Praising God Through The Storm

For pretty much the entire month of January, the ideas of constant prayer and praise through the hard times have been constantly brought up in different conversations, Sunday School lessons, in-school assignments, and messages. Oddly, all of these reoccurring instances really started when I was FaceTiming my best friend. We were doing our Bible Study together (Prayer Partnering with the Best!), and she asked me, “Why does God ask us to praise him even in the bad times?” This question really threw me off my game. I wasn’t ready at all for this, and I honestly didn’t have a very good answer to give her.

So, this is where I became determined to find the perfect answer for her. I asked a lot of different people about what they thought about this subject. I asked my parents, mentors, Bible Teacher, and even God. I really wanted to fully understand this concept that God had placed in my life.

 1 Corinthians says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Wow. God is so breathtakingly beautiful for always allowing “a way of escape”. Bad things are going to happen to us, it is inevitable. Bad things on earth are temporary, when we are in Heaven, looking back on trials on Earth we are not going to look at those trials and regret anything. We are going to see that it’s all for a greater cause in God’s glory.

When we are going through hard times, it’s really hard to step back and look at the big picture, God’s picture. The times you are going through are temporary, but God’s kingdom, grace and mercy are eternal. Therefore, in these dark times, it is our responsibility to “Praise God Through The Storm” and to continue living for God’s glory constantly.

Weekly Goal: Praise God Through The Good, Bad, and Ugly!

New Beginnings

Today, sadly, was the last day of winter break for me. Christmas break always really hits the spot. It’s just perfect timing! Right after exams, especially this year, I WAS EXHAUSTED. All I really wanted to do was crawl in my bed and sleep for as long as I possibly could! The first semester of tenth grade really wiped me out! Although, after much-needed rest and two weeks of excitement, I am headed back for second semester TOMORROW!

So, tomorrow I start my new beginning. SECOND SEMESTER! Everything has started over. This is the way I like to look at it: I am starting the semester off with zeros in every class. You know what that means? The only way I can go is up! How exciting is that!? The idea that everything that happened (grade wise) before this semester is wiped away and the only direction I can go for the new semester is UP, UP, UP!

Also, this idea of “new beginnings” can relate to our spiritual lives. After we accept Jesus as out Savior, we are all new creations! It says it in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” How amazing is it that Jesus allows us to be new! This summer, the band Unhindered played at my church’s youth camp. Their song, “I Am Not The Same”, was written directly from this verse. It says, “I am not the same I’m a new creation. I am not the same anymore. I am not ashamed, I will not be shaken I am not the same anymore.” With Christ, we have a clean slate, and even though this slate will not be clean for long ( we are sinful creatures), God gives us the amazing gift of constant grace and mercy. Through Christ, we are MADE NEW!

Weekly Challenge: Trust God in Everything (thanks mack for the great idea!!)

Also, go look up the song by Unhindered, YOU WON’T REGRET IT!!