OPEN HAND

praise God, i'm safely home!!! after forty days in Japan and five wonderful days in Vancouver, i finally got to sleep in my own comfy bed last night. :>

yesterday, my mom asked me to describe this trip in one sentence. after thinking about it for a bit, i came up with this: Life with Jesus is an adventure! i'll expand on the idea in future postings, but i'll leave this thought for the time being.

right now, God's main lesson to me is that God doesn't look at what i do for Him, but rather who i am in Him through Jesus Christ. because i believe in Jesus, i have the freedom to be myself before God, weak and broken, just as i am. but on the flip side, because i believe in Jesus, i also have the victory over my sin - because when God looks at me, He sees the perfection of Christ instead of the sinfulness of my own heart! so as i live my life, i do not have to live in fear of anything - whether it be people's opinions, failure or trying circumstances. i can walk in boldness and confidence because i belong to Jesus. a few days ago, i asked God to show me what the gospel meant to me in my life and this is what i've come to understand. so now, as i face a summer of uncertainty (since i have no job yet and many other things are still unsettled), i face it with joy and hope. because what i do is not as important as who i am. and i know Whose i am.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
~Romans 8:15~