The Why?

I had a very humbling thought just now.  So many times in sport if things don't go our way we ask the big "why" question to God.  Why me?  Why did that have to happen?  Why can't I just perform in x, y or z manner?  I know I do that in the sport of track and field.  Why can't I just run that time?  Why does it feel like I'm the only one who can't get it together?  Why can't I perform well when I am trying so hard? 

How selfish are those thoughts.  The wants driven behind them are to look good to other people and to feel good for myself.  They make me cringe a bit.  Maybe it is time to trust the Lord has me in these positions for a reason.  I am not saying I will sit back and not try and be complacent with my opportunity on a college track team.  What I am saying maybe I should start turning my "why" questions into "what" and "how" questions.  Asking the Lord, "Okay God, I know You have this happening for a reason but what am I suppose to do?  What role do You have for me to play?  How can I turn this around to glorify You?" 

If you can relate to situations like this I challenge you to take a step back and try and look at things from His perspective.  He will reveal things to you: people who are struggling through same issues and you can reach out to help them, chances to shine the light of Christ even when your circumstances are stacked against you, people in your life you might not have met if things had just went as you wanted.  God knows what you want but gives you what you need.  Are you ready to ask God: "What do You have me here for Lord? How can I help?"

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

 - Psalm 32:8

Turkey Sandwich

A couple weeks ago my friend and I were driving back from the Passion 2012 Conference in Atlanta, GA.  We were processing and talking through all that happened and started talking about temptation.  This is when God put in my mind of relating temptation to a turkey sandwich. (Which if you know me at all is not surprising that I would relate something to food)

Temptation.  It is always going to be out there.  Different people struggle with different temptations.  To cheat on a test, to lust after someone, to drink to the point of drunkenness, to lie.  There are tons upon tons of temptations out in the world trying to throw us off track.  You know what the amazing thing about that is?  There is only one God, and He can help us overcome them all.  If we are filled up on the Lord's love then temptation will seem microscopic and unattractive.  Like John Piper's talk focused around at Passion, if our heart is big then our sin seems small and we can swallow it.

Say sin, or temptation, is a turkey sandwich and the Word is the Word.  If you are not fulfilling and satisfying your hunger in the Word than you are going to be starving, and rightly so.  You will be starving for direction and completion in life.  If you are starving, your perception is thrown off and you start to look towards anything in reach to satisfy your hunger and desires.  If you are not in the Word how long do you think you can resist that turkey sandwich?  If you are that hungry, anything will start to look good, especially temptation.  Your body needs nourishment but where are you going to get it?

"As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God." 

- Psalm 42:1

"God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water."

 - Psalm 63:1 

My Dream: Salvation

Okay so I just had to blog about this dream I had! So totally cool.

I dreamt I was on this ship in the middle of the ocean. The waves were rough. I mean rocking me back and forth, tipping the ship on its side and the waves reaching way above the ship.  In my dream self I thought "I am definitely going down, there is just too much. No way can I stay above this."

Eventually, the waves completely overtook the ship and threw me off with it.  It wasn't until this moment in my dream that I realized other people were with me, people I love very much in my life, and they too were thrown off.  I was under the water in my dream but oddly calm (I am not the best swimmer).  I knew in my head I would come up. I would breathe. I would overcome this struggle with the ocean.  And I did. I popped right up.  That's when I started to look around for the other's who were with me, I wasn't as calm as I had been myself.  But, as soon as I had that thought, I looked over and saw them pop up as well.  I was at such a peace that I didn't even freak out that I was in the middle of the ocean.

The next day (back to real life), I was at the gym and was listening to my ipod and the song "Something Beautiful" by NeedToBreathe came on and all of a sudden it clicked. It was like God was whispering in my ear "Hey, remember that dream you had? This is what it meant"

The lyrics are:
"In your ocean I'm ankle deep,
I feel the waves crashing on my feet;
It's like I know where I need to be
but I can't figure out,
yeah I can't figure out
Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your tide washes over me,
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown?
Will you let me drown?

Hey now, this is my desire:
Consume me like a fire
Cause I just want something beautiful to touch me -
I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees
Waiting for something beautiful.
Oh-oh...something beautiful.

And the water is rising quick,
and for years I was scared of it.
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave Your side,
No, I can't leave Your side."

In my dream, the ocean was representing life. It is not always easy and the devil is always trying to knock you off course. Without Jesus, you will surely drown in that ocean and loose your life to the pressures and evils of this world.  With Jesus, you can rise up out of the ocean and although you are still amongst those same pressures and temptations, you have a buoy and can overcome those waves with the peace and guidance from the Lord.  It occurred to me that rising up from the ocean in my dream symbolized salvation and that the people I was worrying about in my dream would be saved!

I had such a peace after I realized that while listening to that song. I had such a comfort in God's plan and His gift of salvation. Being a Christian doesn't mean you won't have a rough ride, but it does mean you will have peace.  Peace knowing you can overcome anything on earth with God's help and peace knowing you will eventually be with Him in heaven. God let me know not to worry and reminded me how silly it was for me to. For one, I don't have power over anything to make anything happen. Two, we have an Almighty, just, and divine Father looking out for us; planning our every step for our benefit.  A scripture my mom sent me fits perfectly for this entry...

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee"

 -Psalm 5:11