What a Waste!

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.  When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
Matthew 26:6‭-‬8‭, ‬10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.26.8-10.NIV

When we pour out our lives on Jesus' feet, with no regard to cost or humiliation; when people see what we give up and what it gains us, they may say "what a waste!" And/or "I could have used that, don't you care about me?"
This ridicule didn't come from outsiders, but from Jesus' disciples. Sometimes, it's fellow Christians--the ones who ought to be encouraging us and spurring us closer to Jesus--who will tell us to back off in our passion and put it to use elsewhere. But Jesus came to her defence. He didn't think it was a waste. He didn't think the poor could use it more than he could. He accepted her gift and called it beautiful.

There's a couple things I get from this:
1. Give Jesus the best of everything you have. Don't save him until last, but put him first. People may be slighted because they're selfish and they want you to put them first just like they have. But anyone else who has put Jesus first will tell you he's worth it.

2. Nothing you give Jesus will go unnoticed or unappreciated. He won't think there was any better place for it. He will call it beautiful, and will defend you against anyone who says otherwise.

3. I don't ever want to be the sister who tells someone to put their offering somewhere else. I don't ever want to be the one who ridicules a fellow Christian for their passion for Jesus when it's burning at it's hottest. I want to be the one to fan the flame. I want to be the their second best defender against such people.

4. Ridicule has two roots in this story: selfishness and guilt. We ridicule someone's gift either because we wanted the gift for ourselves, or because we're covering up the shame we carry because we weren't willing to give the same gift.
If someone gives God time, and you wanted them to give that time to you, that's when you become "indignant".
And if God calls you to give you some of your time, and you don't say yes, you're much more likely to notice when someone else does. And when you see them do it, you're convicted (and therefore uncomfortable) so you want to put a stop to it by embarrassing the other person into silence.
In order to not respond with selfishness when someone gives something to God, we have to have given up any claim we had on it. 
And in order to not respond out of our guilt or conviction, we should humble ourselves, repent, and follow their example by being obedient.

If we're to respond properly to anyone who gives their best to God, we have to have already done the same thing. And when everyone in the Church has given God their best--when they have put him first in their lives--he will then have first place in the whole Church. He will be it's head, as he should.

I Will Waste My Life -Misty Edwards

A Lamp and a Pharisee: Shining vs Showing Off

Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

When I read this, I was reminded of another teaching of Jesus:
Matthew 6:1 "Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven."

On the surface, these verses seem to contradict each other. Which is why I stopped to think on it further.

What's the difference between "letting your good deeds be seen" and "doing your good deeds publicly"? It's the difference between shining and showing off. Whose favor are you hoping to gain? Are you doing it for God's glory or your own? Will you receive all the reward right away, or is the majority of it being stored up in the Kingdom?

I considered the contexts as well. In chapter 5, Jesus just finished saying that you will be blessed for being persecuted because of him (5:10-11). Letting your light shine ties in with that: don't let fear of pain or insult hold you back.
Whereas chapter 6 is right in the thick of outlining how our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (5:20), who were known and praised by all for their "good deeds".

Basically, to me it seems like these verses are saying "don't be ashamed of who you are as a child of God, but don't try to prove/earn your righteousness by your own power"

I personally struggle with both of these. On the one hand, when people notice something about me that's different, I tend to shrug the comment off with some logical explanation instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to explain why I'm different. On the other hand, it's easy for me to fall into flaunting my "righteousness" and thinking too highly of myself. Especially around Christians.

I grew up being more "mature"--in my mind--than everyone else my age. It turned into an internal competition to be better than the Christians around me. I held myself to a higher standard, which resulted in me looking down on everyone else. I was quite the little Pharisee. Those of you who have known me our whole lives probably noticed that, and you deserve an apology for my attitude whether you noticed or not.

Fortunately, no matter my flaws God is still willing to work with my heart and my attitude. He put me in a position where I was purposefully admiring the people around me, in order to encourage them and build them up whenever I could. My admiration for others eventually wore down my admiration for myself. After all, it's quite humbling to be genuinely admiring children. And over the years, he's also made me a kind of unofficial leader, which strangely made me more humble. The pressure to live well stopped coming from competing with those around me, and started coming from a desire to set a good example, which somehow seemed harder.

I'm grateful for everything God has helped me with when it comes to doing good deeds in order to be admired by others. Though I still have a long way to go when it comes to letting my light shine, especially at work. But, when I think about it, maybe it's not as much up to me as I think. If I truly am a lamp, then God is the one who lit me and put me on a stand. A lamp doesn't have to TRY to stay lit, concentrating on pushing its light to the corners and displacing the darkness. It's the nature of darkness to disappear in the presence of light. And it's the nature of a lamp, when it's a good one, to shine. It's what it was created for.

So maybe for me it's not about how hard I try, but about being who God created me to be. I still have a fear of speaking to people to overcome, but if God could humble this Pharisee, I'll bet he can light this lamp too.

Our Wounded King

I was going through some old notes this week and found this poem that I wrote in October, 2015. I was waiting to post it until Good Friday, because it's about the crucifixion:

Every promise was fulfilled

Every prophet proven right

Because you saw our hopeless state

Pouring out your love that night

You were looked upon with scorn

Beaten, wounded, drowned alive

Broken down from inside out

Friendless, none stood by your side

Oh, what heavy love is yours!

That you would do so great a thing

We stand in awe of you again

As we look upon our wounded King!

Pierced for love, hung for peace

Hands stretched wide to bring us in

We laughed at you as our roles reversed

Killing you for our own sin

Such agony was laid on you

Yet even that was not the worst

Your own Father chose to turn away

Unable to be with one who was cursed

Oh, what heavy love is yours!

That you would do so great a thing

We stand in awe of you again

As we look upon our wounded King!

Your accusors stood accused

Yet even that you mended too

Your cry for us with mercy rang

"They do not know what they do"

Forsaken by your closest friends

Mocked by those who hung beside

You looked ahead to the joy you'd see

When you gather in those left outside

Oh, what heavy love is yours!

That you would do so great a thing

We stand in awe of you again

As we look upon our wounded King!

Hours went by in such a state

Feeling everyone's every pain

Yet the story does not end in death

For in three days you rose again

Your punishment has brought us peace

By your wounds we have been healed

You tore the veil of seperation

In you, our victory is sealed

Oh, what heavy love is yours!

That you would do so great a thing

We stand in awe of you again

As we look upon our wounded King!

Forever we could sing of this

Your love, proven to be so deep

Your act gives us that very chance

To sing of you for eternity

We were weighed down by sin and guilt

But that all changed on your tree

The only thing that weighs us now

Is your love that set us free

Oh, what heavy love is yours!

That you would do so great a thing

We stand in awe of you again

As we look upon our wounded King!

The Crucifixion, from perspectives Old and New

Lately, I've been discovering some passages in the Old Testament that describe Jesus' crucifixion perfectly. The ones that especially stand out to me are Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. Many of the verses describe specific events from the night Jesus died. So the project I did was to take the Old Testament passages and combine them with New Testament verses that describe some of the specific events they point to, starting with Psalm 118 and Palm Sunday. The New Testament verses are in the K1-K10 footnotes. I hope you're blessed!

Psalm 118:22-29

²² The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵ Lord, save us!
    Lord, grant us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.[K1] 
    From the house of the Lord we bless you.
²⁷ The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
    up to the horns of the altar[K2] .

²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

Isaiah 53

­­¹Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.[K3] 
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?[K4] 
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,[K5] 
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,[K6] 
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?[K7] 
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”[K8] 

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;[K9] 
    you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce^[e] my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.[K10] 

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

---

 [K1]Matthew 21: ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 [K2]Revelation 7: ⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 

 [K3]Matthew 27: ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

 [K4]Matthew 26: ⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

⁷¹ Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷² He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

⁷⁴ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

 [K5]Matthew 27: ⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.  ⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

 [K6]Matthew 26: ³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

 [K7]Matthew 27: ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

 [K8]Matthew 27: ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

 [K9]John 19: ²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 [K10]John 19: ²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴ “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.”^[a]

So this is what the soldiers did. 

O Christmas Tree

I remember when I first heard that some Christians don't put up Christmas trees. I was surprised, but I wasn't judgmental. After all, Paul talks about living according to the faith God has given you, and but being a stumbling block to those whose faith is weak (I'm not saying people who don't put up Christmas trees have weaker faith, I'm just quoting what Paul said). I've always taken that to mean that if you have a minor disagreement about something with a fellow believer, such as whether or not you put up a Christmas tree, you need to let God be their guide, and follow him yourself with the grace he gives you to do so. Aka, let it slide.

But ever since then I've been thinking about why I put up a Christmas tree. My experience is that if I look hard enough at something and listen well, God can put a lesson in almost anything. So what does a decorated pine tree have to do with Jesus coming to earth as a baby to save us from our sins? This year, I found my answer. And I found it in the song O Christmas Tree:

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Your branches green delight us
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Your branches green delight us
They're green when summer days are bright
They're green when winter show is white
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Your branches green delight us

The word that instantly sprang to my mind when I read that verse was "faithful". The second word was "evergreen". Of course! Pine trees stay green no matter the season and no matter the weather. Just like God is faithful no matter the circumstances. And he proved it at Christmas time. Have you ever counted how many promises and prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus was born? The whole story is stuffed full of them! Therefore the lesson is this: no matter how long it takes, God is faithful to keep his promises and to fulfill his prophecies. And we can be reminded of that every time we read the story of Jesus's birth and every time we look at a Christmas tree.

The Wise Builder

In dance class devotionals this week, I learned about how important it is to respond to God when he speaks to me. While we were given time to think about what God was telling us and what our response would be, I had a hard time finding out what God wanted from me. He and I had already had a big discussion about how my life was going that morning, and I couldn't think of any way I could respond to that issue more. So I sat and listened, asking God what he wanted. He reminded me of something I that had stuck out to me in my Bible reading recently. It is found in Matthew 7:24-27.

Most of you have probably heard the parable of the wise and foolish builders. In the past, every time I read it, my mind instantly pictured some animated story while I read. The thing is, I've always been so busy picturing the story that I missed the point: Jesus said that the wise builder was the one who "comes to me, hears these words of mine and puts them into practice." That part never ever computed with me before.

This time, I wanted to know what Jesus was referring to when he said "these words of mine." So I looked up the passage, and found that it was located at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. So "these words" were referring to the content of that sermon.

Later, when I had more time to review those words again, I compiled a list of everything the sermon talks about:

1. Be poor in spirit
2. Mourn, and be comforted
3. Be meek
4. Hunger and thirst, and be filled
5. Be merciful
6. Be pure in heart
7. Make peace
8. Be persecuted because of righteousness
9. Let your light shine before men
10. Practice and teach right commands. 
11. Let your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law:
1. Don't just refrain from murder. Refrain from hate, anger, grudges, and don't let animosity linger
2. Don't just refrain from adultery. Refrain from lust. Subject your flesh to discipline and self-control
3. Don't divorce, and don't marry someone who has
4. Don't swear. Let your word stand by itself.
5. Don't take revenge for yourself ("eye for an eye"). Don't resist an evil person.
6. Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you
7. When acting rightly, do it for God and not for men
1. Giving to the needy
2. Praying
3. Fasting
12. Forgive each other
13. Store your treasures in heaven
14. Do not worry. God loves you and will take care of you.
15. Don't judge, you're a sinner too
16. Ask, seek, and knock. It will be given, found, and opened.
17. Enter through the narrow gate
18. Watch out for false prophets. Look at their fruit.

When I had compiled the list, I was reminded of the Ten Commandments. It's a list of rules to follow. But then I recognized that I had listed the things under #11 as individual commands. I didn't even have #11 because I thought it wasn't important. It was only then that I realized that Jesus said all those other things as a follow-up on "be more righteous than the religious." Only then did I realize that the whole sermon was talking about letting your righteousness be a heart response. It was showing people what the kingdom of heaven is like: People's hearts seeking God's. Not just setting yourself apart from the world with rules, regulations, habits, teachings, and laws. Being set apart from the world is nothing more than a natural side effect from being transformed from the inside out.

Jesus was saying that he didn't want a people who honored him with their lips, but whose hearts were far from him. All he wants is all we are. When we've given him everything, it's all he is asking for. Giving ourselves to him is the habit he wants us to develop. The more we do it, the more it becomes our natural reaction. But it's a habit that is built over time, like a man digging a foundation deep into solid rock. It's hard work. It takes time. But in the end, we will be able to stand against the storm.

So I encourage you, just as I encourage myself: When God speaks, don't just listen. When he prompts your heart to do something, do it. Reach out with your spirit to find his. Live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. The flesh will give you a false sense of security, like building a foundation in sand. After all, our flesh is dust originally, and it will fail us. But God's word never will. So be a wise builder. Hear his word and respond.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

~Matthew 7:24-27

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do."

~James 1:22-25

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

~James 2:17-18, 26

The Most Imporant Lesson

Isaiah 43:1-4
"This is what the Lord says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you..."

Hey, Internet! Looks like I haven't posted on this blog since April, but I've been busy. This summer, I spent 40 hours every week at an animal teaching hospital for an internship, which was the last semester of my degree program. Now, however, I'm done! Yay!

In my earlier duo-post Losing Perfection... Finding Peace, I talked about some pictures that I got from God that described what my second semester would look like. What I haven't mentioned since is that I've been asking him for pictures that describe every semester since then. It's been very cool to see what he's shown me!

For this past Spring semester, God showed me two pictures:
1) An extension of the journey through the dark valley. I had passed through the village and was on my way to the mountain on the other side. It was time to leave behind the people I had met--committing them to God's plans for their lives, and trusting him to take care of them--and climb the mountain that lay ahead.
2) I saw a huge wave, probably twice the height of my two-story house (it was very similar to the wave in the trailer for Exodus: Gods and Kings), bearing down on a lone figure. The person was on their knees with bowed head as the wave approached, but their shadow stretched out behind them in a standing position holding a sword and daring the wave to do its worst. It was like I was facing immense pressure, but the one who was living inside me was greater and fiercer than anything, and he was teaching me to be a warrior. I didn't know if the wave would crash over me, and I would emerge out the top, or if the wave would split and not touch me in the first place. My eyes were closed, trusting God, and he told me that he would take care of me. I was reminded of Isaiah 43:1-4, when God promises to be with us through the waves and waters that sweep over us.

That second picture was describing the time period from the beginning of Spring semester through my summer internship. They day after my internship finished, I saw the next piece:
I was standing, watching an ocean storm play out around me. Wind blew fiercely and the water was churning and rolling. I looked down, wondering what I was standing on, and it turned out to be water. But I wasn't afraid, because God told me that I had just overcome the wave, and had come out the top victorious. 


God showed me more pictures which I talk about later. But for now, I want to glorify him and encourage you by describing how he proved faithful to me during the last six months:
1) "...I will be with you..." was one of the coolest promises I received from God this year. He phrased it in an interesting way one morning during my quiet time: "Don't forget to take me along." It was a gentle reminder for me to rely on him, a habit I had kind of gotten out of this summer. But he was always there for me, every single day. When I went to school on campus, I'd ask him what to print, what to bring, which assignments to do when, and which tests to study for. He always provided an answer, and he always proved right. The more I trusted him with, the more he proved faithful time and time again. It was hard, yes. It meant making the same choice thousands of times: Surrender my fears, worries, and tasks to God, because he will take care of me. And follow him, no matter what common sense said to do.
2) "I will complete the work I started in you" was another promise he gave me. It was one I referred back to when I didn't know how well of a grade I got on a homework assignment or test. It was also what helped me trust him when I had a couple classes go below the grade I desired. He helped me see that it didn't matter if I got A's, I just needed to pass. He told me that he was the one who had called me to do this degree, and he would bring me through no matter what. I needed to stop trying to be perfect, and seek him first. And then he used my finals to boost my grades back up to A's anyway, just because he could.
3) "Picture me doing it" was one that I've already written about in a previous post. He told me that when I had a project that involved an oral presentation, something I was convinced I was terrible at. Over and over, I was picturing past embarrassing moments, as well as picturing repeating them in the next context. But he put a stop to that with those words, and when he did the assignment, it was fantastic.
4)"...Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength..." "...his compassions are new every morning..." and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" were the verses that carried me into and through this internship. The first verse (Isaiah 40:31) was also a reference to the picture I asked for and received to describe the summer:
I was an eagle about to launch into the sky and soar. The launch represented trusting him, because I was throwing myself into the sky not knowing if I could fly. He would catch me with the updraft I glided on, and I would be using wings that he gave me, which meant I would be doing what he designed me to do.
The second verse (Lamentations 3:22-23) was a reminder for me to not borrow trouble. I needed to trust that God would give me the grace I needed when I needed it. I didn't need grace for the next day, because that day hadn't arrived yet. So I needed to not worry about it, and choose to trust him and ask that his grace would be given to me for each situation I faced. Isn't it nice to pray for something you know he'll give you?
The third verse (Philippians 4:13) was one to post in my locker at the animal hospital. That way, I could see it and know that he would give me the wisdom, strength, and attitude I needed no matter what that day held.


So that's just a glimpse at all that God has been doing for me in the last six months. And since I'm already on a roll, I figured I might as well tell you what's next, as far as he's told me. But I'm warning you, it's not much. Here's why:
1) This was a picture that he gave me at the end of the Spring semester, when I was looking towards this summer and what lay beyond. It's another extension to the story about the journey.
I was still climbing the mountain, but then I reached the cloud that I had seen from afar that sat half-way to the top. In there, I wouldn't be able to see even the path in front of my feet, let alone what lay beyond the cloud. However, I just needed to focus on the sound of his voice leading me thorugh, and believe that he was taking me on the best path.
2) "I know the plans I have for you..." (Jeremiah 29:11) was the final verse/promise that God gave me during school. He has told me to follow him for every single step, and not worry about the long-term strategy. I need to leave it to him to decide, listen for his voice, and trust in his plan for me.

Therefore, I don't know if I'll be getting a job, volunteering, or just learning to "be busy at home". I just know that I'm following him no matter what.

So there you have it! A (hopefully brief) description of the last six months of my college experience. I hope it encouraged and challenged you to trust God no matter what you are facing: whether it be a huge wave, a dark valley, or a shrouded mountain path. He has promised to be with you... "when you pass through the waters; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." For he is the Lord, you are precious in his sight, and he loves you. Of all the lessons I learned in college, this was by far the most important one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teUxQpnhezY