7 Days After Camp: How to live out of an encounter with GodSample

DAY FOUR - SEEK FIRST

ABBEY

God really showed me love, hope, faith and restoration for my life.

In my past, I was living trying to survive day by day and just hoping the next day wouldn’t be as hard as the previous one and that I just wouldn’t give up on my son. Before coming to know God, I found myself in a toxic relationship and becoming a mum at 16 years of age. 

I was/am a teen mum, so you can imagine that all I could think about was what I was literally drowning in. I saw no way to get out and I believed that because I had made these choices, I was supposed to just deal with it and live with this lifestyle. 

My sisters invited me to Boom last year and Boom Camp was just around the corner. I decided to go and so I went with thoughts of, “Who is this God everyone talked about? And, “Why did everyone, even teenagers, praise Him so crazily?”

I remember positioning myself for God at camp. It was scary, but I decided to take that step of faith and not allow embarrassment to hold me down, feelings of shyness to hold me back, or to allow fear to push me away.

In one of the sessions, my heart was racing in response to God, and before I could process it, I began running to the altar. I encountered God for the first time in my life. My heart felt pure love. I felt a sense of belonging and I knew that it wasn’t a mistake that I was there. I just remember crying so many tears because of an overwhelming feeling of His love and presence.

Because I positioned myself to encounter God, I have lived life different ever since! God gave me strength to release me of many things and He dealt with the deepest roots in my heart, showing me forgiveness, how to love, and giving me wiser knowledge for my life.  

One thing I really took from this first encounter with God is that when you are always seeking God first, you won’t ever have to worry - as all the things in your life will fall into place! When you know God’s love, you fall in love with who He is, and when you love Him - you want what He wants. Now my life is all about seeking Him and I trust that He will provide for me, instead of just seeking whatever I need to survive.

I want to encourage you today to decide to seek God first and His Kingdom. Decide to live for Him and trust that He will take care of you as you do.