I Love How God Speaks To Me

Today, in one of my classes, the Lord really spoke to me. Last year, one of my closest friends passes away. I considered him my brother. I really loved him. And even though it's been a year since he's been gone, I still miss him and think of him often.
Sometimes I would wonder, "It's been a year-is it normal for me to still feel upset and sad about him passing away?" Well, today in class I got an answer.
Our class was about Jesus as our Savior. Mrs. Rachel was teaching incredibly. And all of the sudden, Mrs. Rachel stopped speaking and said, "I feel the Holy Spirit speaking to me. He's speaking to those who have lost loved ones. Those loved ones who have passed on, The Lord wants to remind you that they are not in your past. They're in your future. You'll see then again in heaven."
I just began weeping. That was such a comfort to me. I knew that my friend is in heaven, but just to be reminded that this is not the end. I'll see him again. It was comforting and precious to me. Mrs. Rachel said, "You who feel like that word is for you-you should be very honored that the Lord would stop our class just to speak to you. That's how much he loves you." And I am honored. And thankful. That God was able to speak to me and let me know that it'll all be alright. And that He loves me.

Don't lose your PLACE

So I haven't posted any blogs in a LONG time! Well, let me tell you what has happened in my life.
If you remember, I posted about how God gave me peace about going to a school called Texas Bible Institute, and that I was planning on going there. Well I'm here! This now marks my second week here. Let me tell you, the things I have learned here in just two weeks has been INCREDIBLE. I just wanted to share something that really stuck out to me in class. I thought it would encourage yall.
One of our classes is a DVD course. We do exactly what you're probably thinking-watch a DVD. One that we have been doing is called "Breaking Intimidation", by John Bevere. Something he said today in class was astounding to me.
He read out of 1 Kings 19, about Elijah. Long story short, in 1 Kings 17, Elijah tells Ahab, "Look man, there's not going to be any rain or dew until I say so." And so three years go by, and Lo and behold-no rain or dew. During those three years, Elijah does some pretty amazing stuff. (I won't spoil it for you-you can read it all in 1 Kings 17-18). So he then goes back to Ahab and says, "Hey man, go get all your prophets of Baal, and let's have a show down. We'll both sacrifice something, and whoever's god answers is the REAL God." As you can guess, it was Elijah's God, not Baal. So then, Elijah goes and kills a bunch of Baal's prophets. But suddenly (in 1 Kings 19), Jezabel says, "I'm gonna kill you in the next 24 hours for what you did."
When Elijah heard that, he suddenly felt intimidated. He, who just called fire and rain down from heaven (LITERALLY), feels so intimidated by this woman, that he runs away and hides in a cave. When God comes to him, he says, "Elijah. What are you doing here?" God was asking him, "Why have you run away? Why'd you give up, Elijah?" Elijah tells him a pity story. "Well God, the people tore down your altars and worship false gods and I'm the only one left and they want to kill meeeee." So God tells him to go outside. And out there, God speaks to him in a still, small voice. Elijah-who has just been fed by an angel, spoken to by God-goes BACK into the cave and lays down.
God asks him again, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" And you know what Elijah says? "But Goooood, the people tore down your altars and worship false gods and I'm the only one left and they want to kill meeeee." And guess what God tells him this time?
"Go find a man named Elisha and train him so that he can become a prophet TO REPLACE YOU." No joke. Go read it. To replace you.
I've never caught that before. That Elijah lost his place. When Jezabel threatened his life, he became INTIMIDATED. And that's an evil spirit. God had a great plan for Elijah. He could have destroyed Jezabel. He could have brought Israel back to the Lord. But instead, he became intimidated. And instead of allowing the Lord to speak to him and show him he had no reason to be intimidated, he retold his pity story. "I'm the only one left. They want to kill me." He forgot about God, and started dwelling on himself. And because of that, he lost his place.
When we feel a spirit of intimidation, instead of wallowing in self-pity, we ought to go to God. Forget ourselves. Talk to Him. And take authority in the Spirit and tell that evil spirit to go in Jesus' name.
I hope that encourages yall as much as it did me. And I'll post some more things soon. Love yall!
-A Christian Teenage Girl