Tag: Faith

Discerning God’s Call

Do you ever wish you could directly hear God’s calling on your life?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel a little jealous of the early Christians, mainly because of how clearly they heard God’s calling.

Take the disciple Philip, for example. The Holy Spirit whisked him away from one location to the next so that he would reach the exact people he was meant to reach (Acts 8:26-40). He likely didn’t spend days, weeks, months, or years on his knees asking God where he was meant to go. He was just sent!

In many ways, the early church’s relationship with God resembles the Israelites’ relationship with Him in the Old Testament. They heard God’s voice audibly and/or through His appointed prophets. They always knew what He wanted them to do, even if they unfortunately didn’t obey Him.

As I’ve been learning how to discern in my own life (without God’s audible voice telling me what to do), I came across this passage:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

– Acts 16: 6-10 (NIV)

Notice these phrases:

  • “having been kept by the Holy Spirit”
  • “but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to”
  • “concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them”

I was reminded through this passage that God spoke to the early church in different ways and He continues to speak to us in different ways, too. And even when He spoke directly to them through visions or the Spirit, they still had to exercise patience and discernment.

The Christians thought they were supposed to preach in one location, only for the Spirit to call them elsewhere. They might’ve felt frustrated or confused at first, wondering why God would tell them no. But they obeyed, allowing themselves to finally hear a direct calling from God.

You might’ve noticed that the vision didn’t come overnight. They traveled to multiple places, repeatedly being prevented by the Spirit (I’m curious what that looked like), from spreading the good news there. But once they heard the call, they “got ready at once,” or in some translations, “immediately” left for Macedonia.

The Greek translation for “calling” in verse 10 means “to call to one’s self, to summon, to invite”. When we wait and listen patiently for God’s call, we aren’t just waiting to hear what task He has in store for us. We are being invited into God’s presence. When we say yes to His call, we are being drawn closer to God’s own self.

Just sit with that for a moment. We, God’s mere creation, are given the invitation to be brought to God’s own self.

Even if that invitation is brought to us differently than it was in the past, it’s still the same invitation. An invitation to not only do God’s work, but to be part of God’s family.

Today, we have many ways to hear God’s voice, even if they feel less direct than in the past.

Here are a few examples:

  • Reading the Bible and getting to know God’s character and teachings so that we can discern what God might call us to do versus what would be sinful.
  • Spending time in Christian community and receiving wise counsel from people God chooses to speak through.
  • Praying to God directly and spending time in God’s presence, getting to know Him better so that we can become more like Him.
  • And most of all, as believers we still have the Holy Spirit living inside us.

The Spirit moves in many ways, whether through the above avenues, or through visions, prophetic words, or miracles. While we shouldn’t necessarily expect these less common things to happen, we should never place limits on what the Spirit can do. Even having the Spirit inside of us is supernatural in and of itself.

We often talk about how the Holy Spirit is living inside of us, but the Spirit is not limited to our bodies’ capabilities. When we realize we are just one little sliver of a reflection of God, as we are created in His image, we can tap into the supernatural fruits the Spirit offers: love, joy, peace and patience, to name a few.

I encourage you to spend time with God today and ask Him how He might be leading you. Have peace in the process, knowing that all good things take time. And being in God’s presence is the best thing of all.

Miraculous Prayer

Join us for this week’s devotional which introduces lectio divina and encourages us to reflect on Peter’s miraculous escape from prison.

For this week’s devotional, we’re going to do something a little different! There’s a spiritual practice called lectio divina, which centers around listening to what the Holy Spirit might be saying through scripture by rereading a shorter passage multiple times and asking ourselves different questions each time.

Before we get going, I’ll share some context about our passage.

As the early church gained believers, outside leaders, such as King Herod, grew angry and violent toward the Christians. Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples and a prominent leader in the early church, was arrested for preaching the good news of Jesus’ love and salvation. He was supposed to face a death sentence, until something unexpected happened…

One of my friends who introduced me to lectio divina always starts the process by asking the Spirit to be present with us, and I encourage you to do the same.

Holy Spirit come. Fill us with your presence and guide our reading today.

For our first reading, let’s just understand the story.

Today’s passage: Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

– Acts 12:5-17 (NIV)

This time, close your eyes and listen to the reading (this is a recording of all of Acts 12, so feel free to pause when you get to verse 17). As you listen, notice if there are any words or phrases that stand out to you, and write them down.

For our third reading, listen to the passage again. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Which character do I relate to in this story?
  • How would I be feeling if I were in Peter’s shoes? Or in Rhoda’s shoes?
  • If I were one of the prayerful believers, would I have been surprised to see Peter survive?
  • Do I feel imprisoned or inhibited by anything today?

For our fourth reading, consider these questions:

  • How might the Spirit be speaking through this passage into a specific circumstance or relationship I’m experiencing?
  • How would I like to grow in my prayer life? How about in my faith?
  • What is a phrase or image that comforts me in this passage?
  • What do I think freedom through Christ means and feels like?

To end our lectio divina, pray and ask God to guide you in the challenges you may face in your faith and thank Him for His provision. Ask Him if there is someone in your life He wants you to pray for. Prayer is more powerful than we can even imagine!

Faithfulness Overcomes Brokenness

Learning from the early church’s faithfulness amidst great obstacles.

Have you felt disappointed in your church? Perhaps attendance is low or the preaching feels repetitive. Maybe there’s division in your church over political or doctrinal differences. Or perhaps everything seems okay on the surface, but there’s just something lacking.

While the early church in the book of Acts struggled with many of the issues we still have today, through their faithfulness to Jesus and commitment to gathering, they were able to survive and even enjoy times of peace and joy.

As we read through today’s passage, I want you to consider two questions:

  1. What act(s) of faith did the early Christians take in this passage?
  2. How were they blessed by their faithfulness?

Read:

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

– Acts 9:19-31 (NIV)

We often forget what Saul (otherwise known as Paul) was like before he surrendered to Jesus and became the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament. The early believers had every reason to be afraid of him. He participated in the killing of their fellow believers, who were their friends and family.

Their first act of faith in this passage, taken first by Barnabas, was believing in the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. In order to be a Christian, you must believe that God is supernatural. Just as Jesus died and rose again, when we are saved, we go through the process of becoming a new creation.

But easier said than done when it means believing that another person, especially a person who has hurt us, has changed.

While Paul was was clearly zealous for the Lord, given that he put his life at risk to share the gospel, I’m sure the believers weren’t thrilled by the prospect of inviting him into their sacred spaces. They were putting their lives at risk.

Though once Barnabas shared Paul’s testimony, the believers were willing to accept that God’s powerful work had changed Paul’s heart. This act of faith revealed their deep trust in God with their lives.

Once they helped Paul, they experienced a time of peace and strength from the Holy Spirit. I believe that this peace and strength came out of their act of faith. They were confirmed in their trust in God, and they were strengthened by the testing of their faith.

Today, we aren’t often willing to go out of our comfort zone, especially to put ourselves at risk for others. What if we were not only more trusting in God, but we were also willing to sacrifice our own comfort or resources to help others, especially other believers? Imagine how bonded church communities would be if we were willing to sacrifice for each other.

Unfortunately, churches often make it their primary goal to increase the number of their congregants rather than focus on strengthening the relationships within their current congregation. While one of the blessings the early church received in this passage was an increase in believers, that only came after they were intentionally glorifying God and listening to the Holy Spirit.

What if we made it our mission to honor God, follow the leading of the Spirit, and love each other as Jesus loves us? I believe the numbers would follow, only because of our supernatural example of faithfulness.

Though it will take time, patience, and perseverance to see changes in our faith communities, and even in ourselves, with the help of the Spirit, all things are possible.

Reflection:

You may not be in a position to change your church’s mission, and that’s okay! Change starts with us individually when we align our hearts to Jesus.

  • How might God be calling you to act on your faith today?
  • How have you been influenced by someone’s selfless generosity before?
  • Who has God placed on your heart to intentionally show love toward today?

Prayer:

Thank God for specific ways He’s been faithful to you. Ask Him to help you discern how you might live out this passage today.

Encouragement Thursday Devotionals

Join us every Thursday for the next 4 weeks for encouragement from Acts!

Hey everyone! 🙂

I hope you are doing well. As I’ve been discerning how to reengage with this blog, I remembered “Encouragement Thursdays,” which I created because Thursdays have always felt like a “blah” day to me that could use a little encouragement. So I would intentionally post every Thursday to encourage all of you (and myself 🙂 ).

In a chaotic world, what we need most is rest and reconnection with the Lord. When we take the time to rest, we can turn back to Him and remember that He is faithful, so we should be faithful to Him.

For the next month, I will be sharing Encouragement Thursdays again, going through a few sections of Acts to explore how the early church was able to survive despite persecution, differences of opinion, leadership issues, and temptations — essentially the human brokenness we still experience today.

I hope you will join me in prayer that together, we can grow closer to God and deepen our understanding of His character, as well as learn how we are to live a life of faith and love to all those in our communities.

Life Update and Encouragement :)

He who promised is faithful ❤

Hey everyone!

I don’t know about you, but 2024 has been a whirlwind year thus far. Summer is often a great time to reflect on the past few months and consider the future with hope.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this year! We’ve undergone some exciting changes, like finally getting our own domain (!!), adding a features section, and creating an inspirational video.

Personally, 2024 has been a year of transition. In June, I graduated college with my B.A. in Professional and Creative Writing. Leading up to that, I left one of my part-time jobs, gained more leadership responsibilities in my current job, lost a grandparent, found a new church, and experienced many relational highs and lows. It’s crazy how events and situations that carry such weight can be summarized in a few mere words!

On top of that, I’ve been asking God how He wants me to move forward in life, particularly with writing. I believe He’s led me to join a writing program that will equip me to complete longer, high quality projects in a faith-based environment. I’m excited to begin this program next month, though I admit I’ve been wrestling with anxiety over what comes after that.

Above all, God’s been gently reminding me that I need to surrender to His will. That’s a concept we don’t like in a very self-sufficient, independent society. We are comfortable when we feel like we have control.

But if I’ve learned anything over the course of my life, it’s that we are not in control. I am not in control. And maybe that’s for the best.

If you are struggling with this concept, remember the things you really wanted at earlier stages of your life, maybe even just a few years ago.

If your desires came into fruition, how would your life be different now?

What would you have missed out on if you had gotten what you wanted?

Often, because we can’t see the big picture, our desires aren’t in alignment with what’s best for us. Even when we make mistakes and chase harmful desires, we are not powerful enough to thwart God’s plan for us. When we turn to Him and ask for help, we will start to see how He can redeem any situation.

And when we are following Him, we will be safest of all.

That doesn’t mean we won’t experience pain and hardship, but it does mean we have peace knowing we are on the right path, protected by our Shepherd. We are not walking the path of life alone.

As I head into this next season of life, I will discern how God wants to shape The Will to Wake Up. Even if posts continue to be irregular (I’m so sorry!) or the formatting shifts a bit, I hope you will continue to be part of this community.

Thank you for your patience, support, and encouragement! God bless you. ❤

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

– Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV)

Reflection Questions:

  • What is one way you’ve needed to trust God in 2024?
  • What is something you’ve learned through a recent hardship?
  • Who is someone you’ve grown closer to this year?
  • What is an unexpected blessing you’ve experienced recently?
  • What do you hope for in the coming months?

Surrendering Your Tomorrows

Ask God to help you release your plans and unknowns into His hands.

When you think about the future, how do you feel?

You might feel excited about all your plans. You might feel anxious by your lack of plans. You might feel exhausted thinking about even the prospect of making plans.

While planning can help us make good use of our time, we must hold our plans lightly. Following Jesus requires us to take each step forward in His footsteps, even if they lead down a path we didn’t plan to walk through. When we commit to following Jesus, we enter into the process of surrendering our will to Him over and over again.

But what does surrendering our will mean?

In the simplest sense, our will is our plan for our lives. Our plans can involve our hopes and dreams, our greatest fears, and even the little desires we lock tight in our hearts.

When we surrender our will to Jesus, we can tell Him what we want to do, but we are open to change course as He directs. This takes a great deal of trust since essentially we are giving Jesus the most valuable thing we have: our lives.

But since Jesus was the one who gave us life, He knows how to best use our lives to grow and shape us into beacons of His light and love.

There are so many beautiful aspects of surrendering to Jesus, even though it is challenging and requires sacrifice. Jesus’ will for us is far greater than we could ever imagine, which means when you offer your life to Him, you will be surprised by how Jesus can transform you.

There are two major temptations to avoid when considering your future, which we are warned about in the Bible.

The first is fearing for tomorrow:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

– Matthew 6:34

The second is boasting about your plans:

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

– James 4:13-14

It is natural to be worried about the unknown, but when you are in constant panic about it, you are grasping for your will back, not ready to trust Jesus fully.

It is okay if you are at the stage of learning not to fear. I am still working through that as well. Surrendering is a process, not a one-time decision.

There will be some seasons that are easier to trust Jesus than others, but Jesus is ready and willing to walk alongside you through the journey of learning to trust in Him.

It is also natural to get excited about the future, which is wonderful and even an act of trust all on its own. But when we start to boast about our plans, we turn the spotlight back on ourselves.

We have a limited knowledge of the future and we must take life day by day. If we get too far ahead of ourselves, we may fall into the trap of pride and find that we are trusting in our own plans again rather than God’s.

Today, as you think about tomorrow and the days that follow it, ask yourself what aspects of your life are you still worried about? What situations or relationships or opportunities are you struggling to surrender to God?

Pray and ask Him to help you release your future into His hands. And who knows? You may be taken on a path going the opposite direction, but a path better suited for God’s wonderful purposes in store for you.

 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

– James 4:15

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. 

– James 4:7-8

You are Growing, Too

Do you feel burned out by trying to keep pace with others in your life who seem to be ahead?

Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life… There is nothing else.

– Dallas Willard

A little over a month ago, we set twelve pots out on our back patio and planted different seeds inside each of them. I was amazed to see green shoots poking up out of nine of the pots within a week after planting. However, there seemed to be nothing growing in the last few pots.

We assumed the birds had eaten the seeds, and we cut our losses, just grateful that most of the plants were growing. (I’m no green thumb, so having even one successful plant is a win!)

But I was taken by surprise today as I was about to dig up the soil in the seemingly barren pots and plant new seeds inside, only to find tiny green sprouts rising up to greet me. I was so glad I had slowed down and noticed them in time, and I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t given them more time to grow at their own pace.

We live in a very hurried society. Our attention spans are shorter, we are lonelier because we don’t make time to just be with people, and we are ranked by our efficiency. But when we hurry, we miss out on the subtle growth happening around us and within us on a daily basis.

Hurry is the enemy of love.

– Steve Biddulph

Our fear of falling behind stems from comparison. When our lives aren’t on the same trajectory as those around us, we begin to worry we aren’t growing fast enough, or even at all. This causes us to forget to be grateful and to feel like failures when we’re not. We’re just designed to move at a different pace, and that’s okay!

How can we enjoy life if we are always in a rush? Stopping and smelling the roses is such a cliché, but perhaps we need more of that mentality in our lives. We may miss opportunities for beauty and joy if we don’t pause regularly.

How can we truly love others when we are constantly moving from one thing to the next, always trying to better ourselves and up our statuses? Imagine how you’d feel if a loved one took time out of their day to listen to you and laugh with you and comfort you. To do nothing together. When’s the last time you did that with someone?

Finding someone to do nothing with can be harder than finding someone to do a hobby with or work on a project with. But perhaps those are the kind of friends to surround yourself with. It means they are there to be with you and nothing else.

This isn’t a call to “waste” time. It’s a call to figure out what your priorities are. To see if perhaps your fatigue or anxiety or stress could be soothed by the simple, yet vital practice of rest.

God calls us to rest. That’s why He created the Sabbath. When we rest, we have the energy to perform well in the other aspects of our lives. When we rest, we have the capacity to love others well. When we rest, we are aware enough to notice the ways we are growing, too.

How might God be calling you to slow down and rest today? Listen to Him and realize that rest is a sacred practice that you are meant to enjoy. You are worthy of rest.

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 

– Hebrews 4:1-2

How Do You Want to Be Loved?

When you understand how you want to be loved, you will no longer find yourself drawn to inauthentic relationships.

To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”

-Timothy Keller

We speak a lot about love in this world. In society, we are taught that self-love is most important. At church, we are taught that no one can love perfectly except God, but that true love takes sacrifice, a dying to our flesh. These ideas intermingle in our minds, but often feel unclear.

We are born with the desire to be loved. Why else would we be in community? Why else would we have friends or romantic partners and partake in ceremonies that celebrate undying love, like weddings?

There is something so beautiful and so incomprehensible about love. As humans, we want to explain what love is. We want to put borders around love. We like to say that love means acceptance or second chances or blind trust.

But we cannot explain love because God is love and God cannot be fully explained, at least to our humble minds. And God’s abilities are limitless.

However, it’s not wrong to explore what love means to you. Perhaps it can even help you grow in your understanding of God, too.

Even those who have never known or heard of God crave His unconditional love. This is the love spoken of in the quote by Timothy Keller. A love that knows, chooses, liberates, challenges, and ultimately betters us for the kingdom of God.

This love is so rare in the world. We cannot love perfectly, but we can still try. And when we fail, we can turn to the one who loves us perfectly and ask for His help.

When you understand how you want to be loved through a godly lens, you will no longer find yourself drawn to relationships that aren’t built on authentic love. You will recognize who in your life only “loves” you for what you do for them or who they think you are, even if you are someone completely different. You will no longer gravitate toward superficial love, but pursue deep, soulful love.

There might be times when there aren’t people in your life who can love you this way. Those times are lonely and painful, but they are also times when, if you allow yourself, you will experience God’s love in the deepest way possible. He will meet you in these moments. God is not afraid of the darkness because He is the light.

And these times of loneliness will not last forever.

But how do you know what kind of love God offers and what kind of love we should extend upon others?

Spend time with God and ask Him. Search His word. Study Jesus’ interactions in the New Testament. Listen to God’s promises in the Old Testament.

God promises to heal us (Isaiah 57:18), provide us hope (Romans 15:13), sanctify us (John 17:17), prepare a place for us believers in Heaven (John 14:3), and love us for all eternity, going so far as to sacrifice His own Son for a relationship with us (John 3:16).

The fruits of the Spirit are born out of the love God has for us, and He offers us these fruits when we choose to follow Him:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

-Galatians 5:22-23

Once we accept the love God has for us, we are equipped to love those around us. Imperfectly, yes, but through God’s grace and power, they may still experience God’s perfect love through us.

Now the question is, how are you being called to love others today?

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

-1 Corinthians 13:1-3

20 Things I’ve Learned at Age 20

As I head into a new year of life, here are 20 things God has really brought to light this year.

I hope these bits of wisdom encourage you. Feel free to comment what God has been teaching you so far in 2024!

  1. Embracing your own God-given journey is the key to finding peace.
  2. Not all relationships are meant to last forever. When it’s time to let go, let go and move on.
  3. On the flip side of that, when a relationship is worth fighting for, don’t let hardships or conflict prevent you from strengthening the bond you have with your loved one.
  4. Not everyone will understand your call or your decisions. That’s okay. God’s opinion is the only one that truly matters, so if you are following His lead, you are doing the right thing.
  5. God speaks in many different ways. The important thing is to keep your ears open and use each opportunity to get a better sense of what His voice sounds like.
  6. Cherish the smoother seasons, even if they feel mundane. You will long for them when hard times come.
  7. When hard seasons arrive, remember that they don’t last forever. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus instead of the roaring waves or the storm ahead.
  8. Surrendering your life to Jesus is a daily process which is challenging and even sacrificial at times, but it is so worth it.
  9. Pay attention to the voices around you. Are they voices that encourage you to become the person God wants you to be? Words impact you more than you know.
  10. An identity rooted in anything other than who Jesus says you are will lead to self-destruction and doubt.
  11. Humility is the key to being a secure person.
  12. You were not created to be alone.
  13. Belonging doesn’t have to be limited to social categories. You belong simply by existing here.
  14. Kindness is undervalued in this day and age, but it is also one of the most critical characteristics to embody.
  15. True friendships are built on the mutual joy of simply being in each other’s presence, not about what one wants from the other or how exciting the activities are.
  16. People can’t read your mind. If something bothers you, speak up. If something encourages you, show appreciation.
  17. Even when the timing doesn’t make sense to you, it makes sense to God. His timing is perfect. Trust Him.
  18. If you are discerning whether or not to trust someone’s spiritual counsel, take note of the fruit from their life. Are they of godly character? Do their actions and relationships align with their public beliefs?
  19. You will never find joy or clarity in comparing your story to someone else’s.
  20. One of God’s greatest gifts is inspiration.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

-Romans 5:2-5

Pamela’s Problem

Enjoy a short story about a high school senior who must surrender her future to Jesus.

            The long, dark hallway loomed ahead of Pamela. Yellow lights flickered overhead. Her imagination ran wild as her heart thumped in her chest. She half-expected the fuzzy lime-green monster of her childhood nightmares to pop out of the doors lining the hallway. She couldn’t quite explain why this monster was scary to her as a child. He just was, as many things continued to be. Hence, why she was here to begin with.

            You see, Pamela was not exploring a haunted mansion or creeping through an abandoned warehouse on a top secret mission. She was visiting her therapist, Dr. Jennifer Stevens, who went by Jenny even to her clients, and whose building manager frequently forgot to change burnt lightbulbs in his building.

            Pamela rapped on the door three times before it swung open. Jenny sat at her desk with a perky smile on her face. Thunder, Jenny’s hound dog, lay on the pet bed by the desk, thumping his tail rhythmically.

            “Welcome, Pamela,” Jenny said. “How are you doing today?”

            Pamela shut the door behind her and slumped into the chair across from Jenny’s desk. It wasn’t the most comfortable chair, and it certainly wasn’t some Freudian couch. But it was better than the stiff plastic chairs at Pamela’s high school, and the company was worth it.

            “I heard back from all the colleges I applied to,” Pamela said. She reached into her backpack and handed Jenny a stuffed manila envelope full of letters. Mainly rejection letters.

            Jenny filed through the papers while Pamela stroked Thunder’s slick head. Jenny smiled as she held up the one acceptance letter Pamela received. It was from a small state school just a few miles up the road. Pamela’s safety school.

            “Congratulations!” Jenny said.

            “Didn’t you see all the rejections?” Pamela asked.

            “Well, sure, but it’s not like you could’ve gone to all those schools at once,” Jenny said. She waved the acceptance letter in the air. “Doesn’t this count as a victory?”

            “All my friends got into the other schools. The better schools,” Pamela said, crossing her arms.

            “They all did?”

            “Well…most of them.”

            Jenny nodded. She never made fun of Pamela’s exaggerations or held it over her head when she was right.

            “Are you planning to attend this school?” Jenny asked. “Or will you take a gap year?”

            “There’s no way my parents would let me take a gap year,” Pamela said with a laugh.

            Jenny smiled. She had met Pamela’s mom in college. They were even roommates one year. She could understand Pamela’s problems better than Pamela even realized, despite how much Jenny adored her long-time friend.

            “So what will you study? Or is that the most annoying question to be asked?” Jenny said.

            “Creative writing,” Pamela said. “It’s actually the only school I applied to with a creative writing program.”

            “That sounds like the perfect program for you,” Jenny remarked. “You’ll get to study what you’re passionate about.”

            Pamela nodded, but she still felt a heavy burden on her chest.

            “It’s just hard when I think about how my future will look different than my friends’ futures,” Pamela said. “My parents are making me live at home since the dorms cost so much money and we live close to the school. And I won’t have a very prestigious name to put on my resumé. All my friends will live near each other while I’ll have to start over.”

            Jenny rested her elbows against her desk and folded her hands together.

            “Senior year is certainly a year about thinking through the future,” Jenny said. “We’ve talked about surrendering your future to Jesus this year, haven’t we?”

            “I know!” Pamela burst out. “But it’s not fair. What if Jesus doesn’t have as great of a future for me as He has for my friends?”

            “It’s all about trust,” Jenny replied. “Do you remember Jesus telling his disciples about how when a son asks his father for a fish or an egg, the father certainly won’t give him a snake or a scorpion instead? The father cares about his son, just as Jesus cares about his children.”

            “Then why can’t I go to the same college as my friends?” Pamela asked.

            “Jesus knows what’s best for you,” Jenny replied. “Our wants and desires fluctuate like our emotions do, but Jesus knows the path that will lead us closest to him and allow us the opportunity to grow into our full potentials.”

            Pamela sighed. She knew this was true. Her emotions often curved high and low like a rollercoaster track.

            “The question now is, do you trust that Jesus loves you enough to provide you with a beautiful future, even if it doesn’t look the way you anticipated?” Jenny asked.

            “I want to,” Pamela said. “but it’s really hard.”

            “That’s okay,” Jenny said. She offered her hands to Pamela, which she accepted. “Let’s ask Jesus for help. Even if it takes years to learn to trust him, we worship a very patient God. Every day, the more you lean on his strength, the more natural it will be to trust him.”   

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:11-13