"We are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:6-7
If I were to name the one problem that I have been struggling with the most about my faith in the last few months, I think that I would have to say faith itself. I know that this doesn't make sense, but I hope that it will as I write.
First, I suppose that I need to clarify the different ways I've used the word "faith". When I talked about "my faith," I guess I mean my religion as a whole. When I said that I've been struggling with the issue of faith, I mean believing in God and trusting in him in all circumstances, even though I can't see him.
I guess that the main motivation for my writing this post is to encourage myself, although I hope that in the process it reaches some of my readers, also. I want to encourage myself for the tough ten days that I have ahead of me. For those of you who don't know, because my jaw surgery got moved back a few weeks from the original date, I'm unable to go on my church's annual mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. This may not seem like a very big deal, but this trip means so much to me. I have had the privilege to go on four trips, and these four weeks combined have probably affected my life more than anything else.
However, I have to admit that because I have been so many times it has become somewhat routine. It has become more something that happens every year, not something that I need to prepare myself spiritually for, and I think, overall, I have taken it for granted. So, God has chosen to not have me go this year. He's told me to still help out as much as I possibly can on the leadership team, nonetheless, and I think he's also going to give me a reason why I'm not going. Something is going to happen next week. I'm not sure if it will be really big or something subtle. And I think he has big plans for my own spiritual growth, maybe even more than if I were able to go on the trip.
2 Corinthians 5 says that when we are in the body we are away from the Lord, but then it continues to say that if we walk by faith, we will be with him both on earth and also in heaven. God gives us struggles in this life to make us stronger, and ultimately to bring us closer to him in faith. Romans 5:3 says, "We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance."
He makes us suffer here on earth so that we can overcome it temporarily and learn to trust in him more, and also so that we can appreciate and look forward to spending eternity with him in heaven. It may seem like he's put too much on our plates, but if we have faith we know that it's not too much. He'll make a way for everything to work, no matter how bad it seems.
I think that we also have to put our lives into perspective in this situation. Is it really that terrible that I get a bad grade? At the very moment that I get a bad grade someone is dying in Africa, someone is learning that they have terminal cancer, and someone is losing a family member. Besides what's going on immediately, it's also good to put into perspective what Jesus did for us. He died so that we could have eternal life. He died, a terrible, gruesome death, for me. He died for you. He died for anyone who will believe.
So, I guess I've realized that my not going to Mexico is actually an answered prayer. I've been praying lately for God to use me. I've been ready to take a large step spiritually, and I've been asking him to lead me to do that. Well, I'm about to take it. I've reached the edge of the cliff. Now I can fall off. I can jump. I can fly. I can simply take a small step and see where it leads me. Whatever I do, I know God will lead me to do it. He will be with me 100% of the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment