Trusting Him

Trusting the Lord is such a vital part of our relationship with God.  Unfortunately, it’s not always easy.

This past year, the Lord has revealed and taught me so much.  But through it I’ve also had to endure some heartache.  I’m learning that sometimes, trials can be blessings.  I have come to understand that the Lord may be trying to prepare me for some of the things I’ll have to face later on in life.  I also know that it can be hard to face the uncertainties of the future and fully trust Him to work out everything for our good.  My life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

One of my Youth Pastors has said that we should be able to apply our life verses to every minute of the day, and I find that this is one that I can always turn to.  It tells me that “Ya know, God’s got this covered, and He’s got it all in His hands!  I just need to look to Him; acknowledge Him; and He will give me direction.”

This is true for each one of us.  If we diligently pursue His will for our lives, we have no reason to worry!  I love the song Write Your Story by Francessca Battistelli, because it reminds me that the Lord is the Author of MY story-and the amazing part is that He is not capable of mistakes.  My story isn’t in the first draft; it isn’t in the second draft.  It’s a beautiful, completed story that He wrote before He even created the Universe!  Whatever situation you may be in, God has your back.  He will NEVER, EVER fail you!  Here are three ways to help you learn to trust the Lord.

Talk to Him

Worried?  Upset?  Even angry?  Tell Him!  He wants to know your heartache; he wants to heal it.  Talking to Him is a great step to learning to trust Him-and you know why?  Because He ALWAYS answers.  Sometimes He may say no, sometimes yes, and sometimes He tells us to wait.  But He’ll never ignore us.  Not to mention that knowing God has answered your prayer is an amazing feeling that’s indescribable!!

Study His Word

Study God’s Word!  You’ll find so many stories of how people such as Noah, Joseph, and Esther learned how to fully put their trust in God!  Now of course they were human and had their doubts at times, I’m sure, but in the end they overcame that doubt; and found that He is always faithful.  And I know you will too. 🙂

Seek Counsel

There are so many people around you such as your parents, grandparents, and Youth Pastor, that have endured-and become victorious, over their trials because of their faith in God!  I’m sure that they will understand your troubles and be more than willing to help you in any way possible. 🙂 And of course, feel free to get in touch with me through this form if I can assist you in any way, and I’m sure the rest of the girls here at STL would be more than happy to help as well.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Have an amazing rest of your weekend! 😀

Send the Light!

 

 

 

 

Diligence

Well, guys, one of my biggest problems as a human being is laid bare for the world as I push the blue button on the left labeled ‘published.’ We human beings like to hide our sins, so … this is hard for me.

On the other hand, I’m probably so full of sin that I don’t even realize the half of it!

Anyway, one of the things I find difficult in my life is diligence.

Diligence: careful and persistent work or effort.

I don’t know why, but …

I find it hard to finish things I start.

I find it hard to keep doing good work throughout the school year.

I find it hard to brush my dog every single week.

I find it hard to exercise often.

I’ll start out excited about something … and then my enthusiasm will fade away.

What does the Bible say about this? Well, there are many, many Bible verses about diligence, actually.

A few of my favorites include:

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. ~Proverbs 13:4

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ~Galatians 6:9

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ~2 Peter 1:10

So it’s clear that God values diligence, that He wants us, His children, to persevere in all things good (and yes, that does include cleaning out your cat’s litter box every single day!).

But what can we do about our own laziness?

Here are a few things that help me.

1. Hold yourself accountable to your friends. Tell your friends that you are probably gonna be grounded and won’t be able to see them anymore if the lawn doesn’t get mowed weekly. Ask them to remind you if it seems like you’re forgetting.
2. Hold yourself accountable to God. I know this may sound silly, but I sometimes wake up in the morning and say, “God, please strike me down with a lightning bolt if I don’t clean out the fish’s bowl today.” And the thing is, I’m only partially kidding … Seriously, though, folks. Tell God that you need help completing a task today! He always hears you, and He always helps.
3. Checklists! What? I like making lists …
4. Just getting in the habit. After a couple weeks of getting it down, you can’t sleep unless you’ve done something! I’m not even kidding. One of my problems a while back (like, a couple months ago!) was reading the Bible. I’d have trouble remembering to do it. Then I promised myself to read it every night without fail, and after forcing myself the first week or two, I can’t sleep until I read a bit, even if it’s only a verse or two.

Thanks for reading!

~Kellyn Roth

15 Years…and Towers are Still Crumbling…

As I’m sure you all know, yesterday was 9/11.  The terrorist attack.  The crumbling of the towers.  The cries of those who had lost loved ones.  Of those who had lost all hope.  There were those who were brave; noble enough to risk their lives to save others.  And some of them didn’t make it.  They sacrificed, and showed Christ-likeness like many of use could not.  Unfortunately, the battle isn’t over; the towers are still crumbling.  Our world needs Jesus Christ so very much!  It’s heart breaking to think that there are so many that reject His gift of salvation and follow someone or something else, as ISIS does.  We’re backing off from the duty we have as born again believers and children of God!  Our Nation, which says that it is under God, has been trying to instead place itself above God, and is forgetting the principals that we were founded on.  Have we forgotten that God will judge?  When will we fall down on bended knee and ask His forgiveness?  How long will we let the towers crumble?

If you haven’t already, please spend some time praying for the families of the deceased and praising the Lord for their courage!