To All Who Are Hurting

"12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." 1 Peter 4:12, 13

Verse 13 stood out to me, "...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." Of course, the one verse I'm most intruiged by doesn't have one of those explanation thingies in my study Bible. Why would it? Maybe God wants me to actually have to think. Laaame. But this verse has me so interested that it's worth donating part of my brain.

You know, when we run into those rough spots of our lives we tend to look at it as something bad. And why not? I'm not gonna lie, when we do go through tough trials, they don't look good. I can say that the first thing I look at when going through a time of tough trial is the bad and the ugly of it. But is that how God wanted us to look at our problems?

The answer to that question is, no. "But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings..." Do you think that Christ suffering on His way to the cross to die for our sins, for us, was bad? Sure, it was not a pretty and painless way to die, but that didn't stop Him. He didn't stop to say, "Hey guys, I'm thinking that going through all this pain and suffering was a bad idea *poof* (insert God power to stop pain)." Why? Because, in the end, God promised to reveal His glory and Jesus would live again.

One question that gets asked a lot while we're trying to overcome our obstacles is, "why?" I know, I've asked it many times. We wonder why God would allow us to go through this. Most of us wonder what we did to desrve something like this. Philippians 3:10 says, "...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." How can we have new and restored life if we don't die, spiritually, first? My Bible says that "we can't know the victory of the Resurrection without personally applying the Crucifixion."

God didn't change Jesus' circumstances, but in the end, after everything He had been through, He lived again. In the same way He allowed Jesus to suffer, He will allow us to suffer so that His glory, and His plan for our lives may be revealed. Could He make it so that tomorrow when we wake up everything will be perfect and dandy? Yes, He most definitely could. But what an honor it is to suffer along side my Saviour knowing that, one day, God will bring me out of this mess a stronger and better person. We'll never see God's glory in this rough season of our lives if we don't allow Him to take us through this process of spiritual life and death.

Remember, when you think you can't go one more day, one more step, Jesus is right there with you; every step of the way. Don't give up. God is bigger than the problem in front of you. He'll be there to give you new life. :)

2 Timothy 2:12
Jeremiah 29:11

When You Feel You Aren't Good Enough

I was reading in the book of Romans chapter 15. Verse 7 really stood out to me. It says, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you . . ." (NIV) That had me thinking once again about God's love for us.
Don't we all long for acceptance? Whether it's from our parents, family, our church, or our friends we are constantly wanting to make sure we fit in. There are many times I long to be accepted by those around me, and when I'm left rejected, it hurts. Sometimes it doesn't always go the way we want it to, but here was this man who came and accepted everyone. Jesus knew everything about everyone. Their thoughts. What was in their hearts. He knew all that, and it didn't matter. He loves us for who we are, where we are. For who we can become, not for who we've been.
I've lied. I've cursed. I've cheated. I've made some pretty stupid decisions. Dealt with things in the wrong way. I've stole. Lusted. Hated. I've turned my back on God. Ignored Him. Told Him I hated Him. Blamed Him. Cursed Him . . . I'm a sinner. I'm human. Everyday I make mistakes, whether I know it or not.
And yet, He still loves me...
We all have our struggles, but we all still need to be loved, right? I know I find it hard, very hard, sometimes to love those around me the way I'd want to be loved. I try my hardest to accept people for who they are. How can I expect people to accept me when I can't accept them? And there are those times I may fail... but I do try.
And when those around you do break promises or leave you, or when you've fallen, or when you have nowhere else to turn, He's there for you. No matter how far away you may be, you're never too far from God's love. Never.
He loves you no matter where you've been. No matter where you are. No matter what you've done... He loves you. Whether you like it or not... God loves you.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39

Hear Him when He says:
My love is over
It's underneath
It's inside
It's in between
The times you doubt me
When you can't feel
The times that you question, "Is this for real?"
The times that you're broken
The times that you mend
The times you hate Me
And the times that you bend

Well, My love is over
It's underneath
It's inside
It's in between
these times you're healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
the times you're hurting
the times that you heal
the times you grow hungry and are tempted to steal
in times of confusion, and chaos and pain
I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame
I'm there through the heartache
I'm there in the storm
My love I will keep you by my power alone
I don't care where you've fallen
where you have been
I'll never forsake you
My love never ends
It never ends...
~Times,
by Tenth Avenue North