just a part...

i'm going to share something that was shared tonight during worship with the youth group...

how many of you reading this have heard the words "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."?
if you've been to church a few times...you most likely have.
next question - how many have a hard time believing it?
i mean - do you ever feel like "hey God...i'm LOVING you here...but i DON'T. GET. THIS.   FIX. IT."

things don't always make sense.
in fact - probably the majority of time, things don't make sense.
God has this great big plan, this picture that is so so so much bigger than we could ever see - so its hard to wrap our minds around the fact that our time here on earth, our lives...are just ONE part of a bigger picture.
i heard a pastor say just the other day that

 "looking at our lives compared to eternity is like putting your face right up to a stained glass window.  you'll see some color and some texture - maybe even a shape or two.  but what you don't see is the hundreds of OTHER shapes and colors that make up the whole rest of the picture to make it truly breathtaking".

interesting, huh?

and sometimes things just don't make sense.

BUT what the truth of that verse from Romans says - is that its not random.

our lives are not left up to chance and God isn't just watching and saying "oh...hmmm - yeah, idk how we're gonna turn that one around..."

He's not surprised!

He's not caught off guard!

how COMFORTING is that???

hard to believe? yes.  but comforting if its true??? yes!

and He said it - so guess what?  its true.

and if that's true...

then the incredibly frustrating situation you are facing right now - is in His hands.  

all hope is not lost.

the person you've been praying for for YEARS that seems like a lost cause?

they're not.

the times you feel so confused because God just isn't doing anything remotely resembling what you thought He would in your life?

He sees the bigger picture...and He's getting you there.

its tough stuff.

its not easy.

so tonight we had the youth write down things that God is doing on pieces of paper that don't make sense.

or that they don't understand.

or that is just HARD and it doesn't feel like there is hope left.

and just surrendered them to Him...

admitted that while its frustrating and lonely and difficult - 

we are CHOOSING to trust that He knows.

that He has not lost track of us.

and stay tuned...because we're not done with those pieces of paper.

just like God is not DONE with our situations.
so if you are reading this and want to add a "piece of paper" by commenting here or messaging me or something - just somehow surrender these things.
we will worry ourselves to death over things we can't control and really - if we knew the whole picture, we probably wouldn't want to.

we just have to keep our eyes fixed - just like Hebrews 12 says.

keep our eyes FIXED on the author and perfecter of our faith.

He's doing it...

choose to trust Him for it today.

-ALIVE