On new years eve I posted a picture on Instagram bidding 2016 "goodbye" and "welcoming" 2017. My exact words were, "Welcoming 2017 and all the changes it will bring."What I didn't know was that those changes would be taking place immediately, and I was not as ready as I thought to embrace all the changes that came. My mind was set and stone on the changes that I wanted, not the ones that God had in store for me. At the time, I didn't know that. I thought that my plans were His plans. I got so caught up in them that I missed, or more like looked over all the small signs He was throwing my way. I tuned out His voice and replaced it with my own. My faith wasn't in God, but in my plans, myself, and what I wanted.

God is constant. "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Our plans though, like our emotions, are constantly changing. That's why He is "...the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). When your faith is in Him, your plans can change and your whole world can turn upside down, but you will continue to stand. "He will not let you stumble" (Psalm 121:3). "...He will strengthen you. He will help you. He will uphold you with His righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). The key to a walk of Faith is to stand firm on Him, our Rock, by seeking Him, abiding in Him, and following Him.

There are days where I struggle to pray. There are days where I struggle to pick up my Bible. There are days where I just struggle to spend a little time with the Father. Netflix takes priority. People take priority. School takes Priority. Problems take priority. I take priority. Everything else, but God takes priority for that day. Sometimes that one day turns into days; but when those days of putting God on the bottom shelf are over, and I blast on some worship I wonder how I ever went so long without spending time with Him? The struggle can be very real when it comes to making time for God, especially when our minds are on everything else but Him, but when we make God the priority, when we start with God all our struggles become very unreal.

The closer we get to His heart, the tighter HIs love embraces us, and the lighter our burdens become. Like Setffany Frizzel Gretzinger says in her song Closer, Father, "Pull us a little closer. Take us a little deeper. We want to know your heart." Because in knowing His heart everything else, our problems, insecurities, worries, doubts, fears, everything else fades away. Because in knowing His heart everything else, His love, His mercy, His grace, His strength, His character, His truth, His courage, everything else becomes clear. Matthew 7:7 says the following, "...Seek and you will find." The love that you long for, the hope that you desperately need, the grace that will erase all your shame, whatever you are looking for is found in Him. Seek Him (in His Word and in prayer), and find Him.

God is always abiding in us. He is always with us (Matthew 28:20), but we aren't always with Him. In John 15:4 Jesus tells us to "Abide (remain) in Him, as He abides (remains) in us." To abide in God is to be all in with Him. To abide in Him is to seek Him with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13). When we abide in God is when we start to see progress and growth (John 15:4). When we abide in God is when our faith becomes rooted, firm, and unwavering (Colossians 2:7). When we start abiding in God is when our walk of faith really starts, because when we abide in Him, when we seek Him with all heart, find Him, and continue to seek Him is when we start to hear Him.

For "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom 10:17). There's a difference between hearing someone and listening to someone. To hear someone is to acknowledge that the person has spoken. To listen to someone is to not only acknowledge that the person has spoken, but to respond to that person as well. The ultimate key to a walk of Faith with God is obedience. "Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days" (Deuteronomy 5:33). Faith in action brings obedience.

A walk of faith is an eye opening experience that will take you past the boundaries of your comfort zone, out of the outline of your plans, and into an adventure full of surprises. To have faith in God means that with every step, regardless of the outcome, you will trust God in the process and in the fact that He is in control. It won't always be easy, but in the end it will be worth it. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Seek Him, Abide in Him, and Step into a future with the One who will NEVER FAIL you.

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