Quick shoutout: Dominic (Houston, TX), if you’re reading this… comment or email me or something so I can know what you’re up to, brother!
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The last few days have been a whirlwind for me. There’s really no better way to describe it. A few misfortunes, but plenty more blessings and I’m not going to let myself be distracted by one or two mishaps. I have the power of Jesus inside of me to push that stuff away from my life. I should probably tattoo that on the back of my eyelids for this year because I know I’m going to occasionally forget that it’s not about my strength and what I think I can do; it’s the spirit that Jesus gave me that is working from within me!
Not I, but Christ….. Not I, but Christ…
Bad things are going to happen, sure, but God’s love is so much more powerful than any “Debbie-Downer” day or irritable attitude. I know that, despite occasional mishaps (or what may seem to be mishaps to me and my limited understanding), He’s still guiding me, looking out for me and loving me the whole way through.
Psalms 91:9-10 says, “Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home, evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door.”
What we see as evil and what God knows as evil are often very different things. I’m not saying that things aren’t sad or hard, but it takes faith and trust to know that God wants to make good out of everything in His childrens’ lives. It’s our responsibility to pay attention to where He’s working and run to that so that His plans to make good actually happen.
I can talk about this all day. Can you imagine what we know versus what God knows? Ummmm, yeah… no words for how wide that comparison is other than maybe “nothing” versus “everything.” The silly thing is that, often times, my biggest struggle with faith is that I’m always looking and hoping for my own, detailed understanding of God. I just want to have all of my burning questions answered! When I’m reminded that I won’t get those answers until I’m in God’s heavenly kingdom, I often get frustrated and doubts usually aren’t too far away. I mean, if our brilliant scientists can’t explain it, then it must not be possible, right? Because we operate from within a world of proof and hard facts, right?
God Check:
First of all, (ask any scientist) there are endless things that are inexplicable. Second, isn’t science part of God’s creation as well? And finally, who are we to understand our Creator and how He works, anyway? Look up on a clear (ish) night sky to remind yourself how tiny we are and then try to convince yourself that we deserve to know anything at all.
This picture is from last night as I was camping on the beach with my brother in Wilmington
Romans 11:33-35 asks, “Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.
“Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell Him what to do? Anyone who has done Him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice?”
Chew on that one for a minute or two as you take a gander at the sunrise picture I shot from outside my tent this morning:
Thanks for reading! 8 days until launch… and then the REAL blogging starts!
