life was not made to be easy.
believe it or not, life is actually about knowing Jesus, living for Him & having a right relationship with Him.
and whether we get to that point by marvelling at His creations and realising there must be something bigger, by being invited to a church service by a friend or through to being in your darkest hour when you need a miracle and you cry out to Him.
i believe at some stage in life, we all get to that point, where we get the opportunity to know Jesus.
some take it, some don't.
i personally chose to take that opportunity nearly three years ago. for me it wasn't one of those incredible stories. i got invited to church by my bestfriend, i wasn't in a real great place or heading in a great direction. and i didn't really know what i was doing to be honest, i just knew that i was home and that Jesus could help me.
but like i said, i soon realised it's not all happy-go-lucky once you become a christian, because actually life was not made to be easy. it's an every day battle, it's not an easy journey, and it has a lot of trials.
but without trials, we would never have the chance to overcome and come out stronger.
in ps gillian's message this morning she talked about how mark 11 says that through Jesus we have the power to move mountains. but there's an appointed time for it to move and sometimes God doesn't want us to move the mountains, he wants us to take the long way around them, because on that journey there's an incredible lesson to be learnt.
pain is temporary, where as God's promises are eternal. and there is an appointed time for everything. that's something really important that we have to hold on to and remember.
He just wants us to not give up. to hold on. imagine if when Jesus was on the cross, if he was like 'oh actually God, it's too hard, i give up'.
holding on doesn't mean having it all together, clearly. when Jesus was being tortured and hung on the cross, i don't think he would have had it all together. but he was like 'God your will be done, not mine' and he knew there was a great purpose behind it. and in genesis when Jacob wrestled with God and refused to let go. he had his hip wrenched out of place...i'm pretty sure he didn't have it all together either, but he held on because he knew he was going to get blessing out of it.
and that's what's meant by taking the long way around - holding on.
it's tedious, it's hard, and sometimes seems hopeless. but that's when it's even more crucial to hold on to God's word and His promises.
He is always faithful. He always loves. He never leaves and never fails.
