Faithful Fridays ~ {Psalm 42}

Happy Friday, everyone!  :)  My apologies for disappearing on you last Friday--we were getting ready to head out of town to see my aunt, who is doing much, much better.  She's walking (without a walker) and talking, and slowly getting better.  We all appreciate your prayers so, so much, once again!  :)







Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their walk with Jesus on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)


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I wanted to share a chapter of the Bible with you guys that has made an impression on me--it's something I bring to mind often when I'm facing something tough.  I was reading it in my NIV/Message side-by-side translation Bible and the Message version just really stuck with me.



A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God.  I'm thirsty for God-alive.  I wonder, 'Will I ever make it--arrive and drink in God's presence?'  I'm on a diet of tears--tears for breakfast, tears for supper.  All day long people knock at my door, pestering , 'Where is this God of yours?'


These are the things I go over and over, emptying out the pockets of my life.  I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd, right out in front, leading them all, eager to arrive and worship, shouting praises, singing thanksgiving--celebrating, all of us, God's feast!



Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?  Why are you crying the blues?  Fix my eyes on God-soon I'll be praising again.  He puts a smile on my face. He's my God.  



When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you, from Jordan depths to Hermon heights, including Mount Mizar.  Chaos calls to chaos, to the tune of whitewater rapids.  Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers crash and crush me.  Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night!  My life is God's prayer.


Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God, 'Why did you let me down?  Why am I walking around in tears, harassed by enemies?'  They're out for the kill, these tormentors with their obscenities, taunting day after day, 'Where is this God of yours?'


Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?  Why are you crying the blues?  Fix my eyes on God--soon I'll be praising again.  He puts a smile on my face.  He's my God." -Psalm 42


This psalmist knew trouble, you guys.  He knew what it was like to feel abandoned God, to feel like God was either not present or remaining silent.  He knew what it was to long for God; for His action, His presence, His comfort.  He knew what it was to be tormented by voices that taunted him, asking where his God was in that time of trouble.  


And in the midst of all that, he reminded himself of God.  He rehearsed everything he knew of God, all he had seen Him do, all God had done in his life.  He rehearsed what he knew of the power of God; His majestic creation, the heavens that proclaimed the glory of God.  He rehearsed the ups and downs of his life, and how God had opened up doors and led him through the seasons.  


And he finished it all with a reminder once again--"Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?  Why are you crying the blues?  Fix my eyes on God--soon I'll be praising again.  He puts a smile on my face.  He's my God."


He rehearsed everything he knew of God, reminded himself of why he could trust Him, and then he took up his song of faith, his song of joy in the Lord, and he made it through.  May we do the same.

Faithful Fridays ~ When You Doubt.

Hey there, and Happy Friday!  :)  I sort of took an unannounced break from Faithful Fridays last week--time got away from me and then I wasn't feeling well for the last part of the weekend.  BUT!  I have good news.  I've been keeping you guys updated on my aunt's progress after the stroke she had several weeks ago--it's been a bumpy road, but tons of prayers have been going up for my aunt Missy, and God's definitely shown up.  She's back home now (since last Monday) from the hospital, and we're hoping she'll really improve from this point on and stay on the healthy side.  Thank you so much for your prayers, and please keep them up!  :)



Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their walk with Jesus on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)


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It's honesty time.  I'm going to share something with you guys that I haven't shared with very many people, because it's not a past struggle--it's a current one.  It's something I deal with every day, something very real and something very hard and it frustrates me more than anything. If you were to ask me what I struggle with the most in my faith, I'd say doubt.  Funny how faith and doubt are the exact opposite.   I think everyone doubts at some point, in some shape, form, or fashion--whether it be doubting God's plan, His wisdom, His love, or just God Himself. I doubt God's word; I doubt His love; I doubt His truthfulness; His goodness; even His realness.   For the longest time, if you would have asked me what my greatest fears were, I would say "losing my family and losing my faith."  Those are the two most important things in my life.  And sometimes this attacks on my faith would seize me--questions I couldn't answer, feelings that I couldn't shake, thoughts that I just wanted to push away, but which still hung around the back of my mind, tormenting me.   With Him, it is well with my soul.  But when my belief in Him begins to ebb away and uncertainty mars my thoughts, it's like a wall comes up in my relationship with God.   "If God loves you, why is He letting you face this?"

"Is God even there at all?"

"Isn't the thought of worshiping and following an invisible God crazy?  That somehow, someone who wasn't created Himself created everything by just His word?"

"Is following Jesus really worth it?"

"Did He really rise from the dead?  Were all those miracles He performed just some sort of trick?"

"Is God's word trustworthy?"

"Is everything I've believed and lived for all my life true?"
It's a crippling fear to have hanging over you.  I think some of it was caused by emotional stuff that messed with my head and left my mind weak--a perfect target for an attack of the enemy, don't you think?  And on the other hand, some of it was simply questions about my faith in God that needed to be answered.  My faith was being challenged by a world that hasn't accepted God, and I was letting the voices of those who don't know Him invade my own mind.   And it was hard.  I hadn't faced that before.  I'll be honest, in the past I was always that one person that has no problem believing--for whatever reason, I never doubted God.  And then all the sudden, there it is in front of me, a bucketful of doubts and questions dumped into my lap, unexpected, and I didn't know what to do with them or how to face them. And I didn't have answers for them.  I had no idea how to face them, or how to approach them. "Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts.  It's no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them." -Tim Keller I'm a writer.  And a thinker.  And a deep person.  I think a lot.  I feel a lot.  And I'm also a very fear-prone person (read: a worry wart).  I tried pushing the doubts away; that doesn't work because it reminds me that I just don't have answers to all these questions.  So I found myself hashing over these doubts and these fears constantly, over and over in my mind.  It left me feeling depressed and alone and distant from God and everyone around me.  I got so wrapped up in my own head that I forgot to live life.  It left me feeling like a hypocrite when I talked about Jesus to other people.  I started becoming a cold, grey cynic.  Every time I went to pray or read God's word, the questions and doubting and confusion were magnified.  It's not a fun place to be.  It's hard to find peace and joy in God when He's the one you're doubting. And you know what that taught me?  It taught me that without God, I'm lost.  I wrestled a lot and finally came to the conclusion that life without God is not worth living.  Yeah, I want God.  More than anything.  I want to know Him, I want to have true intimacy with Him.  I want to follow Jesus, even if it is hard.  But the question still hung: how do I know it's all true?  How do I know that He really is there?  That He really loves me?  That I can really trust Him?  The fear still remained: I want God, but what if He's not really there?  What if He's not really who I think He is?  
There's this song that I love.  In fact, if you know me very well, you probably have heard me talk about it.  Or sing it.  Loudly.  It's "My Lighthouse" by Rend Collective.  The first time I ever heard this song was when they played it live.  I was waist-deep in doubt and fear, experiencing much of the questions for the first time, and this song spoke volumes, right from the first verse-- In my wrestling and in my doubts, In my failures, You won't walk out. Your great love will lead me through. You are the peace in my troubled sea, You are the peace in my troubled sea!

Wrestling and doubts?  That's a language I know well.  The song sort of slapped me in the face and made me realize, "Wow.  God just might be bigger than my doubts about Him.  He just might be able to work through them, in the midst of them." "God is not afraid of my doubt.  When I express it to Him, He doesn't flee from me and leave me in my confusion." -Warren Barfield Life goes on, and as I found answers to some of my questions--more arose.  It always amazes me when I lay my doubts and frustration and questions before God honestly, painfully and then go to His word--only to promptly find the answer.  It shouldn't, but it does, and it's just an amazing thing to experience--it brings peace.  But it's easy to let those answered questions and stilled doubts fall away to the sidelines and be forgotten when others arise.   I asked why He lets bad things happen if He's good.  Age-old question, I know, but it plagues everyone.  I was reminded that sin is the cause of most of the evil, the corruption in our world.  And I was reminded that "In this world you will have trouble"--Jesus never said we wouldn't--"but take heart.  I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33.)  Jesus said He said those things so that in HIM, we may have peace.   I cried out in frustration to God one day--"I can't see You!  And I'm supposed to just believe You?  How do I know that you aren't just pretend?  How do I know that all this stuff isn't just dressed up to look like You?  Why is it so hard for me to believe?" I cringed at laying all that out in the open honestly, but then I picked up reading in my Bible where I had last left off--only to come across the verse in 2 Corinthians 4 where it says "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory Christ, who is the image of God." Bam.  Jesus is the mirror-image of the invisible God, the one we can't see.  He's the window through which we see the God that we can't see.  You want a clear picture of what your Creator is like?  Just look at Jesus.  The marvel of Jesus is that God made Himself human.  Visible.  Touchable.  Knowable.  Even those who aren't believers acknowledge that Jesus lived.  And I think we all can testify to the fact that that tomb was empty.  I would have loved to have been there when Jesus walked the earth, to look at this embodiment of God right in front of me.  As I've heard it put before, "We have a backstage pass to the father through Jesus Christ."   One day I was definitely in the midst of troubled seas--I couldn't seem to find peace of any sort, just complete turmoil.  So I grabbed my Bible, got alone, and wrote it out--God, You've got to give me peace.  I can't do this.  I flip open my Bible, turn a page or two, and my eyes fall on this passage just in Jeremiah 29:  "This is God's Word on the subject: 'As soon as Baylon's seventy years are up and not a day before, I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home.  I know what I'm doing.  I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.  When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.  When you come looking for me, you'll find me.  Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.'  God's decree.  'I'll turn things around for you.  I'll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you'--God's decree--'bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile.  You can count on it." -Jeremiah 29:10-14 Peace came, in a way I'm not sure I've ever quite experienced it before. People doubted in the Bible.  In Judges 6 and 7, God approached Gideon with instructions for him to lead the lesser, weaker nation of Israel to overcome their enemies a battle.  Gideon was afraid, taken aback, and doubtful--Me?  Weak runt that I am?  How can you say that Your favor is on me?  Look around you!  Look at all this defeat!  Gideon laid out those fleeces, asking God to show Himself for sure.  And God did, despite Gideon's fear and doubt and weaknesses.  So Gideon trusted, he took God at His word, and he carried through God's instructions.  And you know what happened--surprise!--Israel won.   What's the point of all this?  In all this, I've learned.  I've learned that the only answer to trials and challenges of my faith is to turn and run closer to God, instead of turning a cold shoulder to Him in the pain.   "The key to joy is seeking God where we doubt He is." -Ann Voskamp

I learned to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.  I love reading about when Jesus called Peter out to walk on the water with Him. "Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It’s a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.' 'Lord, if it’s you,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water.' 'Come,' he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?' And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" -Matthew 14:25-33 Peter began to doubt and sink when he took his eyes off Jesus.  And when he cried out to Jesus in his doubt, Jesus reached out His hand and helped him up--and showed His power in the midst of Peter's doubts and weakness.  


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." -Hebrews 12:1-3
I've learned not to spend so much time worrying about what everyone else believes, but to seek the truth out for myself and not let other people sway me from it. I've learned that I'm not the only one who faces doubts--Eve was first tempted in the Garden when Satan made her doubt God and His word and trustworthiness.  Even the most seemingly invincible Christians doubt, too, and I think it's time that we're all honest and open with each other about our struggles so that we can lift each other up.  
"No temptation has over taken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you may endure it." -1 Corinthians 10:13 I've learned that sometimes I have to not live based on what I feel and what I'm going through, but rather on what I know, and on God's truth and integrity and wisdom and love. I've learned that when we have questions, we shouldn't push them away.  We should ask for and search for answers in God and His word. I've learned that what God asks of us is actually incredibly simple, even if it can be incredibly hard.  He just says to believe.  Just believe Him.  Just take Him at His word.   "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" Luke 1:45 It's not that we have to believe blindly--there is plenty of scientific and historical proof to uphold the truth of God's word--but sometimes it's the hardest thing in the world to trust God's goodness and His love when it feels like the world is falling apart on you, when it feels like He's not there.   "Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?  Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day, we are being slaughtered like sheep.')  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." -Romans 8:35-37 But I've also learned that unless you make that choice to say, "God.  I don't understand.  It hurts, and it's hard, but You're worth it, and You know more than I do.  You're bigger than my pain and You're bigger than my doubt, and I know that you work all things together for my good, even if it takes some time, so I'm going to worship You and live and love and obey and believe and trust You right where I am.  You love me too much to let me drown in my struggles and storms." "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.  He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." -Psalms 55:22 I used to be afraid of my doubts.  I used to either live battling them or live in fear of having to battle them once again.  I used to be afraid of God failing me.  But do you remember that song My Lighthouse?  After time after time of listening to it, another verse slapped me in the face once again.   In the silence You won't let go, In the questions Your truth will hold. My God's love will lead me through. You are the peace in my troubled sea, You are the peace in my troubled sea! Do I still face doubts?  Of course.  Every single day.  But I've learned that God's truth is strong.  It will hold up under all my questions and my doubts and my wrestling.  God is bigger than my doubts and my wrestling, stronger than my own mind and heart, and He doesn't shy away from my struggles and doubts.  He loves me too much to let me go down in this.  I've learned to keep seeking Him, even when I don't feel like it, and even when my soul is in turmoil--especially in those times.  I've learned that trials without God will break you, but trials with God will make you, and that the only way we can make it through these storms is to give God the pieces and the hurt and the hardship and tell Him we trust Him with it and need Him to make beauty out of the ashes.  


"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.  'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:9


I've learned to say, "God, I trust You, even though it hurts and I don't understand right now.  I still need you."  I've learned to sing "My lighthouse, My lighthouse, shining in the darkness, I will follow You.  My lighthouse, My lighthouse, I will trust the promise; You will carry me safe to shore!" "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." -Isaiah 43:2 So I hope today that if you find yourself doubting God, or wrestling with something in your life, asking God why....that you'll remember to bring it straight to Him, and that He can and will lead you through it and even make something beautiful out of it if you'll just trust Him and allow Him to do so. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do." -James 1:2-8


"Fight the good fight for the true faith.  Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before so many witnesses." -1 Timothy 6:12


"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12

"And we know that in all things God works of the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28
***************************************************************************** God bless you guys and have a great weekend, Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ It Won't Go to Waste.

Good afternoon!  :)  Are you guys getting ready for Mother's Day?  I think it's one holiday that doesn't get enough credit--moms are amazing.  

And thank you guys for the continued prayers for my aunt!  She keeps getting a little better and better everyday--it's been so awesome to see God work in her!  :)




Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their walk with Jesus on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)

*********************************************************************************************************** "I have told you this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world." -John 16:33


We all face struggles in our faith and relationship with God--whether it be temptation, sin, doubt, fear, anxiety, worry, anger, bitterness, pride, holding a grudge against someone, or whatever.  And sometimes, to me, it seems like those struggles are storms and it seems like those big breaker waves are going to crash down and overcome me.  And I find myself asking why.  Why do I have to go through this, God?  It's only pulling me away from You.  It's making it harder for me to come to You.  It's making it harder for me to love You.  It's making following You so hard--what's the point?  

But as I look back over my walk with God, and at the word of God, and at the lives of those who walked the closest with Him--I can't think of any hardship they faced that didn't serve a purpose.  I can't think of any past struggle in my own faith that hasn't brought me closer to Jesus in the end.  Maybe it wasn't clear at the time, for me or for anyone in the Bible, but those like Elijah, and Moses, and Abraham, chose to trust and keep moving toward God even if they couldn't see the way right at that moment--and He always pulled them through.  


"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." -Romans 8:28


Life is going to bring trials.  The enemy is going to throw stuff at us and our relationship with God.  Our own sinful nature will fight against our choice to follow Jesus sometimes.  But:


"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." -1 Corinthians 10:13


We all face struggles.  Not just me, not just you, but everyone.  Jesus Himself was tempted.  Sometimes it may feel like we're not going to be able to overcome them, like we won't have the strength to keep following Jesus, to keep running the race that is set before us.  But don't stop.  Don't give up.  You may not be able to see things clearly now; that's okay.  When the Israelites were angry and tired and thirsty, God's command to Moses--to strike a rock with his staff--may not have made sense right then.  But Moses did what God told him to do--He trusted, even if he couldn't see just then, and he made movements toward God--and God followed through.  

When God told Elijah to go out and leave where he was staying, and live near a river for a while because of a drought that was coming on, I'm sure Elijah couldn't see everything clearly then.  But God said He'd feed Elijah, and Elijah trusted, and went out and did what God told him.  And God took perfect care of him.  Over and over again, Elijah did what God asked, even if he couldn't see the whole picture, or it wasn't clear or didn't make sense at that moment.  And over and over, God carried him through.  


If you're struggling right now; if you're you feeling like you're going to be overcome; if you're feeling like you can't make it, you can't keep up your faith; if you're feeling like this struggle is useless and just tearing down your faith in God, take heart: I can promise you, from God's word, from the lives of others, and from my own experiences, that if you'll keep chasing God through this storm, seeking Him in the struggle, fighting the good fight of the faith and running the race, if you'll keep making movements toward Him, even if you can't see it all clearly right now--He will carry you through.  And your struggle will not go to waste.  You'll learn things, you'll be stronger, and you'll come out closer to God, strengthened in your relationship with Him and your commitment and love for Jesus.  Will you struggle again?  Sure.  But it's worth it.  Just don't you dare give up.  God is faithful.  Keep making movements toward Him.  

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.  After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?  He said,

'My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,

    and don’t give up when he corrects you.

 

For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.'

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?  For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."

-Hebrews 12:1-13

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God bless you guys and have a great day!  :) Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ We are Free to Struggle.

How are you all this fine Friday?  :)  I hope you've had a great week!  :)




Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)
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I was able to volunteer at Winter Jam last week with my family, working as a rep for Holt International and their child sponsorship program.  I was an "aisle runner" and it was a really great experience--I loved it!  :)  I also got to sit in on the concert, and one group that was there was Tenth Avenue North.  I've always loved these guys, but that night, they were just amazing.
You might have heard their song "The Struggle."  They performed it at Winter Jam, and it really just hit me in the head (in a good way :)).  
We all struggle.  Sometimes no struggles seem to be apparent in our lives, and sometimes the struggle that's going on seems like all we can see.   Sometimes it seems like we're doing just fine and we don't really need God's help with much of anything, and sometimes His shield of protection around us is the only thread that's keeping us hanging on.
Whatever place you're in right now as far as struggles, I think we can all agree that struggles tend to stink.  They produce fear, worry, shame, anxiety, guilt, sorrow, and all the other things that come with having something come between us and God.  Struggles make me feel like there's a big wedge between the two of us, and like He's not with me anymore--or maybe it's that I'm not with Him.  
But here's the deal:  The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (or, "God's glorious standard).  God is perfect.  He is love.  He is good.  He is truth.  There is no sin in Him, no room for mistakes, no lies.  That's who He IS.  
And because of our sin, we're not perfect.  Far from it.  We sin against and hurt God all the time, and He knows that.  He knows we aren't perfect.  And that's the whole reason why He sent His Son to take on our sin and imperfection, to break down that wall that separated us from God's love and forgiveness and presence.  When that veil in the temple, which signified the veil between us and God, split open, we were no longer held to our sin.  

"Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.  At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened.  The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead." -Matthew 27:50-51


We were reconciled to God, redeemed and set free, at the moment that Jesus took on that sin, and when He rose again, alive and victorious over sin and death.  But we still struggle, don't we?  Of course.  We still have sin in us, it's just that each time we bring ourselves to God and ask Him to forgive us and cleanse us, He takes all that sin away and we're made blameless, spotless, pure, and clean.  And that's a wonderful, wonderful thing.
But sometimes I feel like my struggles are just too much.  Time after time, I have to keep coming back to God with them, asking Him for help and forgiveness and strength, and I start feeling like I'm just a total failure.  Why do I keep struggling with this?  Why can't I just drop it?  Why isn't God setting me free?  Why can't I do better?  

Our struggles result from sin, guys.  Sometimes struggles are things like addictions to alcohol or drugs.  Sometimes our struggles are caring too much about what others think of us, trying to conform to their standards.  Sometimes our struggles are temptations to sin, like lying or stealing.  Sometimes our struggles have to do with relationships, like obeying our parents, listening to them, and having a good attitude with them, or problems with holding up a friendship.  And sometimes our struggles have to do with deeper spiritual issues--thoughts, doubts, pride.  And I guess where things like temptation to sin and addictions are easy to identify as sin, things like impure thoughts, doubting who God is and if you really want to follow Jesus, or if you can trust Him, and having a prideful and vain attitude toward God are not always easy to see or call sin.  I've found myself in the place before where I'm asking God why He "gave me this."  "I can't deal with this.  I know you can take it away!  Just do it!"  
But sin is simply rebellion against God, saying that you're not going to follow His way.  He made the laws of the universe, and yet we dare to disobey Him.  We turn our backs to Him in pride and doubt toward Him.  These thoughts and doubts and deeper issues are just as much temptation to sin as the urge to lie or steal or be deceitful.  
God doesn't give us sin.  It's against His nature.  It's in us--God didn't put it there, and He didn't give us these struggles.  
"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.'  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:14-17

"So," you say.  "It's just that I'm messed up."  Well, yeah.  I mean, we all are!  I'm just as messed up as the next person, no matter how apparent or unapparent, "big" or "small" his or her struggles may be.  We all struggle with different things, and that's the whole reason why we need grace, and why God is so amazing to offer it.  Sin personally hurts Him and goes against His mighty word, and yet, when we come to Him and ask forgiveness, He gives it.  When we ask Him to take away our sin, He does, and He casts it as far as the east is from the west.  It's no longer in His mind.  And when we ask Him for strength, He gives it to us. 

Hebrews 4:16

"For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" -Romans 10:13
  God never said that we wouldn't struggle after we were forgiven.  It's not that He can't take away our struggles.  He can.  It's that sin still exists, and it's part of our human nature.  That's the way it is.  Sin still exists, but He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.  God said His grace would be sufficient for us.  Tenth Avenue North's song "The Struggle" says,
Hallelujah, we are free to struggle! We're not struggling to be free! Your blood bought and makes us children. Children, drop your chains and sing!
So why, Lord, do I still fail,  Do I wear thin? Why do I still give in to temptation? On my own, I am bankrupt, I don't trust You or take You at Your word, What You've promised.
Hallelujah, we are free to struggle!  We're not struggling to be free! Your blood bought and makes us children. Children, drop your chains and sing!


We will still struggle with sin.  But Jesus has already set us free.  We're already covered by His love, and He's fighting for us.  We don't have to feel guilty or be afraid that we'll give in to our struggles.  All we have to do is trustingly ask for His help and His strength, and He's eager to give it.  
"If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.  He loves to help.  You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it.  Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.  People who 'worry their prayers' are like wind-whipped waves.  Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open." -James 1:5-8


That night at Winter Jam, Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North said, "We are free to struggle, because when we fall, we fall into an ocean of grace and His love."  He also said, "The only thing that keeps you from Jesus is thinking you don't need Him.  You're never to weak to be redeemed." 
  It's kind of like when you have a moment of panic and start worrying about something, and then another switch flicks on in your brain and reminds you of some reason why you don't have to worry about it--maybe you thought you left some chores undone at your house and you're going to get into trouble for it, but then you remember that your mom said she'd do it for you.  Or you wake up thinking you're late and you've overslept, and then remember that whatever you had to get up early for was cancelled, and you can lay back and be at rest.  

God's love for us is a safety net.  He's the one who does for us what we can't do on our own.  He's the one who gives us rest.  He's the one who sets us free and fights for us, on our behalf.  He's the one who makes us more than conquerors through Him.  He was the only one that could conquer sin, and He conquered it so that His strength could be given to us in our struggles.

We're already covered by His love.  He's fighting for us.  He's just waiting for us to call on Him for strength, even if we have to keep coming back to Him for more when the struggles with sin get harder.  He's there, and He'll never leave.  We're free to struggle, because He's already won the battle Himself, and He'll never let the struggles overcome us when we depend on Him and His strength.
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God bless you guys and have a great weekend!  :) Joy :)