Where is God?

Where is God in this world? We look around every day, and see more terrible things happening each and every day. Christians are being persecuted for their faith, innocent people are being sexually assaulted, people are dying because of terrorist attacks, people are getting sick and dying because of incurable diseases, people are living in fear because they do not know how long they have to live. They are in the midst of a war zone, and are unsure of what will happen to them. People lack food and clean water. Some people have not even heard about the one called "Jesus" who is our light and Salvation and who gave His life to forgive us of our sins. Some say that the world has gone crazy. Some say we are in the end times. Some believe that this is just the way the world works. But is it how God intends us to all live?

God calls us as Christians to something higher than this world has to offer. The world offers us this; fame, power, love, acceptance, and everything you could ever imagine. Funny thing about the world is that it does not tell you the cost of what you are getting. The world lies to you. They say you will be accepted, but only after you change all of these things. For any young girl reading this, you know what I mean. Just look at Seventeen magazine. They teach you to be skinny, wear certain clothes, do your hair a certain way, do your makeup like this, then you will be pretty and accepted by that boy you like, and even those popular girls. Young guys are told to hit the gym, lift weights, be strong and don't show emotion. They are taught to flirt with girls and treat them like their own personal trophy. They are told so many lies about themselves, taught that they need to be athletic, popular, involved in the party scene, and so on. All of these things are lies that are fed to us.

The cost for believing these lies? You lose yourself. You no longer see who you truly are and what you were made to do. You push aside your passions for something cheaper. You long for acceptance, fame, power, and love, so you do what the world tells you to do, believing you will get all of these things out of it. And so you do all these things the world encourages, only to find yourself empty, and lacking purpose.

How does this relate to my first paragraph? I mean, I went from talking about the madness this world is, to ranting about how the world tries to influence and change us. "Is there any correlation," you may ask. So glad you did.

At least part of the reason that the world is in the state is in today is because of how we have given in to the world and believed the lies it tells us. Christians have even fallen into this trap and have just gone along with what the world is saying, sometimes disagreeing, but not having enough nerve to stand up and try to stop it.

How can we make a difference? Well, we can stand up for our beliefs for one. We can learn to see ourselves in light of who we really are, and who God says we are, and be satisfied with ourselves. We can develop our relationship(s) with God and with others. We can volunteer and give back to others.

We can't change the world. But we can make an impact for the good, just by caring and loving others.

As Dr. Seuss said in "The Lorax"... "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not." 

What can you do to make your world a better place? What can you do to make your life a wonderful and meaningful life?

Love, Peace, and Joy

Love. Peace. Joy. These are things we all want in our lives. But do we really know what they are?

Love. We think of love in the terms of romantic love, love between friends, or even love for our pets. Are these all the same levels? How come we say, "I love God," then say "I love pizza," like they mean the same thing?

My question for you is, is the love that you feel toward God the same way you feel about pizza, or any other food you eat? Is it the same as you feel toward your spouse, your family, friends? Or is there a difference in the love you feel toward God?

There should be. We should have a love for God that surpasses every other type of love we feel. We should have a love and respect for God that surpasses every other type of love we feel.

Am I perfect at this? Do I feel the right type of love for God? No, I am not even close. But it is something that I am willing to work on, and thought may encourage you too.

Now, peace. Peace is something that is harder to feel. We all live crazy lives, and we go all the time, between this thing and that. We are always working. But do you feel peace in all of that?

Believe it or not, you can! God can give you a peace that can surpass all of your understanding. You can have the busiest day, and you can still feel peaceful in all of that.

Peace is not necessarily your surroundings, but how you feel inside.

I have had a peace that I could not understand before. God will, if you ask Him, help you to feel peace inside. It may not always come quickly... there may be a process... just trust Him, and trust the process.

Joy. Oh, joy! You see, joy is not the same thing as happiness. Happiness is based on your circumstances, feelings, and your thoughts. Joy does not depend on what is happening around you or how you are feeling. Joy overflows out of you, even in the worst of circumstances. Joy gives you the strength to find the best even in the worst of things.

Trust me, I am still looking for joy. Joy is not a feeling, it is more like a mindset. You have to decide, every day, that you are going to be joyful in everything. You have to pray for that too. God will help you find joy, just like He will help you find peace and love.

You ready to find it?

Get praying, get into His Word*, and start passionately seeking.

God won't let you down.

*If you do not own a Bible, biblegateway.com is a great resource to read from, and, it is free.