what a hope I've found.

So after nearly a 2 month hiatus, I AM BACK! I had no idea that it would be this difficult to keep up with this blog while going to school--I guess that's what taking 18 credits(!) can do to you. I feel like almost every waking moment that I have is being spent studying or sleeping. It has definitely been a more challenging year as far as academics go, but the upside is that I have been forced to rely on my Daddy in heaven more. The Lord has been so faithful in giving me the ability to make it through, one class at a time, one exam at a time, one day at a time. There is a brilliant passage in Proverbs(3:5-6) where God promises to direct our path when we acknowlege Him in all our ways. That can be so hard to do. I've found that setting aside time to spend with Jesus has become harder and harder and thoughts of condemnation keep rushing in faster and faster when I neglect time with God. I can only pray for more discipline. A divine discipline.

What do people live for? SO many things. People live for their family, careers, thrills of life, the approval of others, sports, money, fame, love...and at the end of their life, it's for nothing. All the things that they worked so hard for, sacrificed so much for, just amounts to nothing. There is no eternal hope, nothing to look forward to after death. This life is all that there is. The thing that I am most thankful for, not just this thanksgiving weekend, but always and forever is the hope that I have in Jesus Christ. This life isn't all that there is for me. This is not my final destination. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15 that if it is only in this life that we have hope in Christ then we are to be pitied more than all men. But we have hope not only in this life, but also for the next life to come. We are going to spend FOREVER with our Wonderful Saviour. That excites me so, so much. When I stop to think about the fact that I'm going to see Jesus so very soon, an inexplicable joy wells up from my inner being. This is something that I need to be walking in every single day. I need for the joy of the Lord to be emanating from my face all the time. I have a hope that the world doesn't have but desperately needs. So the next time that I feel the heaviness of the world and all that comes with it, I just need to remember that the Lord will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfastly on Him, for He is our Rock forever. How many things in this world can we say are forever? Everything is fleeting it seems. But our Papa, our Daddy in Heaven, is our Eternal Rock, our Faithful Father, our Constant Companion.

It is so evident, looking at the world around us that we are in the last days. This age is truly coming to an end. If you don't belive me, read Matthew 24 or Luke 21. Wars are breaking out everywhere. Senseless killing is becoming an everyday occurance. Though it saddens me to see our world deteriorate before my very eyes, I know that, like childbirth, there must first come exceeding pain before there can come eternal joy.

When the world is falling out from under me

I'll be found in you, still standing

When the sky rolls up and the mountains fall on their knees

When time and space are through, I'll be found in you

Jesus said that, as Christians, when we begin to see these things happen, that we should hold our heads high because the time our redemption is drawing near. Just meditate on that for a minute. These things are beginning to happen more frequently and on a greater magnitude. This means that as the time is getting closer and closer for us to see our Jesus, time is also running out for us to reach others for the Kingdom. We need to open our eyes to the eternal need of those who surround us. Let us set aside the fear of man. It is a snare and a trap. God has given us a spirit of power and love. Let us go out and make disciples, like Jesus called us to. Let us bring others along for the amazing ride while we still can. Our redemption is drawing near. Jesus is coming soon. We will be with Him forever. And ever. Maranatha.