How Can God Be Loving and Still Allow Suffering?

Everyone wonders, "If He is love, why doesn't He end suffering?" It can be all too easy to be ignorant about this question and say God doesn't exist or say God isn't loving. But for true believers who receive these questions from people trying to disprove God's love, or worse, His existence, we fall confused when we rely on our flesh and subconsciously allow the enemy to make us question God. Suffering can actually be used for good rather than evil:

• Suffering brings us down to our knees, so we are left seeking out God for help and healing. We then realize how much we need Him, and yet He gives us grace, mercy, hope, everlasting love, and freedom rather than dictating us. Cling to Him and His promises.

• Suffering can help us remember that God is real and loving because He is the only one there for us giving us the peace, hope, love, and healing we need and only He can offer.

• We are not perfect, thus pain is among the various consequences of living in a fallen world and not being faultless. For example, do not be surprised if you get injured in a car accident (and have a lot of bills) as a result of your speeding. You live and you learn, eh?

• Suffering as a result of others' actions such as war, rape, and natural disasters find a vast amount of pain, yet there is often a glimpse of hope. Even the slight glimpse of hope can change everything. For example, you flee your war-torn country and find a better life that makes your family, and you as an individual, stronger, and you meet powerful people in the process who help your family start this new and improved life.

• Suffering can help us relate more to God, after all, the Son suffered for us.

• God did not spare His Son on the topic of suffering, so why should He spare His sinful children?

• Our standard of ending suffering and evil is different than God's. Yes, we regard rape as sinful and evil, but do we also regard lust, greed, selfishness, lies, drunkenness, etc as evil and sinful? Without suffering, I believe earth would actually be perfect and that is just not possible anymore. In order for God to remove suffering, He would have to remove us.

• Suffering on earth helps us long for eternity where it is so perfect that there is no such thing as tears.

Think outside the box and think deeper because there you will find that He can and does work things out for the better. Sometimes, unbeknownst to ourselves, we leave Him no option but to take us through painful experiences to lead us to a healthier life. No, He does not enjoy seeing us suffer, but "God sometimes takes us into troubled waters not to drown us but to cleanse us."

 

Be Content With Change

Wow it has been too long since I have written! I have been so busy, so I don't mind blogging less. I have a full time job this summer, and it's a tiring one at that! (I have really learned to appreciate sleep and resting in His presence.) However my summer at home is coming to an end as I head back to school for leadership this next weekend. It is my last year of university...I am graduating a year early so I am slightly nervous but I fear not because I have Someone Greater leading me. As I get older, I can hangout with less people and I have learned that it is okay to "let go" of people no matter how much or how little I actually love them. Even my best of friends that I don't see much, I know we are forever friends and we can still love each other from afar even with little contact. I have learned that there is only One Name I can hold near and dear to my heart.

finding confidence

Why do I act differently around different people? Why do I only show my true self to my family? Even with most of my closest friends I am on the quiet side. Why was I afraid to get close with people in middle school and high school? Why didn't I have those spiritual conversations I wanted to have (and probably should have had)? Nothing bad happened in my life for me to be like this, I just have always been quite introverted, and that's okay. What's not okay is how I started viewing myself how society views women my sophomore year of high school, self-confidence shaken. Soccer players on my school team whom I looked up to were talking about diet, something I had never though of as a fifteen year old and never needed to. But they were not fat, and so their comments made me wonder about myself. I never was anorexic, but my eating was very disordered: less eating, even more exercise. Looking back, I looked sick physically (I progressively restricted food...it was bad toward the very end of this journey), and I know my mind and heart had been screwed with. I had offered this harsh world a piece of my soul, which led to less self-confidence. I still keep active, but less sports, especially since I am in college. College did help me to eat normally (most of high school I had abnormal fluctuating eating) since the dining hall is all you can eat...self-discipline and dessert are difficult words to pair together. I will no longer deny food or worship it. I need to treat my body well, especially as a woman, with whole foods (not under-eating or overeating) and exercising (not too much, not too little; I personally enjoy running, biking, and swimming!). My body is a temple that does not belong to the world, but to my Creator. And in order to be more confident and strong, I must find my confidence, and ultimately my identity, in Him and Him alone. I choose to change now and start my journey towards pure and true confidence, confidence that is not of this world.

Never forget that the model in the magazine does NOT really look like the model in the magazine.

Be your own individual.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Job security in a career that brings more than enough money home for unlimited clean water, food abundance from a quick grocery store trip, a strong roof over our head, at least two vehicles per family, education, plenty of clothes and shoes. These are just a few of the things that we take for granted and expect, and because of that, it is easy for us to be ignorant to all of the physical struggle all around the world. I want to live a much simpler life because that is where I will find pure joy and real gratitude. I think the best people to teach me that are the ones who barely have a roof over their head, have no job security, own no car, walk several miles for cloudy water, struggle to find food, own very few clothes and a pair broken shoes. If you can find any sort of contentment there, then you are the richest person on earth. Why? Because you can have so much joy with very little possessions, and that is a beautiful thing.

Joy vs Happiness

I used to think that joy and happiness are the same, but I have become literaturized (yes I just made that word up) and educated since. Happiness is an emotion that generally comes from experiences and circumstances. On the other hand, joy is much deeper and stronger and comes from our Creator. Happiness is an outward expression, whereas joy is inward contentment.Therefore, happiness is short-lived and joy is lasting. Joy is a state of felicity; happiness is brief delight. With all of this mind, it is difficult to argue against joy because don't we all desire everlasting peace and exuberance? I encourage you to seek joy rather settling for temporary happiness, especially since on the other side of joy is Perfect Love and Peace.

Ordinary

I do not want an "ordinary" life. I don't want to stay in one place. I don't want to live life "going through the motions." I don't want to live in an English-speaking country. I want to live a life on a whim for the One who gave me life. I do not want much of timeline, and I do not want anything holding me back from seeking justice for the poor and weary. I do not want a daily routine that is exactly the same everyday because that is when it becomes easy to be lazy and lose sight of the end goal. I want struggle because if I decide to push through, that is when I know what I am fighting for is truly worth it. I want hardships because it humbles me and reminds me of the One Who is greater than I, the One I am made for. I want to live a vulnerable life and life full of risk and taking chances. I want to live an atypical, intentional, full of abandon, and grace-filled life.

Is life how you envisioned it to be? What needs to change for you to get back on track for a full life with the Good Shepherd?

One True Love

If you know me well, you know that I have a lot of "favorite" songs because words mean so much to me. One of my favorite songs right now says, "til You are my one desire, til You are my one True Love." These lyrics remind me that no matter what and who He holds in my future, He is my One True Love. All too often, people idolize relationships, being in a relationship, idolize that person they are in a relationship with, the wedding, and even idolize the idea of marriage. If we shifted our focus on the One and only True Love, then we can love one another better. After all, we love because He first loved us.

earthly luxury or spiritual bliss?

Ahhh comfort. It is so convenient. But in this life, we are not called to convenience. We are called to step out of convenience and into inconvenience. Suffering on earth helps us long for our real Home. We are to be a generation of risk takers who embrace discomfort, because quite frankly, our lives and this world do not belong to us; we are blessed to even have grace and unending love from our Creator. So what kind of risks should we be taking? Risks that save souls. We are so undeserving of the grace we have been given, and this should give us the desire to tell the world the magnificent News! We all need Perfect Love and Perfect Mercy, but people have yet to be told and this Love.

He IS Love

"I love you" gets tossed around along. All too often it loses its meaning. Sometimes I wonder, "Do I even know what love is and what it means?" Today, for me, was one of those epiphany days. I was listening to "We Are Loved" by David Crowder Band and it hit me that God our Creator dearly loves us, and no one else can or ever will loves us as deeply and fervently as He does. How incredible is that?! I wish I could be talking with you right now so you could see my passion and energy about this! The One Who was so kind as to ever think about even creating us still loves and adores us despite us continually failing Him. He demonstrated His love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners; He does not merely love, He is Love. And nothing can tear us from that mighty, overflowing love. I hope you understand how powerful and radical His love is, that the God of the universe would care so much about us sinners. I hope I will never forget what love from God truly means and that I will strive to love Him that much more.

the enemy inside of us

God can convict me just by me thinking about life. Convictions from the Lord do not only happen by reading His Word or going to church. He is that powerful. Humans are curious beings, and we want to know all the answers. We are thinkers, dreamers, and innovators. God is so powerful and can speak to us in many ways, and because of that, and the fact that we are thinkers, dreamers, and innovators, He can touch the hearts of anyone and everyone, including people in the middle of nowhere on indigenous islands who have never heard God's Word. When we learn about Him, His essence and character, it becomes easy to fall in love with Him. If we love Him so much and are thankful for all that He is, has done, is doing, and is going to do, then why do we "forget" about Him and push Him aside. It is the enemy inside of us. The devil knows our weaknesses and attacks us, and we are blind, vulnerable, and weak. We often give in and choose not to lean on God. We need to be aware of satan, and not be imprisoned to him because we have the One Who made life and gives life to the full. Go and be free!

The Giver of Life is Everything we Need

Knowing that there are people groups, even nations, in anguish who live in deep despair (physically, but especially spiritually), I cannot sit and stay in such an advanced country knowing that there are deep cries where He is not yet known. I am not necessarily saying that I want to go to a third world country because there are advanced countries that have rural areas where the thought of God is not thought or spoken of much, let alone His Son Who paid it all for us. I desire to help those in anguish overseas because that is when I feel closest to the Son; it is much easier for me to go through the motions and not be as grateful as I should be for the all that I have been blessed with from my parents and the Lord when I am in America. I have been learning lately that when I am stripped of things that allow me to be comfortable, I realize the goodness of the Lord and I praise Him more. Difficult situations are blessings in disguise because that is when I realize that God is the only thing and only one that I have and need. He never leaves nor forsakes us. He is Life!

You Just Gotta Look Up

Last night I decided to go for a run, but indoors on a treadmill. While I was walking from my dorm to the gym, I looked up. Whenever I look up, I am always awestruck by the majesty of God. The things that God creates in the sky that leave me breathless are sunsets, sunrises, the pure blueness that the sky sometimes is, beautiful bright fluffy clouds, and the stars at night. Though I like to think that sunsets are my favorite, really it is the stars that are my favorite because with the darkness of the sky and the twinkle of the stars, I can better see that Earth is round because the sky looks rounded. Though the stars are seem small, I know that they are much bigger than that, and I then realize how much God created with very few words. Earth seems massive to us, but compared to everything else that He created (including us, His children!), it is not all that ginormous. I think, as part of His creation, we need to dwell more on all that God has done, is doing, and will do. We need to let Him leave us breathless more often.

And sometimes, you just gotta look up and allow God to humble you and bring you down to your knees.

Live Free, Live New

When I do not spend time with Jesus, it easy for me to get caught up in the secular world and allow doubts to creep in. However, and fortunately, there are some incredibly powerful Bible verses, Biblical-based songs (Britt Nicole and TobyMac, to name a few), and spiritual people that can all erase my doubts in a split second. It is only in my ignorance and selfishness that I forget the heart of God (unconditional love, grace, and mercy anyone?!). As believers and followers of the Son, it is important to remember the FREEDOM and JOY we have in Him. He gives us HOPE. Don't lose sight of TRUE freedom, joy, and hope, CRAVE them, and most importantly, crave the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our advocate against evil, and is our Teacher in life. LISTEN to the Holy Spirit and read the Word, for they are both Advocates to us here on earth. Lamentations 3:21-25 says, "Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance, therefore I will hope in Him!' The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him." God is always faithful; each day is a brand new day with Him, for goodness sake! So, this gives us all the more freedom to move on to a new life in Christ each day! Yes, we can forget this all to often, but keep seeking Him, and know that when you have Him, you have all you need.

Restlessness

I am constantly restless, especially spiritually. I am restless for a few reasons. One, when I am not spending enough time with Him, I am quite unsatisfied and when I am unsatisfied, I become very restless. I think God intended it to be that way so that we can find true everlasting peace in Him alone. And two, I am restless by location. What I mean is that when I am home I often want to be at school. I know, it is strange! When I am at school I often want to be at home. No matter where I am, I am never completely satisfied. It's easy to forget that this isn't home. I know where I belong to Whom I belong. He is preparing a place for each and everyone of us.

As many of you know, I love being a world traveler and wish I could do it all the time, or rather just live overseas. I have a heart for unreached peoples and I want to serve God by serving them. I have noticed in my overseas traveling that I am less restless when I am overseas. I feel that I "belong" more abroad than in the U.S. However, I really don't feel like I belong anywhere, but I am learning lately how that is a blessing. I am constantly leaning on Him and remembering that Heaven, in the presence of the Almighty, is where I belong. Furthermore, it is completely okay that I am 'not where I belong' because it is where I am supposed to be right now as long as I am still in the presence of the Almighty. I can only find rest in Him, and as long as I am on earth, my temporary home, the only way to reach the most satisfaction possible on earth is to be seeking, serving, and loving Him. Find rest in Him. Take His easy and light yoke upon yourself and learn from Him.

    

Devotion

Devotionals. Are you devoted to the Almighty? Am I devoted to Him? Devotion is such a strong word, yet it can easily be misunderstood since we tend to use the words "devotional" and "devotions" loosely and all the time. We all need to be careful with these words and really think about what they mean, and what they mean to us individually. I often think of devotions as spending time with the Lord to help me crave Him more. I have never really thought of devotions as being or staying devoted to Him, although it is completely true. Being devoted implies their is a relationship. This is the beauty of Who the Son is. With Him, there is purpose in all we do because He cares for us and all that we are passionate about. It is amazing that God our Creator wants us despite our sinfulness, and wants us forever. He craves for a true relationship with us, and because of that fact, we should crave even more for a relationship with Him because it only makes sense to desire the only One Who will never let us down.

"Because Your gracious love is better than life itself, my lips will praise You." ~Psalm 63:3

Learning From a 4-month Summer

I technically had a 4-month summer, though it seemed much shorter than that. I will summarize each month and tell you what our faithful Lord taught me in each month.

May: I flew home from school on May 1. So weird considering I'm usually in school until around June 20! May was a very long month for me as was June. I felt pretty restless most of the time since everyone back home was still in school. Summer jobs don't start the application process until June, so I had to learn the importance of more prayer versus more thinking. Ever since entering university, I finally faced a question that I didn't realized I was avoiding: "Do I really want to be a teacher with all that the job entails (I learned that you don't just teach a subject, you teach students); why or why not?" I'm still praying about a lasting career and what I should major in. I must tell you I am still on the fence about education.

June: Because of my July trip and having to go back to school early August for leadership training, the only summer job I had was babysitting. Those kids have really grown on me these past 2 years! June was probably the hardest month for me because a team from my church went to my current favorite place in the world to help with work over there with my cousins, aunt, and uncle who live there. I prayed every single day (and had a few tearful moments) they were there for my own sanity because I so badly wanted to be there helping with my family. But I knew God wanted me on a different team for duties that could lead to a potential career (more on that in July). My parents, brother, and friends finally got out of school exactly 7 long weeks after me, so the days I wasn't babysitting I wasn't alone! June is emotionally crazy for me but one of the most prayerful times of my life. I'm so thankful that Jesus extends His love and grace in our times of extra messiness! That definitely draws me closer to Him and makes Him more attractive!

July: Finally! I get to leave this country! Nothing against America, but the American lifestyle isn't quite my cup of tea. I went to Europe to teach English since I have thought about teaching English overseas as a career. I'm not really sure how to explain it but it just isn't want I want to do. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the trip, I had super fun bonding with my teammates and the locals, as well as exploring the country. I had great conversations, lots of laughter (if you know me well, you know I absolutely love laughing, but then again who doesn't?!), and great adventures that I wouldn't trade anything in the world for, thus the praying in June for my sanity about not going on the other trip worked! God is so good and so faithful! Two days after I got back from my trip I got my wisdom teeth out. Braces+wisdom teeth out=not fun! Wisdom teeth in general aren't fun, but with braces it is extra annoying! Once my mouth fully recovered a week later, I only had a week left to hangout with people before roadtripping back to AZ to leadership training at school. I was so busy every single day that week with friends but it was great fellowship.

August: Drove about 23 hours to school (not all at once!) and definitely made time for play in Cali! Leadership retreat in northern AZ was amazing, not only because we had the pleasure of playing outside without the beginning of August Phoenix heat (I personally don't think the end of August is very hot), but because college student leaders worshipped all out and I felt like I was at the gates of Heaven. So refreshing; I had missed this over the summer. All in all, God taught me the power of prayer (yes I knew about it but I truly experienced it this summer), patience about my major for it will be revealed at the perfectly right time to me, and the realness of His omniscience.

Love Does

This is an excerpt from the book Love Does by Bob Goff:

What's your next step? I don't know for sure, because for everyone it's different, but I bet it involves choosing something that already lights you up. Something you already think is beautiful or lasting and meaningful. Pick something you aren't just able to do; instead, pick something you feel like you were made to do and then do lots of that. You weren't just an incredible idea that God never got around to making. The next step happened for the world when God dropped you on the planet. You're here and I'm here. God decided to have us intersect history, not at just any time, but at this time. He made us to be good at a few things and bad at a couple others. He made us to love some things and not like others. Most of all, He made us to dream. We were meant to dream a lot. We're not just a cosmic biology experiment that ended up working. We're part of God's much bigger plan for the whole world. Just like God's Son arrived here, so did you. And after the Son arrived, God whispered to all of humanity..."It's your move." Heaven's been leaning over the rails in the same way ever since you got here, waiting to see what you'll do with your life.

American Dream

There is a song by Casting Crowns called "American Dream." A part of it reads:

His American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

--
As I get older, I realize that a career and family are hard to mesh together. I have never really wanted "The American Dream", whatever that is. I feel as though the American Dream is a cycle...repetitive. The American Dream reminds me of a 9-5 job. When I think of a 9-5 job, I think that it is difficult to pursue happiness because it seems as though you hardly get a break, downtime.

Most of you know that I have always wanted to live overseas. I love traveling because it reminds me of how great God really is. Going out into the world reveals His creative imagination of land and people groups. Personally, living in the States makes it so easy for me to live in my own little world. I truly believe that living overseas, especially in a place where you must learn the host country's language due to English not being dominant, making an individual "forced" (or obliged) to make connections with the locals. Sometimes, I learn the most when I am exploring God's creation and talking with His people all around the world.

The American Dream is different for everyone, but do you even want your dream to be "American"? Make the best of reality, but don't let "reality" stop you from chasing your dreams.

I follow the Creator of all things because...

He is my Hope in a hopeless world.
He knows me and my desires better than I do.
He loved me before I was born.
He forgives the unforgivable in you and me.
Despite our sinfulness, He has always and will always love us.
He chose to create me (and with purpose!).
He chose the cross so that you and I don't have to.
He never leaves my side.
I want to explore His creation with Him.
His timing is perfect.
He comforts me when no one else can.
Without Him, I am so restless.
He is faithful despite my unfaithfulness.
Only He can satisfy my thirst and hunger (which then makes me long for Him all the more which is good!).

What Moves You?

As I am realizing that I do not know what I want to major in, I have had to ask myself a lot of questions. Even though it is frustrating that I do not really like the small offering of majors at my school, the Lord is really making me search within my heart of "what moves me" and to not let that shape what is and isn't offered at my school. It is actually quite intriguing to think hard about what I really enjoy doing. It is even more intriguing (and calming) to know that God has known my passions since before I was even born. I have even been THANKING Him lately for knowing my passions even when I do not. The chorus of one of my favorite songs right not is as follows:

Don’t stop the madness

Don’t stop the chaos

Don’t stop the pain surrounding me

Don’t be afraid, Lord, to break my heart

Just bring me down to my knees, yeah

Sometimes when things are going too well for me, I tend to shrug God off, but when He brings chaos in my life, I begin frustrated and confused but I end up on my knees crying out to the Lord and seeking Him. So, even though I so badly want God to reveal to me what my major is and what my career is, I am enjoying being on my knees seeking the right relationship I need with Him, and being at peace with the fact that He will reveal in due time. For now I just need to be happily in love with Him.