How To Truly Live

Learning how to live it up and find freedom in Christ

I have felt God talk to me recently about living. That sounds weird, but he has taught me about it from several different areas of my life. I don’t mean living as being alive and breathing, but I mean truly living each day to the fullest and as he intended me to.

First, I want to say that one big way that God has taught me about living is through Sadie Robertson’s best-selling book LIVE https://www.amazon.com/Live-remain-specified-exciting-fulfilling/dp/1400213061/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=live+by+sadie+robertson&link_code=qs&qid=1591924679&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-1&tag=mozilla-20 Please take the time to read this book. It is just bursting with truth and can give a fantastic point of view about life.

In this post, I want to talk about what I have learned and how I have felt God move in my life recently. I hope this encourages you, causes questions, or maybe is just uplifting!!

My Mom recently told me before the summer that she hoped I would “live it up” this summer, and when she said that, I knew what she meant, but God really changed my perspective on that saying. I also just turned 17, and it was crazy how my parents and best friend all told me that their prayer for my 17th year was that I would really live in the moment and in what God is teaching me. Isn’t God cool like that!?

The first thing God has taught me about living is to walk in the light. Our pastor talked about separating ourselves from the world and that one love leads to darkness and one leads to light, he spoke about how we are called to love the people in this world, but beware of the sin that is in it and that we are called to love the sinner, not the sin.

Our pastor said something that stopped me in my tracks; he said, “We can’t have fellowship with Christ when we walk in darkness,” and that seems simple enough, but I don’t think we realize how hard that really is. That to TRULY live for Christ, we must walk in the light, and that light cast out all darkness, and if it’s still dark, then we are not walking for God because he is the light.

1 John 1:6-7 says, “If we say we may have fellowship with him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin”. That is when God really started teaching me about living: it is about walking in the light.

The next thing is living in contrast, this is something Sadie talks about in her book, but I think it is a really awesome thing to think about when we talk about really living. As his children, we are called to be different and not conform to this world but to be people of contrast. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal or your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Part of living is being brave enough to turn up the contrast in my life; that I can choose to live in such a way that it expels joy, and that is totally different from what the world is used to. Part of choosing to live the way God has called us to, is showing a different side to life that what the world offers and showing what God offers.

Don’t get me wrong that can be scary, turning away from the word and taking the hard path, but it is incredible to see how God brings life to that path we walk. Fear is the next thing I want to talk about, I have lived in fear for a long time without even realizing it. Fear had just become a part of everyday life, now I’m not really talking about being afraid of snakes or something (although I am definitely scared of those). I’m talking about the fear of what people think, the fear of not being enough, the fear of not fitting in, or the fear of what-ifs.

I think a lot of us live in that fear, whether we acknowledge it or not. One thing I have learned about God is that he offers us something more; that we don’t have to walk in fear. He offers us freedom, WE GET TO LIVE FREE IN HIM!! When we choose to truly live in him, and when we lean into fear instead of running away from it, we get to really live.

 Don’t get me wrong, it is tough to overcome those fears, and there are days we forget that we are free, but we have the strongest ally. Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man lays snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Really living is living free!

Another part of living is loving who God made you to be, this is something I think we all struggle with. Part of living is having confidence in how God made you, and this can be really difficult and something I have definitely dealt with. But wowza God really spoke into that, he really showed me that he made me uniquely and beautifully, that he created me exactly who I am. Psalm 139: 13-14 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well”.

I would encourage you to read Psalm 139, God has shown me awesome things about myself through that chapter. Sadie talks a lot about choosing confidence, and I loved the way she spoke about it. That we can choose confidence in who we are in God and that putting our trust in him is where our confidence lies. When we are learning to really live, we need to realize that we are free from fear, and we get to walk in the light knowing who God made us to be and find confidence in that. I’m not saying it’s easy; it is something we have to choose and strive for daily, but God doesn’t make us walk alone, he is guiding us every day.

Another thing God has taught me is to live in the moment, now I know we all here that a lot but I don’t think we really live it. I think it’s living in joy each second and in the excitement of what God has in store for us. That we can live each moment, knowing that he is moving and working in our lives, living anticipation for what God is going to do in our lives!!

Choosing joy is another part of really living, this is something my Mom talks about all the time on her blog and accountability group https://www.lifesneverdull.com/ it’s also something she reminds me daily. I’ve learned that happiness is fleeting, and we can’t live in that, but we can live in joy; it is something that is founded in the promise we have in Jesus Christ. Choosing to seek God in every aspect can help bring joy, and remembering that we are free in him can bring joy. James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds.” In the trials of life, we can live in joy, trusting in the freedom he offers us.

That doesn’t mean you can’t be sad or feel angry; those are natural emotions, and you can’t just suppress them, but we are able, even through our feelings, to ask God to help remind us of what he offers us and who we are in him. My best friend sent me the verse Psalm 16:11 says, “You will make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; in your right hand there are pleasures forever.” 

Going along with joy, the last thing I want to talk about is dancing. My favorite quote from Sadie Robertson’s book LIVE is “Dancing is the universal language of freedom.” Whoa God really spoke to me in that, when we are free from fear, free from the world, free in walking in the light, and free in choosing joy, we can dance. Psalm 30:11-12 “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

I think a lot of people are afraid to dance and we don’t feel like it’s acceptable, but I think it’s one of the best forms of joy and freedom. We get to dance with Jesus and not care who is watching because we are free from the fear of others. I would encourage you to also read Psalm 30, it gives an excellent picture of the freedom we have in Christ.

It isn’t easy to live it up for the Lord, it isn’t always easy to dance, and there are times you feel like you can’t truly live, but God built us for hope. When we ask, he guides us and gives us a reason to dance. HE IS SO GOOD!! You may find days when you feel like you can’t, but we have the strongest rock to lean on; to help us get back up and live it up.

There is so much more to learn about truly living it up, but I pray this encourages you and pushes you to think about if you are living. I pray with all my heart that you can find joy and life in what God has to offer us in living in him; I hope that you can walk in light and confidence. I hope you can get up and dance in freedom!

I hope you know that you are fully known and fully loved; please reach out if you need anything! What do you feel God teaching you right now??

-Gracie K

Please check out Sadie Robertson’s Book LIVE https://www.amazon.com/Live-remain-specified-exciting-fulfilling/dp/1400213061/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=live+by+sadie+robertson&link_code=qs&qid=1591924679&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-1&tag=mozilla-20

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