Happy New Year, friends!!! Here’s a post I hope will encourage you :).

Eight months ago, I moved to another state for a one-year church residency. I am 12 hours away from home, and I barely knew anybody from the start of this residency. I have had the wonderful opportunity to serve as a graphic designer for this church and also receive Christian Leadership training. My time at this residency will hopefully give me more insight and equip me for current and future ministry, as I know this is the call and passion of my life to minister to others and be God’s light. While I am thankful for the time God has called me here, it has been uncomfortable moving and transitioning to a different season of life post-college.

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GOD WILL CALL US TO PLACES THAT ARE UNCOMFORTABLE.

God is reminding and teaching me that He calls us to the uncomfortable. We are not called to live a life of full comfort all the time or, honestly, ever. In God’s Word, there are many examples of God calling His people to uncomfortable situations. I think about Paul being called to share the Gospel and yet facing persecution and being in jail. I am currently reading Daniel and see how he was put in uncomfortable situations that tested his faith in God, even to the point of being thrown into the lion’s den. I also think about Jonah and how God called him to preach in Nineveh – before he ended up obeying God in the end, he went the opposite direction and landed in the belly of a whale.

As humans, it’s easy for us to run to comfort and stay there. Oftentimes, God calls us somewhere, and it is never promised to be easy or fun, and it can be uncomfortable. God, however, does promise His presence – and He goes before us, behind us, beside us, all around us, no matter where we go. Often in the uncomfortableness, God grows us. Being here in TN, where God has called me for the next year, has been hard. It may sound dramatic, haha, but it’s been hard to be far from family and friends. It’s honestly been hard to be away from the comfort of home and a place of familiarity. There were honestly many times where I wanted to leave so badly because I hated being uncomfortable – but I knew deep down that God still wanted me to stay, and there is a purpose in this time for growth, to share His Name, and to ultimately bring Him glory.

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SERVE GOD AND OTHERS WHEREVER HE PLACES YOU.

God taught me that when He has called me to be somewhere and I am uncomfortable, to ask the question of “How can I still serve God and serve people where I am at? Even in the midst of being uncomfortable in the place (or season) I am at/in?” or “How can I impact people with the Gospel of Christ where God has placed me currently?”. To give an example – it’s been so amazing, and I give God the full glory for this – but I have been able to serve on an evangelism team through this church, where I have been able to share the Gospel with the people in this broken and lost city. How amazing God is. Even in the midst of being uncomfortable, not liking where I am, and wanting to leave and go back home (the homesickness is real haha), I am so thankful God has given me the ability to go out and serve this community even despite how homesick I have been. Even being uncomfortable, God is shaped my heart to serve this community, to have a heart for this place, to speak of Him and make Him known (And God gets all the glory for this, not me). God is definitely not limited to where I am because the Gospel can be shared absolutely anywhere, but I know through where He has placed me, He is using it for His glory. Through wherever God has placed you, there is a God-given reason and purpose.

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KNOW THAT GOD IS DOING A NEW THING.

I think it is very easy when you are in a new phase of life, and you look back and dwell on the things of the old. I know that I often catch myself missing the old days and wanting to go back, and through doing this, I often become unaware of what God is currently doing where He currently has me. I think it’s also easy to become ungrateful in the current place God has you, when you dwell on the past, wishing to be there instead of where God has placed you. Here are some verses I think of:

“Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to the things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:18-19 ♡

“Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” since it is not wise of you to ask this.” Ecclesiastes 7:10 ♡

To encourage you, wherever you are currently, know that God is doing wonderful things in this season of your life. It is for good, for the Kingdom of God! He is always doing something new. It’s so easy to complain, and this often makes us not see the good things and blessings that God is doing in each of our lives. If He has called you to somewhere uncomfortable, I pray that you would be able to lean into Him. He is your strength. I pray you would be able to know the wonderful things God is doing and to trust God in every season.

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I love you guys and God loves you so much more.

Love Bea ♡