High hopes and high fives.

A lot of what God’s been giving me this week, in scripture, with conversations with my friends, and even from what I’m learning at school, has been involved the beauty of His love through pain and suffering.
I’ve been spending time studying on the verses I’ve been reading (currently Deuteronomy 8-10, where Moses discusses the Ten Commandments, preaches to God’s people because of their other idols, etc.), the study of beauty coming from the things in our lives that will be gone, or are gone, from french literature… I’ve come to believe that moments of righteousness and obedience towards Christ are not always “present” to us, and in fact, that they are always fleeting, in some way, shape, or form. I know that I end up losing any tight grips I have with Christ on a day-to-day basis, and that I do tend to worship other things in my life instead of Him.
Now, a lot of this you may have heard before. As a Christian, you are always challenged and tempted to leave Him.
But I think about what God did to Moses and His people when He put them into the desert in order to reach God’s Promised Land, and how they had given up so easily at one point, making golden idols and lustfully seeking unrighteous things.
And every time I pick up from where I left of in Deuteronomy, I keep wishing that I was in that desert, wishing I was there to hear Moses’ warnings after he came down from that mountain and heard God’s declaration to His people. It struck me the way Moses described their loyalty towards Christ, like how he gave them manna and protected them in the desert, yet had to seriously rebuke these people for their riots and chaos and sudden loss of interest in Christ’s power. 
It struck me, and then I wondered if that’s just where I am right now as a Christian. Either feeling empty, and mourning over things I once had, or receiving blessings from Christ and totally using it against Him.
But what I have to realize is that while the beauty of His blessings appear to me, the reason why I have blessings is because it shows that God is always with me. Yes, the beauty in this life will pass, and I will find myself in what is my “desert”, but I can look back at the beauty that was shown in the past and use it to help find my God as I continue to walk into the future He holds for me. And yes, I will have blessings that overwhelm my soul and I will enjoy, but its not the blessing itself that makes it so great, but the Father who gave it to me in the first place. 

Pslam 27.

The Lord is my light and my salvation-
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life-
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, O Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

I am still confident in this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. 

You may be facing a dead end right now — financial, emotional, or relational — but if you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, he will make a way.

(Source: purposedriven.com, via jensinemay)

All those problems, heartaches, difficulties and delays — all the things that make you ask “why” — will one day be clear in the light of God’s love. But for now, we’re learning to trust God.

(Source: purposedriven.com, via jensinemay)