Praising God in the Storm

What storm are you in right now? It can be something big or small, anything that is hurting you and tearing you down. Maybe something that is turning you away from God. Whatever you are dealing with, whether it is stress from school and/or work, or something as serious as a loss in the family, you are not the only one battling rough times.

We are always in a storm, coming out of one, or about to go in one.

So what do we do?

We hold onto God even tighter than before, and trust Him with all our strength.

God promises to never give us something more than we can handle. Although something might seem extremely hard, and you feel like you have no other option than to give in, God says:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

Also, God promises to be right there with us in times of trouble:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. – Isaiah 43:2

With Him, we can do anything and surpass any hardship. For we can do anything through Christ who gives us strength.

  

For those of you like me still battling adjusting to college, hang in there, trust in God, and remember to praise Him in the storm.

"I'll praise You in this storm, and I will lift my hands. For You are who You are, no matter where I am."

Praise You in the Storm – Casting Crowns

“Be still, and know that I am God”

There are so many different tasks to get done in one day, and most of the time, the day runs out before you are able to get everything done that you wanted to. You feel like in order to praise and serve God, you need to be doing something all the time. You need to be reaching out and staying busy to truly live out God’s will.

I have pretty much felt this way for the majority of my life. However, I have recently learned that you don’t always have to be pouring yourself out to others and doing good works in the community in order to serve God. Instead, you can praise God just by sitting, being still, and basking in God’s presence. And He wants you to do this, every day.

Psalm 46:10: Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 62:5: For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Job 6:24: Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.

1 Peter 3:4: But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

With that being said, it is also important to remember that God is in control of your life and that your time is not yours, it is His. Ask God everyday: Lord, what do you want me to do to glorify your name today? Maybe instead of studying, He wants you to take the thirty minutes before your next class to read and reflect on His Word. Maybe put the homework down for a bit and call up a sibling or a friend. Instead of watching your favorite TV show before bed, just sit still, pray, and talk to God. What is God calling you to do today? If it is to just sit still for a bit, great! Do it, for His glory.

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that we are able to praise and glorify you just by being still and enjoying your presence. Quiet our minds, Oh Lord, so we can listen to you speak to us through the Holy Spirit. You are so great and so powerful, we love you. Amen. 

Lead Me to the Cross – Hillsong United

Savior I come, quiet my soul.

Work and Motives

Do this, do that. Be here at this time. Work, study, workout, talk to friends and family, eat, sleep and oh yeah, most importantly, remember to fit in some quiet God time and Bible reading.

God, I am trying so hard for you, to be my very best for you. I need to be a good person, to talk to as many people as I can about Jesus. I need to always do what is right so I can gain your love and salvation.

Wait, take a step back. You are trying to earn God’s love and salvation? That is ridiculous! Outrageous!

We don’t have to work for our salvation, it is a gift from God.

“God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. We are God’s creation. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:8-10

The fact of the matter is, nothing we do, good or bad, can make God love us any more or any less. And when we are going through our daily duties for the reason of gaining His love, we’re just exulting our own actions over Jesus’ death and resurrection. I know, I have been there, and it’s tough. It’s easy to get caught up in working so hard because you feel like you need to please yourself, others, and even God. Sometimes, I just feel like I have too much work to do. But sometimes God puts more on our plate than we can handle, for the sole reason that we need to rely only on and in Him, and not our own abilities. All we need to do is give God our hearts.

Ask yourself this: Why do you work so hard? Are you working for earthly treasures, or for those of heaven? Do you feel like you are trying to win God’s love, or are you working solely to glorify God in everything you do?

Are your motives towards work in line?

God created us to work, He prepared works for us to do to praise Him. Our job is to do this work with joy and love, knowing that we are doing His will through it. But when it comes to salvation, God has already done the work for us. He sent Jesus to die for us on the cross. He died for you as if you were the only person on earth, and He did that for each and every person that has ever walked on the face of the earth.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

Heavenly Father, Thank you for your sacrifice and saving grace. We will work not to win our own salvation, but to serve you and you alone. We are not here to please anyone but you Lord. Help us to do your will here on earth and to spread the news of your strength and love. We praise you, we trust you, and we love you, forever and ever. Amen.

Why Am I Here?

First week of classes, here it goes. I am jumping right in, actual college is beginning. Welcome Week activities are done, no more get to know icebreakers or forced friendships. Time to start building relationships with people that are like me, that share the same values and interests. Time to start cracking down and studying like a college student. Finally time to get into a routine.

Why am I not ecstatic, jumping off the walls excited?

This is what I have been waiting for. Ever since the end of senior year. College is finally beginning, it is finally here.

And yet, I feel like I don’t belong, like this isn’t my home.

Why do I keep questioning, why do I keep asking – Why am I here again?

I have realized I am asking myself this question because the answer is different than it has been in the past.

Past Sarah:

Why are you going to college, Sarah?

- To get a good education and a business degree.

- To become one step closer to landing my dream job.

- To be independent and learn how to live in the “real world.”

- To make my family proud.

- To have fun and make lasting friendships and memories – College is supposed to be the best four years of your life you know.

My answer to this question is no longer any of the above. I now have one sole reason – to serve and show God – but I am still figuring out the details to what this actually means.

Ever since I got here, I have been questioning where I fit in, what I can do to be a light to others, and finally, why I am here. Maybe you feel the same way.

The only way to find comfort in these questions is to go to God, through Scripture and prayer. I am going to briefly outline both of these methods for all three components, hoping that this outline serves as a catalyst to your own further conversations with our Lord.

Where do I fit in?

I have realized that it is silly to worry about what friends you will have or what groups you will be in. God will lead you to these. His goal is not to get you what you want, but it is to get you what you need. God will give you the sense of belonging and home that you need.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. – Deuteronomy 31:8

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. – John 16:13

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him. – Psalm 37:23

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to follow you and to trust you. To trust that you will make something beautiful out of me. To know that with my full trust in you, I will follow the divine plan you have laid out for me.

What can I do to be a light to others?

You don’t have to like everyone, you just have to love everyone.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. – 1 John 4:7

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. – John 13:35

Be different, don’t follow the crowd. If you know something is wrong, don’t do it.

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to love everyone just like you do. Give me the strength to stand up for my faith and do what is right in all circumstances. I want to show you in everything I do and say.

Why am I here?

If it wasn’t part of God’s plan, then you wouldn’t be where you are standing right now.

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to completely surrender to your plan and to focus on serving you where you have placed me right now. You are the driver of my life, you are in control. 

So I shouldn’t be worried about the fact that I am not overly excited for college, that I am questioning what God wants me doing here. I need to focus on serving Him right this very moment, and TRUST.

And finally, here is a final verse and song that serve as good reminders on what God wants us to work for and what He created us to do on this earth.

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” – John 6:27

“What We’re Here For” – The Afters

When we feel useless, You still use us.

Listen, pray, enjoy. Live your life for HIM. 

God forgets the past

“He put away the person you used to be”

~ Colossians 2:11

Do you ever look back on your past mistakes and sin and think “What in the world was I thinking?”

I look back on my old self, a stagnant Christian just going through the motions. I was not alive in my faith. I thought I had a solid relationship with God, but it was nowhere near the way I know Him now.

Sometimes I just get plain out frustrated about my past mistakes and how I used to be. It makes me feel pretty icky thinking about how much better I could have been, how I could have given God way more time and effort.

But this verse from Colossians 2:11 relieves me from all this frustration and anger about my past self: He put away the person you used to be.

It’s like God is giving us a clean slate. He allows us to start fresh. God forgets the past and most importantly, he forgives us. In fact, you will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you. So if God is able to forgive us, shouldn’t we be able to forgive ourselves?

God already knows when we are going to screw up. But guess what?

Jesus died on the cross to save us from our past, present and future sin.

But just because Jesus has already put our sin on his shoulders, doesn’t mean we should continue to sin because it is off of our hands. Rather, we should try to avoid sin at all costs!

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? – Romans 6:1-2

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. – 1 Peter 2:11

Because of God’s unending love and mercy, I feel alive and renewed. I am no longer held down from my sins of the past, but I am set free. 

Self-Reflection:

What is one sin of your past that you often dwell on?

I encourage you to give your thoughts and feelings to God, and to know that you are forgiven:

I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts. I do it because of who I am. I will not remember your sins anymore. - Isaiah 43:25

Special Prayer:

I would also like to offer this song as a prayer to all of us, but especially to those freshman college students like myself. College is a time to find yourself and become the person you really want to be. Students, remember that God forgets your past, and if you choose, you can be born again in Christ. Don’t lose your faith and relationship with God, instead make it stronger. Make these next four years of your life a song of praise and worship to God.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you start a fire for you in all of us, a motivation and passion to flee from sin and temptation and run to you. Oh Lord, help us to desire you always and to show you in everything that we do. In your Son’s name, Amen.

Start a Fire – Unspoken