about itself.Our concern needs to be living each step for God.I have traveled a long road.I have run from one end to the other.I have exhausted myself trying to know what is next.The truth...It doesn't matter what is next.All that matters is will we trust in God when the next thing comes.My God is great.Many tests will probably come from the enemy just because I put my words on this statement and truth.But I don't care about much anymore except living for God.So many people are dying.So many are lost and gone or going.My service is not for my salvation.I was saved by Christ...My service is to help end the cycle of sin.It may seem futile, but the truth is that the battle was won when Jesus was on the cross.All I have to do is stay focused on Christ, and tell the truth.This is the meaning of life.My life is to live to glorify God, your life is to live to glorify God, and all life is to live glorifying God.This is my truth.There really is no other truth for me.I must daily come to an end of myself and submit to God the day.I am not perfect.However, this is what I want my life to be.I just want to see God's face in the end.I want to run up to Him, and lay down.I am ready for His rest, but I am also ready to serve.I want to be so on fire that every breath I breathe burns the Devil.I want to have God's heart.God has been my comforter the many nights I was young and cried in pain.God kept me when I thought it was all over.I would have nothing if it weren't for God.I will never forget when I could not see a light, but God was there for me.I was not supposed to ever walk right again, but God gave me back the ability to walk and run.People thought that I would be put on a medical board when I got injured.God fought for me though when others thought it was all lost.I was told that I would not make it.But God has gotten me through much.I was told that I would be alone for my life if I held on to God.But I am not alone.I said that all the friends would mean nothing if I didn't have God.And so not only did I have God, I also gained the best friends in the world.I am part of a body that no man can stand against.No weapon forged against us shall ever stand.And we choose to spread the message of Christ with our deaths and not forcefully.Who else spreads such a controversial message by giving their very lives?The Muslims have to use a sword.Other religions have to attack Christ.All Christ says is, "I am the way, the truth, and the light. Come follow me and leave everything else behind."We willingly die because we know that when Christ comes back, He will avenge us by destroying the lies.Every knee shall bow and acknowledge Christ as the person He is.We don't need to use the sword because the word is its own double-edged sword.We are judged by the very same things we tell others.It is not our truth or our philosophies we are teaching people.It is the word of God.Man has never been the beginning and end of wisdom.God is the Alpha and Omega of all things.I know that victory is assured.I shall never give up.My confidence is not in myself; my confidence is in Christ.Through Him I can do all things.Those things will be in accordance with God's will.My life will be used to bring glory to God.This is my truth: I am a child of God who is loved and has a firm relationship with Christ.No one can separate me from my father because Christ's hand is on me. I love God!!!Today it all clicked, this is the long road traveled, and I am determined to keep my first love because God gave me the ability to do so, praise God!