An Encounter With God

So... this afternoon I got back from a youth retreat, more formally known as the "Encounter". It's pretty self-explanatory--we spend a weekend away from the chaos of the world and things are home, and give Him the entire weekend to focus on just Him. This last Encounter was my third one, and God was faithful and came through as He always does. My entire outlook on my relationship with Him was completely changed--I know this isn't an Encounter that I'll ever forget. One of the big things that really hit me (in a good way) was something Marques, one of the leaders, said: "If God can bring something great in defeat, He can bring something even greater in victory." What was kind of funny about this is that I was thinking this very question right before Marques had even said it. How true is it though? I mean, obviously, as we are human, we mess up. I don't know about you guys, but one of the ways the enemy's knocked me off of my feet before is in telling me that if I mess up, and do something against God's will, then God'll bring good from it and teach me something valuable. This is true--God works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). But if God can teach us something valuable and do mighty works in us through our losses, how much more can He teach us in our victories? If we're in God's will, and we're fighting the fight, and staying strong in Him, think of how much higher we can go--it only makes sense that God can take us even higher when we're not the ones keeping Him from moving in our lives.

Sorry if all of this is jumbled or doesn't make any sense. It's my first blog, and I learned so much this weekend that it's hard to put everything God spoke to me into words. But for now, be challenged. And next time the enemy tries getting you to mess up or do something out of God's will, just remember: "If God can bring something great from defeat, then He can bring something even greater in victory."