"Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God's throne."
Hebrews 12:1,2
Have you ever thought what Scripture was referring to when it said the joy set before Jesus? Have you ever wondered what God placed in Jesus' mind that made him endure the pain?
Well... it was you.
The picture of your face. The thought of your life. The relationship that He would have with you later on, as the future became present.
This blog is simple, yet hopefully it will give you the confidence to walk a little taller. You are the reason Jesus died on the cross. If he had to do it all again and only for you, he would. Its that simple. His love is that immense and sometimes that hard to understand. Its beyond the grasp of human understanding. As we live and grow closer to Him, we discover new areas of his love. And with these new areas of love come blessing, peace, joy and his endless favor. So rest in the fact that you are indeed the reason and the joy the gave him the strength to carry on. The strength to fulfill that which was promised long ago.
April 28, 2011
April 21, 2011
Just a snippet...
I feel as if I should warn you before hand, that this post is rather lengthy. As I began to write, words kept flowing and I felt compelled to share more. So here it goes...
If I've learned anything in my college experience, its that God's faithful.
Four days a week, with an occasional five, I attend class after class thats sole purposes are to widen my knowledge, make me use my noggin and to question the things I have been told and believe in order to educate myself. I pass student after student and wonder what they believe and what they've been through that brought them to their beliefs or lack of. I encounter so many different ideologies and perspectives, and in all honesty, it all gets confusing. So in this blog post I decided to do something a little different. I decided to give you a window, a snippet if you will, into the past few years of my life where God has been oh, so faithful...
Back in high school, God proved His love to me in one way after another. He showed me that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to control my own life and live in peace and favor if that was my motive. Senior year is a time where so many different trials and decisions tend to bombard a seventeen or eighteen year old student, who feels like the weight of the future rests on each decision they make. Well at least I know I did. I struggled with giving it all to God and allowing Him to let everything happen in its perfect time. Throughout high school, I had prayed and believed God for a full ride to college. As I applied and got accepted to schools, scholarships weren't coming through. Doubt began to creep in. If that wasn't enough, God had placed something else on my heart, the desire to go on a missions trip that coming summer. As the funds didn't seem to arrive in my timing or the plans come through the way I wanted, doubt and fear began to plant roots. The roots began to grow deep... so deep that it was all I could think about. Plus, it doesn't help that I'm the kind of person who tends to over think practically EVERYTHING. But this time it was overbearing to the point of breakdown... and thats exactly what happened. One day as I was trying once again to control my circumstances, I had had enough of the strain. Living in the woods, quiet, peaceful places aren't really hard to come by. So I went to one of my favorite spots and yes, broke down before God and gave it all to Him. Thinking about it now, I probably looked half insane as I sat there in the middle of a field pouring my soul out to the sky. If one of my few neighbors had stumbled upon me they would have surely thought that I had lost it... but thats beside the point. The point is that I stopped trying to take control of my situation. And you know what? It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. In the next few weeks money started rolling in. So much money that it was enough to cover my mission trip and help lower the cost of the others. So much money that I am now pretty much paid to go to college. Am I saying this to brag? No, not about myself anyway, but most certainly about God's faithfulness. God's faithfulness and favor are real and manifest in His perfect time.
Yes, theres more. I know I'm getting long winded, and feel free to quit reading whenever you like. But God continued to do yet more amazing things in the past two years, and when I think about it I can't help but want to share it with everyone! So as I attended college, ever since freshman year I was told that the major program I was applying for was practically impossible to get into and not to get my hopes up. I was reminded of this in some way, shape or form every day for two years. Despite the negative opinions flooding my ears from every direction, I continued to trust in God's plan for my life, knowing that what He had in mind was better than anything I could possibly imagine. But trust me, it wasn't as easy as it may sound. There were days where I was ready to quit. Days of stress, tears, aggravations and mountains of what seemed like endless work. Come time to apply to the program, I was advised to have a back up plan in case my first option fell through. But someone once told me, that God never needs a plan B. His plan A never falls through. And how right they were. After two years of standing in faith, my letter of decision came by email. Of course I was shaking and there were problems getting the email open, but with the presence of friends and the Holy Spirit my eyes lit up at the fact that I had actually gotten into the program. I was one of the fifty chosen out of many. Screaming, shrieking, random dancing and more screaming took place for about the next few days. Relief beyond measures fell upon me, like someone had finally moved what seemed to be the giant boulder I had been pushing for months.
All in all, God knows best. I know that sounds cliche, but it remains true none the less. He is a God of faith and is incapable of failing. I hope this snippet has shown you that!
"O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one like you, O Lord? And Your faithfulness is round about You, an essential part of You at all times." Psalm 89:8
If I've learned anything in my college experience, its that God's faithful.
Four days a week, with an occasional five, I attend class after class thats sole purposes are to widen my knowledge, make me use my noggin and to question the things I have been told and believe in order to educate myself. I pass student after student and wonder what they believe and what they've been through that brought them to their beliefs or lack of. I encounter so many different ideologies and perspectives, and in all honesty, it all gets confusing. So in this blog post I decided to do something a little different. I decided to give you a window, a snippet if you will, into the past few years of my life where God has been oh, so faithful...
Back in high school, God proved His love to me in one way after another. He showed me that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to control my own life and live in peace and favor if that was my motive. Senior year is a time where so many different trials and decisions tend to bombard a seventeen or eighteen year old student, who feels like the weight of the future rests on each decision they make. Well at least I know I did. I struggled with giving it all to God and allowing Him to let everything happen in its perfect time. Throughout high school, I had prayed and believed God for a full ride to college. As I applied and got accepted to schools, scholarships weren't coming through. Doubt began to creep in. If that wasn't enough, God had placed something else on my heart, the desire to go on a missions trip that coming summer. As the funds didn't seem to arrive in my timing or the plans come through the way I wanted, doubt and fear began to plant roots. The roots began to grow deep... so deep that it was all I could think about. Plus, it doesn't help that I'm the kind of person who tends to over think practically EVERYTHING. But this time it was overbearing to the point of breakdown... and thats exactly what happened. One day as I was trying once again to control my circumstances, I had had enough of the strain. Living in the woods, quiet, peaceful places aren't really hard to come by. So I went to one of my favorite spots and yes, broke down before God and gave it all to Him. Thinking about it now, I probably looked half insane as I sat there in the middle of a field pouring my soul out to the sky. If one of my few neighbors had stumbled upon me they would have surely thought that I had lost it... but thats beside the point. The point is that I stopped trying to take control of my situation. And you know what? It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. In the next few weeks money started rolling in. So much money that it was enough to cover my mission trip and help lower the cost of the others. So much money that I am now pretty much paid to go to college. Am I saying this to brag? No, not about myself anyway, but most certainly about God's faithfulness. God's faithfulness and favor are real and manifest in His perfect time.
Yes, theres more. I know I'm getting long winded, and feel free to quit reading whenever you like. But God continued to do yet more amazing things in the past two years, and when I think about it I can't help but want to share it with everyone! So as I attended college, ever since freshman year I was told that the major program I was applying for was practically impossible to get into and not to get my hopes up. I was reminded of this in some way, shape or form every day for two years. Despite the negative opinions flooding my ears from every direction, I continued to trust in God's plan for my life, knowing that what He had in mind was better than anything I could possibly imagine. But trust me, it wasn't as easy as it may sound. There were days where I was ready to quit. Days of stress, tears, aggravations and mountains of what seemed like endless work. Come time to apply to the program, I was advised to have a back up plan in case my first option fell through. But someone once told me, that God never needs a plan B. His plan A never falls through. And how right they were. After two years of standing in faith, my letter of decision came by email. Of course I was shaking and there were problems getting the email open, but with the presence of friends and the Holy Spirit my eyes lit up at the fact that I had actually gotten into the program. I was one of the fifty chosen out of many. Screaming, shrieking, random dancing and more screaming took place for about the next few days. Relief beyond measures fell upon me, like someone had finally moved what seemed to be the giant boulder I had been pushing for months.
All in all, God knows best. I know that sounds cliche, but it remains true none the less. He is a God of faith and is incapable of failing. I hope this snippet has shown you that!
"O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one like you, O Lord? And Your faithfulness is round about You, an essential part of You at all times." Psalm 89:8
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)