Faith in hard times.

        We all go through those phases in our life where it seems that it's a continuous stream of bad things, one after another. And after awhile after being knocked down, we get to the point where we think, "WHY?!"

        We can't change what is going on in our lives, but we can change on how we look at what is going on. Instead of asking, "God why are you letting me go through this?" we need to reform our thoughts and ask "Okay, I know God isn't going to put me through anything I can't handle. What is He trying to teach me through this?" And look at the times in your life where we've gone through tough things, and remember how we've grown from it. God is completely in control of everything. And we need to remind ourselves that what we want, isn't always God's will. And we have to loosen our grip on wanting to control everything, including all the events/circumstances that take place. God wants our availability to have him work in our lives. 

        We need to remind ourselves, not to base our happiness and contentment on our feelings. Feelings that are constantly changing based on what happens in our life (losing a friend, losing a job, losing hope, etc). We need to put our happiness and contentment in our relationship with Christ, and our relationship with Christ shouldn't be based on the circumstances that happen in our lives, but should be on the fact that God loves us unconditionally and wants us to focus on him during the good and bad. We need to cling to especially when going through tough times and consciously choose to not let the devil the devil get to us. It's hard, but we need to ask, "Lord, change my heart. Change my attitude. Help me to feel and act the way you want me to."

The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It's enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings & sorrows currently assails us aren't worthy of comparison to what which waits over the horizon.

In those desperate tines when we feel like we no ounce of strength, He will gently pick up our heads so that our eyes can behold something-something that will keep His hope alive in us.

When we reach the end of our strength, wisdom, & personal resources, we enter into the beginning of His glorious provisions.

-Patsy Clairmont

It is when we come to the Lord in our nothingness, our powerlessness, & helplessness that He enables us to love in a way which, without Him, would be absolutely impossible. 

-Elizabeth Elliot