An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad.
Proverbs 29:6
I have known for sometime what it is that I should write for this article, yet I have resisted for various reasons. Through the course of the last month, I have been looking for a new teaching job, facing the possibility of finding a new place to live and realizing that I have not done my job with the kids at the church. It is so easy to come up with excuses and yet I am only lying to myself. Instead of listening to God, I have listened to Satan and given credence to his lies and deceitfulness. This is my confession and I make it without hesitation. Rather than doing God’s will and bringing glory to His name, I have done the opposite and for this I am sorry.
There comes a time in one’s life that they have to make a decision, in fact there are many times in one’s when they have to make a decision. Regardless of the situation or who that person is, the decision is always the same: follow God’s will or follow your will. If you choose to follow God, than he will bless you and provide for you in your times of need. The latter choice of following your will is going to get you into trouble. There is no blessing given if we follow our own path. It is no secret that God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous. Psalm 11 verse 5 tells us, “The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence His soul hates.”
Here’s the deal, there are things that I should have done and when it came time to make those decisions, my choices did not always bring honor and glory to God. Do I think that I am being punished for my mistakes? Perhaps. Do I think that God is gently nudging me to acknowledge that I did not always make the right decision? Probably. Am I being receptive to what it is that He is telling me? Absolutely. I am not sure what it is that God has in store for my family and me. Through all of the ordeals, Katie keeps wondering if God is testing us and how much lower we could get. My response to her was instead of asking how much lower are we going to get, we should be asking, how high He is going to raise us up? Take Job for example, I do not think that anyone would argue that this man went through some rather unfortunate events. Yet in the end, God had a plan for Job and that plan was to gently correct Job and to give him blessings even greater than Job had in the first part of his life. I firmly believe that God will provide for my family and me, just as he did for Job. However, I do not think that my blessings will include sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys; at least I hope that is the case.
So where do I go from here. I mentioned earlier that I feel as if I have not done my job with the kids at the church. I feel as if there are some things that I have done well, but not well enough. When I first started working with the youth, I was full of energy and excitement for what I was doing. But after some time, I became complacent in my job and as a result, the kids suffered. I know what it is that I have to do and God has renewed in me the excitement and energy that I once had. I have always said that God had a plan for the youth of All Saints and I still believe this. Over the course of the next few months, I will be working on ways to improve Kids Club for the fall. If you are not sure what Kids Club is, please find me and talk to me. Maybe God is calling you to work alongside me with our kids. It is my prayer that He is talking to you all. When I approach you with the possibility of joining my team of volunteers, seek out God’s will and not your own. It has been just about three years since I started in this position and I feel as if God is moving us in a new direction. You just might be facing a decision in your life and the choice is yours: follow God’s will or follow your will.
An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad. I am proud to say that I can sing and be glad, because I am listening to God and following his will. I am looking forward to the life that God has planned for me and wait anxiously to see just how high He is going to lift me up.
In His Name,
Ben Giuffrida
Youth Coordinator