My Motivation To Grow

So, about a month ago my life started to shift for the better. I was introduced to a couple people that pulled me up from some pretty difficult times in my life. I wasn't reading the Bible as much as I should have and I was going to church just to show my face basically. But ever since I met those new people, my life took a shift. It wasn't obvious ether. Its not like they told me that I HAVE to read my bible or that I HAVE to go to church or that I HAVE to grow in my relationship with God.

I was introduced to them through a friend. So I knew they were christian already. But they weren't the type of christians that shove the Bible down your throat and force their beliefs onto you. They just enjoy your company and get to know you. They established trust with me and I got to know them on levels I didn't expect. Eventually, I started to feel loved by them and just wanted to be around them because they pour out Gods love onto me and everyone they come across, without them even realizing it. As time went on I didn't even realize it , but they rubbed off on me and I just wanted to be like them. I started to want to give off the same "positive/loving energy" that they gave me.

By being around them, you just want to be a better person. The kind of love that they share is only the type of love that you can get from knowing Gods love first. In order to truly know his love you have to have a good relationship with him.

How did you start to grow in your relationship with God though?

Well, its honestly not as hard as you might think. Im honestly still learning myself, but its something that takes a life time. You literally will spend your whole life getting to know God. There's always so much to learn about him. You'll never be bored with him because there will always be something new to discover.

For me, it helped alot that I surrounded myself with christians. Especially this new group of people that I met. Since I just met them, it was very interesting to hear their thoughts about stuff in the bible.

Honestly, they are way more advanced in their relationship with God and knowledge of the bible then I am. But that was my greatest motivation.

Since they were far more advanced then I was, it motivated me to want to grow in the word as well so I could be on their level. Growing up, I went to church, but my sunday school was more of a babysitting situation. So other then what Biblical cartoons and movies taught me, I literally knew nothing about any stories in the bible.

At church the Pastor would make a reference to a story in the bible and he would be like, " I wont explain the story because I know you all already know it." But id sit there so uncomfortable and ashamed because I DIDNT know the story. I had no idea what he was talking about. So I would always feel so left out. Ofcourse it was my own fault but its not easy having to teach yourself stories and having to catch up to everyone when they grew up knowing all the stories.

Id always say that I wanted to grow with God but never actually did anything about it

I would always have the intention of reading the Bible and building my relationship with God but It was all talk and no action. I would GENUINELY want to but I always had some excuse as to why I didn't. My go-to excuse was that I was too busy, or that I would get to it later when my life calms down. Or I was always waiting for the "right time".

NEWS FLASH !

Its never going to be the "right time" for you. You're never gonna "have time" to dive into the word. So guess what. You want to go deeper with God? JUST DO IT! Yes, I just quoted "Nike". But guess what, their right. You want to do something, then stop making excuses and just do it.

YOU'RE GONNA STUMBLE !!

I'll be straight forward when I say this. But you WILL fail. At first you are going to be so motivated and excited to go into the word and you'll have a streak going on with how many days you read the Bible in a row and you'll be doing so good. Then one day you'll be genuinely too busy or you'll forget and you'll fall. For some people, the very next day they will get up again and continue the streak. But for most people, you'll go back to your old ways and have no desire or motivation to read the Bible.

It'll happen, but when it does don't be discouraged

God knows your heart and your intentions. He knows that you're gonna fail, but as long as you have the desire to get back into it, he knows that. So don't feel bad or discouraged. Honestly, just pray about it CONSISTENTLY . Be intentional in growing with him. For me, I could go months without getting back into it. But guess what....what did I do? I GOT BACK INTO IT!

Realistically,

We are human and so failing is inevitable. We will need help from each other to go far in life. I'll be honest, right now I can't do this on my own. Starting off by yourself is so hard. You can do it but it will be hard to stay on track. No one is going to read the Bible FOR you. That part you'll have to do on your own. But in terms of staying on track, its easier with people. For me, I have my new group of friends by my side. We don't even have bible studies...yet. But all they do to help me, is literally just talk about God in a way that makes you want to know him in the same way they do. They don't even do it on purpose, thats just who they are. They don't even know that they are helping me! Thats probably the best part ! They make me WANT to know God more.

So the only advice I can really give, is to JUST DO IT! You might have to just force yourself to go into the word at first, since your flesh will find other things to occupy you. But once you finally dive in, your spirit will help you stay interested. But itll be a hard battle between your flesh and spirit because your flesh won't want to read the Bible. But also, surround yourself with the right crowd that build you up not bring you down.

KEY THINGS TO HELP A BEGINNER

And / Or

SOMEONE THAT NEEDS HELP GETTING BACK UP

1.)JUST DO IT ( Sometimes you just have to force yourself)

2.) Surround yourself with people that help you grow

3.) Find a pastor you like on youtube and start by just simply watching sermons if the bible just seems too much / overwhelming at first ( Michael Todd from Transformatin Church is my personal favorite)

4.) If your gonna start off by watching sermons on youtube. Scroll through a couple first, then click on which ever topic seems interesting.

5.) Keep watching sermons, eventually a certain topic will stick in your head and you wont be able to stop thinking about it. Thats the spirit trying to get your attention. So I suggest rewatching it or just researching more about that topic and find some verses that go along with it. From there you'll start to branch out and grow.

6.) I know this might seem silly, but follow a couple christian instagram pages. Like some christian memes and inspirational biblical quotes. Seeing stuff like that on the daily will start to shift your mindset. Honestly, Im all for christian memes because sometimes people think christianity is boring and christians dont have a sense of humor because they are serious all the time... no no no, I'll take a well thought out christian joke any day !

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