No Exceptions

Good morning brothers and sisters! I have once again woken up earlier than planned so why not post? My week was definitely a roller coaster of ups and downs but in the end, I praise The Lord for every little thing that happened because it was all part of his greater plan. At the beginning of the week, I was really hurting from this breakup that I'm going through and no matter how hard I tried to release all my worries to God and rejoice in Him, all I could do was cry and feel sorry for myself.
"If he already likes another girl, did he ever love me?"
"Was I not good enough? Am I not as pretty as her?"
"Will any guy ever think I'm good enough?"
"Am I not special? Am I replaceable?"
These thoughts just kept running through my head and I couldn't push them out. On Tuesday, I cried myself to sleep without spending any time with God.
But on Wednesday night, it all turned around. I went to Fields of Faith which is an FCA event that is held on football fields all over the country where believers come together to hear powerful testimonies and worship The Lord. I learned three things that night that I will never forget:

As I watched hundreds of people get saved and see hundreds of other people worshipping and encouraging their new brothers and sisters in Christ, I realized that I'm not alone. On Tuesday night when I was crying in my room I felt so alone and unwanted. But on Wednesday I realized I'm never alone and never will be. God is ALWAYS ready to listen and to comfort me, all I have to do is take the time to talk to him. And since my Creator knows my heart and knows that I often desire someone tangible to talk to, he blessed me with an amazing family and group of friends. I am so blessed to have my loved ones to encourage me and lift me up, but more importantly, I will ALWAYS have God to talk to and to shower me in affection and give me the strength I need to push through anything.

Listening to the speakers, I realized the we all hurt and experience trials, (most people's are a lot worse than a breakup) but the trials are what makes us who we are by allowing us to grow and learn. God doesn't throw hardships at us because he feels like it, He planned for those hardships to make a change in our lives that is necessary for us to complete his purpose for us. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It's so easy to thank God for all the joyful times in life. I often thank God for the "gifts" he's blessed me with-such as friends, family, the ability to dance, my home, etc. But I realized this week that the trials he puts in my life are gifts too, giving me knowledge and allowing better things to happen. None of the speakers at Fields of Faith would be the amazing people they are without the trials they had to face. Every time they experienced a hardship, the outcome was either finding Christ, growing closer to Him, discovering more of Him plan for them, or something else along those lines. The times when we hurt are when we grow the most, and although it is natural and okay to cry and feel pain, we should never get so caught up in feeling sorry for ourselves that we turn away from God.

The last thing I learned was more of just a reminder or just an amazing feeling, but it definitely needs to be shared. As I stood in the bleachers looking around at the passion so many Christians, middle school to middle-aged, had for Christ as they worshipped Him I was overwhelmed with the beauty of God. I imagined our Creator hovering over that stadium overjoyed with his sons and daughters praising Him, finding Him, and leading others to Him. I imagined Him embracing each one of us and at other times embracing all of us as a whole. I was overcome with joy and forgot all my worries in that beautiful moment. Since then, I'll admit I have still gotten upset and have worried but I am so much happier because I know that God is bigger than all the hurt in this world.

My prayer is that whoever reads this can take with them the lessons I learned this week. Know that no matter how big or hard your problems are, the outcome will be great because your God loves you more than you could ever imagine and has spectacular plans for you. Praise and thank Him in all situations with the knowledge that everything he puts you through is to teach you and strengthen you. There are absolute NO EXCEPTIONS when it comes to giving God the glory; this world can be pretty harsh and sometimes it may feel impossible that any good could come out of a situation but it always will.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

Fields of Faith

 

 

 An excerpt from Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, that I thought was fitting.