| This is something that I wrote last night. There have been several times that I have been doing my devotional or reading the bible and I have felt like I could tell a message about it. A couple times I have gone through it in my head but last night I felt compelled to write it out so this is something that I wrote at like 3:30 am last night. It was kinda whatever came to my head but it really amazed me how much came to mind as I was just writting. I guess that's the way that God works. I am going to try to continue writting these things out as they come to mind and see how it goes.
If you have ever spent much time at church you probably have probably heard the song Blessed be Thy Name. If you haven't heard it before I really recommend at least looking up the lyrics because it is a really good song. One of the beginning verses of the song goes "when the sun's shining down on me, when the world is all as it should be, blessed be your name..." That is often how our walk with God is. It is easy to praise God when things are going great. During those times when everything seems to just be working out, that is when we are likely to thank God. But unfortunately those times don't last forever. No matter how badly we want to hold on to those great moments in life pretty soon things aren't going to be so great. It doesn't matter who you are at some point, probably numerous points in your life you are going to have bad times. These are the times when it seems the most difficult to praise God. Another verse in the song Blessed be Thy Name goes "Blessed be your name, when the road's marked with suffering. Though there's pain in the offering, blessed be your name." It is in these times that it can be extremely difficult to even talk to God let alone praise God. So many times when things start going wrong we start blaming God. We may have been praising him only days before but things aren't as great anymore. So many times we feel like God has abandoned us in our darkest times. It is so hard for us to understand how God could let such bad things happen to us. The thing we often forget about is no one ever said that it would be easy. God never promised that once we became Christians that we would be on easy street for the rest of eternity. But God did promise that he would be there with us. He knows what we are going through. Jesus came to earth to save us from sin but he came as human. He was God and could do anything yet he chose to become human and to live amoung people. He knows what it is like. Jesus experienced first hand what it was like to experience pain. As he went to the cross he felt both physical and emotional anguish beyond what any of will probably ever have to endure. Yet He chose to do this for us. As Jesus was on the cross he cried out to God "Father why have you forsaken me." Fortunately none of us will ever have to know what it is like to be betrayed, ridiculed, beaten, and then nailed cross like Jesus. If Jesus was willing to go through all of that to save us thousands of years before we were even born then why to we so quickly assume that he has abandoned us. The bible says in Hebrews 5:7-9 "While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept insorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." If everything was always perfect in our lives and the world was always wonderful then what would be the point of faith? Our trials in life are when we grow most. I have often heard the saying "God works best when we are broken because then he can put us back together." When we are experiencing difficult times that is when we need to rely on God most. It is those times when our faith grows as he helps us overcome our obstacles. The bible promises that God hears our cries and that he answers our prayers. Even if the answer isn't as fast as we want it or it isn't what we want to hear God is still there and he is still listening. Praying isn't like ordering at a fast food place. We don't get to pick out only what we want and expect to have it 5 minutes later. God knows what is best for our lives and sometimes when we feel that we are completely surround by problems we need to stop for a moment and try to think of what God wants for your life. 1 Peter 4:1 says "Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him." So the next time you feel like things are just too bad or that God just can't handle your particular situation stop for a moment. Stop trying to have it your way because eventually you will realize that it just isn't going to work out. Talk to God and ask him to help you and then let him help. "Stop telling God how big your storm is and instead start telling your storm how big God is." |
We've probably all been there! I know I have. 
Please come by and visit my journal! I'd love to have you. 
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Cat, this is definately a BIG step in the right direction! 
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