How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Fear not I am with thee, oh be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give the aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for reposed
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul though all hell should endeavor to shake
I'll never, no never, no never forsake.
Thank you Lord for this song - for the reminders in it, and the truths that they tell.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Waiting
Last night as I was walking up the hill to my beloved home-sweet-home, Cdub, I started to really think about some things. I was thinking about how hard it is to wait for things and how hard it is to not know exactly what God's will is in a particular situation. So often I say to myself, "If I just knew what God wanted in [insert situation], then I'd be content to wait for it to happen." Or I think, "I wish God would just hurry up and do something about this, that way I wouldn't have to wonder how/when it will happen."
Fortunately, God is not like that. Hold it...did I just say "fortunately" God doesn't do things the way I want them? How can that be true? Well, here's the thing. I'm a finite, insignificant person. God is the infinite, almighty Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Even if I'd like to know how something would turn out, deep down I always know that He knows what He's doing, and His way is best. It's the waiting for things that produces character. It's the not knowing that produces trust and reliance on Him. If He always told us what we asked Him to, or gave us what we wanted, when we wanted it, how would we ever depend on Him? We would depend on Him way less, if at all. I'm so grateful that He knows better than I do, and that His way is better than mine. I'm grateful for this forced dependence and trust, because if it weren't for this, I would totally try to be independent from Him.
Also, I think it's important to realize this: when the Bible talks about God's will, it's not how we talk about God's will. We always talk about it as being, what will my career be? where should I go to college? who should I marry? should I have kids and how many? etc. But I Thessalonians 4:3 says this, "For this is the will of God: your sanctification..." So rather than worrying about God's will in the big things, we just need to obey Him and trust Him in the little things. As we obey His commandments and read His word and continue to love Him more, what He wants becomes what we want, because we know He knows best. That's why I love the quote, "Love God and do what you want." Because if we're truly loving Him as we should, our desires will have become His.
Here's two quotes that came to mind while thinking about this last night and this morning:
Fortunately, God is not like that. Hold it...did I just say "fortunately" God doesn't do things the way I want them? How can that be true? Well, here's the thing. I'm a finite, insignificant person. God is the infinite, almighty Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Even if I'd like to know how something would turn out, deep down I always know that He knows what He's doing, and His way is best. It's the waiting for things that produces character. It's the not knowing that produces trust and reliance on Him. If He always told us what we asked Him to, or gave us what we wanted, when we wanted it, how would we ever depend on Him? We would depend on Him way less, if at all. I'm so grateful that He knows better than I do, and that His way is better than mine. I'm grateful for this forced dependence and trust, because if it weren't for this, I would totally try to be independent from Him.
Also, I think it's important to realize this: when the Bible talks about God's will, it's not how we talk about God's will. We always talk about it as being, what will my career be? where should I go to college? who should I marry? should I have kids and how many? etc. But I Thessalonians 4:3 says this, "For this is the will of God: your sanctification..." So rather than worrying about God's will in the big things, we just need to obey Him and trust Him in the little things. As we obey His commandments and read His word and continue to love Him more, what He wants becomes what we want, because we know He knows best. That's why I love the quote, "Love God and do what you want." Because if we're truly loving Him as we should, our desires will have become His.
Here's two quotes that came to mind while thinking about this last night and this morning:
...the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done. - Elisabeth Elliot in Passion and Purity
Waiting on God isn't about the suspension of meaning and purpose. It's part of the meaning and purpose that God has brought into my life. Waiting on God isn't to be viewed as an obstruction in the way of the plan. Waiting is an essential part of the plan. For the child of God, waiting isn't simply about what I'll receive at the end of my wait. No, waiting is much more purposeful, efficient, and practical than that. Waiting is fundamentally about what I'll become as I wait. God is using the wait to do in and through me exactly what He's promised. Through the wait He's changing me. By means of the wait He's altering the fabric of my thoughts and desires. Through the wait He's causing me to see and experience new things about Him and His kingdom. And all of this sharpens me, enabling me to be a more useful tool in His redemptive hands. - Paul Tripp
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Christmas Excitement (A Little Early)
Listening to this right now. Can't wait for Christmas, just so it'll be acceptable to listen to this 24/7.
:)
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Haha...oops
Well I'm a little embarrassed. I just found my charger. Whoops!! On my third look through my room, I started pulling things out of my old backpack, and lo and behold, third time's a charm. It was there. Well now you know the drama of the beginning of my day. Hope you've enjoyed, because I didn't.
Technology.
I hate it. All forms of it. I've had so many stupid computer problems and stupid camera problems. Today it's camera.
When I was a jr in high school, I bought my first camera. It lasted about a year before it just died.
My mom gave me a new, nicer camera for my graduation. It lasted a year and a half before I jumped into a deep sand hole and hit the camera on the sand, ruining it for good.
I got another new camera for Christmas last year, and it's perfect. It's the best camera I've had so far. I realized last weekend my battery was dying (as often happens with electronics). I went to recharge it and realized...I had my old (second) camera's charger with me, not the new one. I was like, "Well at least I'm going home next weekend and can find it there to recharge it before the wedding." Well I'm home, it's the day before the wedding, I've looked twice in my room, and it's nowhere to be found. I'm soo bummed. :(
I know there are more important things than having a camera charger, but my best friend is getting married today and I'd like more than just pics from my iPhone. Sad day :/ I'm also wondering if/when I'll ever find it. Ugh. Anyway, that's my camera saga. As you can see, technology and me, we just don't get along. (Ps. this is nothing compared to my computer saga...now that's a pathetic story).
When I was a jr in high school, I bought my first camera. It lasted about a year before it just died.
My mom gave me a new, nicer camera for my graduation. It lasted a year and a half before I jumped into a deep sand hole and hit the camera on the sand, ruining it for good.
I got another new camera for Christmas last year, and it's perfect. It's the best camera I've had so far. I realized last weekend my battery was dying (as often happens with electronics). I went to recharge it and realized...I had my old (second) camera's charger with me, not the new one. I was like, "Well at least I'm going home next weekend and can find it there to recharge it before the wedding." Well I'm home, it's the day before the wedding, I've looked twice in my room, and it's nowhere to be found. I'm soo bummed. :(
I know there are more important things than having a camera charger, but my best friend is getting married today and I'd like more than just pics from my iPhone. Sad day :/ I'm also wondering if/when I'll ever find it. Ugh. Anyway, that's my camera saga. As you can see, technology and me, we just don't get along. (Ps. this is nothing compared to my computer saga...now that's a pathetic story).
Saturday, September 3, 2011
God is GOOD
First week of fall semester is OVER!! Woohoo! It's been pretty good. I napped more than I care to admit, I visited Bekah in her office every day (sometimes multiple times per day), I finished I Corinthians and started II Corinthians (both amazing), I've met new people, loved my classes, and topped the week off with (of course) a trip to Santa Monica.
Let me tell you something: God's grace is amazing. He is so good. When we totally don't deserve it, He gives blessings- over and over. Things that I wanted to happen, happened. Even though I wasn't faithfully asking for them like I should've been. Like the song says, "If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking." It's so true. He is so good. And so kind to His people. Last night ended on a bit of a rough note, and I got back to school to find my roommate sleeping. I knew what I needed though, comfort from His word, so I brought my Bible out and sat in the hall. Just reading through Psalms I was reminded that He alone is where I find salvation and rest for my soul (chapter 62). His lovingkindness is better than life (63). He is the strength of my heart and my portion when my heart and flesh fail (73). His nearness is my good and He is my refuge (73). Even when Israel repeatedly fell into the same sins, despite His goodness to them, He: forgave their iniquity, did not destroy them, often restrained His anger, and did not arouse all His wrath (78). His lovingkindness holds me up when my foot slips, and He consoles me when anxious thoughts multiply (94). He gives us immense benefits, pardons our iniquities, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, satisfies our years with good things. He is also compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounds in lovingkindness. He doesn't deal with us according to our sins (so thankful for this). He removes our sins from us, as far as the east is from the west (103).
Let me tell you something: God's grace is amazing. He is so good. When we totally don't deserve it, He gives blessings- over and over. Things that I wanted to happen, happened. Even though I wasn't faithfully asking for them like I should've been. Like the song says, "If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking." It's so true. He is so good. And so kind to His people. Last night ended on a bit of a rough note, and I got back to school to find my roommate sleeping. I knew what I needed though, comfort from His word, so I brought my Bible out and sat in the hall. Just reading through Psalms I was reminded that He alone is where I find salvation and rest for my soul (chapter 62). His lovingkindness is better than life (63). He is the strength of my heart and my portion when my heart and flesh fail (73). His nearness is my good and He is my refuge (73). Even when Israel repeatedly fell into the same sins, despite His goodness to them, He: forgave their iniquity, did not destroy them, often restrained His anger, and did not arouse all His wrath (78). His lovingkindness holds me up when my foot slips, and He consoles me when anxious thoughts multiply (94). He gives us immense benefits, pardons our iniquities, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, satisfies our years with good things. He is also compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounds in lovingkindness. He doesn't deal with us according to our sins (so thankful for this). He removes our sins from us, as far as the east is from the west (103).
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