This month in my small group we were discussing 1 Peter and this past week we finished with chapter five.
There were two verses from this portion of the letter that hit a cord with me. One of them verse seven, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” and also verse ten,“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
The reason why verse seven stuck out to me was because I am full of anxiety right now. Having to raise the funds, trying to think of new painting ideas to sell, trying to find a way to ask my church if they are willing to help, finishing up my bachelors program, feeling like I have nothing to offer in this group, etc. The list can go on. All of these things are just piling up on me and I’m getting lost in this chaos. That’s where I am. But then in the mess of this all I can feel peace in knowing that God cares for me. Because he, El Roi, the God who sees me cares for me. Knowing that makes this process a little easier. This eases my heart and calms my soul.
Verse ten fills my heart with hope. This time last year was hard for me. Emotionally it took its toll. It was a season where I had little to no hope and nothing seemed to be going like planned. I’m the type of person who will continue on with life as if nothing is wrong and no one would know if something is going on unless I personally tell them. But having this time of separation, seclusion, and self evaluation has helped me realign myself with God. I truly feel as if this next step is him restoring me into the plan he has for me and giving me the strength to pursue it.
While I feel like my life is a mess at times or that my brokenness is to great I give it all to God. That through my brokenness he is able to be glorified and that others may come to know him.
