Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
We expect our issues and struggles to disappear for exciting events and occasions. We think that we can whisk the pain out of our minds to focus on these special occurrences. Or perhaps we have come to realize that our expectations will usually fail us.
As frustrating as sleeplessness may be, we can learn to be content in it for one reason alone: God is with us through it. Whether we're awake or asleep, He still loves us and desires our obedience. He is protecting us. He is holding us. He is shaping us. Even in sleeplessness. This poem is for the insomniacs, the tired, and the weary.
I drove away from our church pondering the reality that I may never see him or his family again. I can’t remember specific events that impacted me so much. I just know that he and his family have impacted my church and desired to help us grow closer to God. He wasn’t supposed to leave so soon. He was supposed to stay at my church forever…right?
Have you ever prayed and felt like God didn’t listen to your whole prayer? I have. I have received totally different answers than the ones I prayed for and I have wondered if God didn’t listen to my whole prayer. But you know what? I think we feel this way sometimes because we have some misconceptions about prayer. Sometimes we can get so focused on how we think answers to our prayer should be, that we forget who God is.
What if something awful had happened to her? What if someone in her family had died? What if she been in a car accident or gotten sick? What if she had moved away? Where was she, and why didn’t she tell me where she was?
As I write this post, I'm preparing to go back to college. I had a lovely break of doing absolutely no homework. I spent time with my family, attended my church, and hung out with my friends. I cooked meals in my own kitchen, showered in my own shower, and slept in my own bed. I enjoyed being home. But now I must return to my home away from home—the far-away land called "College." And I’m just not ready to go back there.
Today's post includes a poem about our struggle to let go of (or even simply loosen our grip on) the things in this life that we value too highly. The truth is that this life is temporary—so everything in it that you treasure could disappear in an instant. Except for Jesus. He isn't temporary like everything else we know. And He alone remains when nothing else does. So instead of clinging to temporary treasures, cling to the One who always was, is and will be.
This is the third (and final) post in the Thriving at College blog post series! I sincerely hope that you have found the tips in this series to be helpful and edifying. Most importantly, I hope that you can rest in the fact that God is with you throughout this entire semester—and beyond! Here are the last five tips in this special series.
This is the second post in the Thriving at College blog post series, and I'm excited to share several more tips with you about succeeding in college. These tips will hopefully benefit you as you're starting (or preparing to start) college. Here are five tips to help you thrive.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 