We all have those times and seasons in our lives that we just don't seem to get. Where we ask: "What are you doing Lord? How does this fit into anything?"
It just feels hard and frustrating and often we feel overlooked and forgotten.
In reality, God has heard all our prayers and perhaps this time of stillness and isolation is not a lack of answers, but perhaps - the exact answer to what we have prayed for.
We've all read about the miracles Jesus performed in the New Testament, from raising the dead and healing the sick to opening hearts and curing disease. Jesus healed promiscuously - meaning He healed everyone who asked and believed, no matter who they were or what they'd done.
In today's world, however, healings and miracles are often deemed as nonexistant. We assume God's ear has grown dull and His power has grown dim. Yet the same God who healed 2,000 years ago STILL lives today, and miracles STILL happen minute-by-minute.
We spend a lot of time thinking about and trying to figure out what we are "called" to do.
It can be a real source of anxiety, stress or pressure either to figure out what we are meant to be doing or figuring out how we are supposed to go about doing that thing. We see other people seemingly effortlessly gliding into their ministry spots while we may feel like we are fumbling around in a dark room.
There are times, as young women, when we just 'go with the flow' and follow the World (and more than likely that "flow" is not of God or from God) and we get lost.
My friend, why do you get so distracted by all you are not or don't have? My friend, why are you trying to build your self-image from the opinions of others? My friend, why do you have so much fear of what others think? My friend, why do you let that person define your worth?
You are much more. You are enough.
The sun in the sky, the petal of a flower, the toes of a newborn baby, the waves of the sea, the chirping of birds. The world is a magnificent place filled with beautiful creations that all point to God’s creativity. You would have to really work hard to argue that our God is not a creative God. It is displayed everywhere we look, including in you and me.
Okay, let's be real friends; the Bible is quite an overwhelming book when you think about it. Two different testaments and a multitude of books to choose from in each one. Not to mention the chapters within each book as well as the verses within each chapter. That just overwhelmed me a little bit to type that all out. It can be a lot! There are many people who don't even know where to start when it comes to getting into His word and striving to know Jesus more. It can be a huge factor that hinders one from adventuring farther into their faith. We've all been there.
What do you do when life isn’t going as planned? When the future is unsure, and you don’t know what is going to happen?
I’m a twenty-year-old college student who has absolutely no idea what I am going to do with my life. My future is filled with a hundred different paths that stretch out before me, and I don’t know which one to take. Which path is plausible? Which is good? And most importantly, which one is God-approved?
Spring gave a convincing false start last month in Chicagoland. It was the first of March, and I found myself outside in the shining sun, enjoying a mild 60° breeze. After three months spent licking icicles (which have since returned,) I was unable to resist nature’s charms—shed a quick tear for global climate change—and took a walk in the woods. After about a mile, I stopped to sit on a split log and looked up into the sky. Gazing into the vast blue dome rimmed in still-naked black oak branches, I took a deep breath and thought, “I am so glad I exist."
Have you ever been worried that you missed it?
I mean, do you worry that you missed your place in the world, your purpose, your calling? Do you ask, “What if I’m not making a difference in the world?”