All Things Work Together For Good

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

What a hope-giving verse. What an incredible promise. I have always found comfort in this verse and it has helped me through many hard times. There’s just something that is so comforting in knowing that no matter what you are facing, no matter what regrets you have, no matter what the future holds God is working all these things together for your good.

I’ll be honest… Most of the times I’ve read this verse my focus was on all things working together for our good. That seemed to be the big take away from this verse.. that no matter what happens God is working things together for everyone’s good. But when you look at it a little more closely, things change. This verse doesn’t say that all things work together for the good of EVERYONE. It says that all things work together for the good of those who LOVE GOD and have been CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.

LOVE GOD

When you love God, He works all things together for your good. It seems like this would be something we would want to check ourselves on. It is easy to say that we love God, but it is something entirely different to live out. Loving God goes far beyond strong emotional feelings for God. This is part of it, but if we stop there then our love is not complete. Jesus said it best…

John 14:15

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

True love is manifested in our willing obedience to what God calls us to. Our relationship with God is certainly not a list of rules to follow, but out of a life truly in love with God flows total obedience. We don’t keep His commands for fear of getting in trouble or to be better people. We keep them because it is the natural display of our love for our holy God.

CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE

Whose purpose are you living for? It is so tempting to live for our own purpose and get so caught up in what we want that we lose sight of the only purpose that really matters… GOD’S PURPOSE. When we lose ourselves in a purpose that is so much greater than our own, we experience life at a whole new level. We don’t have time for the problems and complaints of our lives. We are living beyond ourselves and everything else fades. We have a mission and it is a mission worth giving our lives to. When God calls you, don’t hold anything back. Give your life fully to it and know that it is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

CONCLUSION

I don’t write this to look down on anyone or tell you how to live your life. I write this because I care about you. I want your life to be blessed. I want all things to work together for your good. So take some time to check your life. Do you truly love God with all that you have? Are you living the purpose that He has called you to live?

It doesn’t mean life will be easy, but it will definitely be meaningful. And through every circumstance, no matter how good or how hard, you can take heart in knowing that God is working things for your good.

Down On Our Knees

Over the past several months I have been diving deep into doctrine and eating up all of the information that I find. This whole Pharmacy School thing has given me an even greater desire for wisdom and knowledge and it has poured out mainly in knowledge of my powerful, unbelievable, amazing, unfathomable, indescribable God. I can’t read enough about Him. I can’t get into His Word enough. I just can’t get enough.

The thing that amazes the most about this learning process is that the more I learn about God, the more that I realize that there is so much more to learn. What I mean is I get a little glimpse of a revelation and this glimpse leads to an even deeper dive into some aspect of God and this leads to more mystery and more unknown. There have been moments of this journey in which I know that I was attempting to explain God or at least try to describe Him, but the simple truth is… There is no possible way to explain the Creator of everything who is above all and is in control of all. I know that, as humans, we want an answer for why some things are the way they are. But think about that request. Who are we, as the created, to demand some sort of explanation from the Creator?

Job 38:1-4

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.”

The simple fact of the matter is that there are things we don’t understand because we don’t have that knowledge. There are aspects of God that we cannot wrap our minds around because He has not revealed them to us.

So what does this mean? What do we do? I think the only reasonable response is worship. I think that we are called to seek after God and discover more and more about Him (Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29, Psalm 14:2). But where we must be careful is in taking pride in our knowledge and turning our pursuit of Him into putting God inside this box that we can explain. Our pursuit of Him and all knowledge of Him should inevitably lead us to worship Him in humility. We don’t deserve anything.

Psalm 8:3-4, 9

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?… O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The glimpses that we catch of God, the things that we can’t understand, the indescribable beauty and power of our Father should lead us to one place… DOWN ON OUR KNEES.

The Blogging Break

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down to put my thoughts out there for all to read. I’ll be honest, part of the reason is that I’ve been busy, or preoccupied, or lazy, or whatever you want to call it. But there is also another reason for my lack of blogging. Technology and all of its splendor has brought about options that some never dreamed possible. In a matter of minutes anyone can expose any idea to any amount of people at any time. While this is an incredible tool, it also scares me a little. That means that any idea that I have, whether right or wrong, can be displayed for whoever wants to take the time to read it. A verse comes to mind.

James 3:1

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Whether I mean for it to be or not, what I put out on the internet for others to read becomes me teaching what I feel God reveals to me. I will be held responsible for everything that I say as a teacher and I will be judged with greater strictness. That’s a little intimidating and it has held me from blogging for a while, but during this break I have been praying and seeking God in this and I do believe that He would have me share. This is not something that I want to do for me in any way. This isn’t for any status of mine. My thoughts and my writings are for the sole purpose of glorifying God. I believe that He has called me and with that comes the responsibility of being diligent in making sure that what I say comes from God.

I’m not saying that I’m going to blog every day or even every week. Hey, sometimes life is crazy. But I am going to share what God places in my heart. If you disagree then please share and back it up intelligently. If it draws you closer to God and leads you to worship Him then my prayers have been answered.

STOP!!!

Today I got a text from a friend who is currently sitting up in a tree stand, studying and enjoying nature.

He said, “In the hectic place of life we all forget to pay attention to the simple pleasures of life. Things like cool fall mornings, the beauty of nature, and coming home to spend family time. It makes you realize that God is good, my friend.”

Wow. Life is hectic. For all of us. If you’re in America, and probably most other countries, then you’re in a fast-paced world. There are schedules, plans, work, tests, expectations, and a million other things that battle for your time and attention.

Are you struggling to see the goodness of God? Are you overwhelmed by all that the world is throwing at you? Do you feel like you can’t even stop to take a breath? The best advice I can give you is.. STOP!!!

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

So now it’s your turn. Stop. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Get off the internet and turn off the cell phone. Go on a walk. Go into the woods. Climb a tree. Listen to some beautiful music. Read you Bible. Do whatever it is that best separates you from the stress and tension of life. Life is too short to be stressed all of the time. Be still and know that He is God and that He is good!

“What’s Next?”

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sail…

EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER.”

~Mark Twain

Last night some friends and I went to see The Social Network. I was really impressed with this movie. Although there were some unnecessary sketchy scenes that are apparently required to portray the “true” events of college (or maybe to get the rating bumped up to PG-13 for the sake of the movie), I was amazed at what all went on during the creation of Facebook, and I couldn’t help but walk away inspired.

All day my mind has been a buzz. And not with the fun facts I learned in class today. Oh, learning about parenteral drugs was quite fascinating. And I couldn’t help but be amused while learning about phosphoglycerides and the phospholipases that hydrolyze each acyl group. But that was not my focus today. Instead, I couldn’t help but think back on the movie. The sheer genius of it all. The quick, witty conversations. The minds that think in ways that most people just don’t. And this question has been pouring through my mind… “What’s next?”

Facebook is great and it’s still around, but it doesn’t end with Facebook. There are social networking options coming that, at this point in time, no one would ever dream would be possible. You don’t get complacent once a good idea is created and stop exploring and creating. I guarantee Mark Zuckerburg is not just sitting around completely content with where Facebook is right now. He is dreaming and planning and getting ready for the next big step.

SO WHAT?!

Here’s why this matters. I’m not writing this to encourage you to create the next big social networking phenomenon. I’m writing this to tell you and myself that we cannot become complacent and happy with the way things are. Not in life. Not in relationships. And certainly not in our walk with God. The world is rapidly changing and if we fail to do the same then we will find ourselves being left behind and wondering why we can’t relate to the upcoming generation. The Church is the bride of Christ and represents God (the creator and master of creativity) here on earth, so why would we not be on the front edge of new ideas and big breakthroughs? There are ways of “being the Church” that no one has thought of yet.

Here’s what I ask of you… Don’t rob people of the gift that God wants to bring through you. God has placed an idea inside of you that only you can do. And if He hasn’t yet, maybe it’s time to seek Him, open up His Word, and EXPLORE. Let Him, the ultimate Creator, birth inside you an idea that will shake the foundations of the earth. “So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sail… EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER.”

“You’re One Day Closer…”

In this crazy, molding, growing, rapidly changing, learning, defining age that we find ourselves in while we are in college or early 20′s (or whatever we are in now) there are so many unknowns. What are we going to do for the rest of our lives? Where are we going to live? Who are the friends that will be with us all through life? And probably the biggest and most thought about… Who are we going to marry?!

I’ll be honest… there have been times that all these questions consume me and get me worried and keep me up at night. I just want to know what’s next. I want to know what the plan is. I really do want to do God’s will, I just want Him to make it clear to me. NEWS FLASH: Life is a mystery!

There’s a reason we haven’t been given a booklet to our lives… what we should do, who we should marry, where we should go. That is for us to figure out each and every day. I recently had a dear friend send me a text talking about my future wife. She said she didn’t know who she was, but she was excited to meet her. She is going to be a weirdo for God. lol. But then she said something that really caught my attention. She said, “I don’t know who she is, but YOU’RE ONE DAY CLOSER.” That jumped out at me. I don’t know who I’m going to marry. I don’t know where I’m going to live. I don’t know what I will be doing exactly. But I do know something… I am one day closer to finding all of that out.

So what do we do with this time of waiting to find out these big decisions of life? My plan is to take it each day at a time and grow into the man that God wants me to be. I am going to fall more in love with Him every single day and take life one step at a time, letting God lead me in each season of life. At the end of this journey called life I expect to look around and be unsure of how I got to where I am because I was locked on to God the whole time. And it will be a beautiful journey.

So just relax. Take life one faithful step at a time. Let God lead you with His “lamp” – The Bible. Psalm 119:105 (Side note: a lamp only gives you enough light for a few steps. Think about it…) And know that you are one day closer to those big decisions being made. If you spend your time worrying about them you will have gained nothing but some gray hair which will give you more to worry about. Worry does nothing for you!

Luke 12:22-31

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the fields which is here today , and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But SEEK HIS KINGDOM, and these things will be given to you as well.”

God Wasn’t Enough For Me

This may be one of the most painful things I’ve ever written. As I sit here to write this hard truth I can’t keep the tears from coming…

I recently made a move to Little Rock, AR, for Pharmacy School. I came here thinking that God was all that I needed. I was pretty sure that I was completely content with Him and didn’t need anything or anyone else. Now I’ll be honest, I loved God like crazy. I was crazy about Him and I wanted to do whatever He asked me to do, but before I came here I was also surrounded by such dear friends and family and I was in a relationship that I was pretty content with and everyone there knew me and knew what I wanted in life and it felt like we were all on the same page.

And then I came to Little Rock…

I have never felt so alone in my life. I felt like I was leaving everything I knew to go into everything that I didn’t know. I no longer had the friends around me that I had made intimate friendships with. I no longer had my family less than an hour away. The relationship ended. I felt like all was lost. I was so unhappy. Everything was crashing down. I felt all alone. All I wanted to do was be by myself and study my life away. And then one night when I was spending time with God I heard God whisper to me… “Jake, you’re lonely because I’m not enough for you. You are not completely satisfied with only me.”

The realization of that hit me hard. I had sang the songs about only needing God. I had talked to Him like He was all that I needed. But when everything was stripped away, it became so clear that He wasn’t enough for me. It hurt. I knew it had to change. So I dedicated a lot of time to just spend with Him. I prayed and I cried and I poured out all that I had. I’m still doing that. It’s not easy, but I know that He is enough for me and now I am instilling that in my heart in such a way that it will never be removed.

After I started seeking Him, He has allowed me to make some great friends here in Little Rock. I love these people and I’m learning a lot from them. And He opened up my eyes to see all of the people that are in this battle with me, even from a distance.

I have made great progress. I’m not there yet, but I am working on making God truly all that I need. How could we ever be lonely when we have a relationship that could be more real than any earthly relationship? And the best thing is… He’s always there. He’s with us through it all.

Even if EVERYTHING is stripped away I want to be able to say, “All I need is you, Lord.” Are you with me?

LOVE NEVER FAILS!

1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never fails.

I can think of no greater way to close up this series of blogs. This wraps up all that we have read and all that we have heard. LOVE NEVER FAILS! What a beautiful thing.

This is where it becomes so clear just how daunting of a task it truly is to be a true follower of Christ, to be like Christ, and to be holy like He is holy. Most people have the innate desire to protect, and trust, and hope, and persevere, but let’s be honest… Those things are so hard to do on a continual basis. We are only humans. We wear out. We get frustrated. We just get distracted. But this verse tells us that love, true love, never fails. Not when it’s tired. Not when it’s upset. Not when better things come along. It NEVER fails.

The easy thing to do would be to say, “We are only humans. We will mess up.” While this is pretty much true, what if we didn’t fail? What if we did what God asked us to do and became love? What if we became love that never failed?

I’ve always been an optimist and I think it’s possible. I think it’s highly improbable and I can’t think of any human that I know that has truly gotten it down completely, but I want to strive to be one who does. Are you with me? Let’s try this thing.

Whatever the case with humans, this verse brings about a beautiful truth. We know that God is love (1 John 4:8) and so guess what that means? GOD NEVER FAILS! Never. It’s not possible. Oh there will be times when you think that He has failed or He has left you all alone, but it hasn’t happened. He didn’t fail you. He didn’t let you down. He never left your side. He was right there with you through it all, loving you the whole way through. Hurting because you were hurting. He had His arms wrapped around you through everything. He has His arms wrapped around you RIGHT NOW!

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. GOD LOVES YOU. And because He loves you, HE WILL NEVER EVER EVER FAIL YOU! He has plans for you that you can’t even imagine. The hard times will pass. He will lead you through.

The best way I can think to close this series is with this verse. It is beautiful and it stirs something deep inside of me.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the LOVE of GOD that is in Christ Jesus our lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Embrace the truth of it all, follow God’s example and… BE LOVE!

LOVE Always Perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:7

…always perseveres…

I know that I am no expert on love or marriage or relationships or any of that stuff, but I do know one thing… The examples in my life of life and love and marriage are absolutely beautiful. We recently celebrated my grandparents 50th anniversary. 50 YEARS TOGETHER. They’ve been through a lot. They’ve put up with a lot from each other. My grandmother has watched papa continually hurt himself and push himself way beyond his limits. My papa has bent over backwards to provide for grandmother. They would do absolutely anything for each other and they would do anything for all of us.

And because of their example of love, in this same year we have celebrated Uncle Jeff and Aunt Tracy’s 27th anniversary, my parents 25th anniversary, and Uncle Jerrod and Aunt Drenda’s 21st anniversary. What is the secret? How can couples last in this society in which it is normal to get a divorce?

PERSEVERANCE. It’s not easy, but my family is dedicated to doing whatever is necessary to make the relationships last. It’s not because they don’t argue. It’s not because everything is just perfect. It’s not just because of the examples either. It is because every day they wake up knowing that they are “all in” in their relationships. They know that divorce is not an option. If it were an option, there would have been some reason to get a divorce by now. But they work at it. They strive for it. They push through all trials and hardships. They PERSEVERE.

Andy Stanley once said, “Falling in love requires a pulse, staying in love requires a plan.” It’s true. You can get in a relationship and things can go along smooth enough for some time, but it is inevitable that at some point there are going to be difficulties. The easy thing to do is walk away. This leaves everyone devastated. The more difficult thing to do is stay and work and make a plan and PERSEVERE. It’s not easy, but it’s so worth it. There will come a time when you will regret it if you take the easy way out and leave, but you won’t ever look back with regret after pushing through the hard times and enduring whatever the world throws at you and standing on the battlefield… Victorious.

Now I know there are relationships that you have to get out of. And I know that there are people reading this that have experienced the heartbreak of divorce or broken relationships. The good news… It’s not too late to start. Start now. Endure. Persevere.

Why is divorce the norm these days? Because people get tired or fed up or give up. Don’t be that person. Be the person who perseveres through it all. Set the standard high for your family. Leave a legacy in which you celebrate 5 year anniversaries, 20 year anniversaries, 50 year anniversaries, and 75 year anniversaries. Til death do you part.

PERSEVERE through it all. God PERSEVERED for you. Do the same for the ones you love.

LOVE Always Hopes.

1 Corinthians 13:7

…always hopes…

I think hope may be one the most beautiful things ever. It is what helps me through most of my days. There are times when I struggle. There are times when I just don’t want to get out of bed. There are times when I feel like I can’t overcome. But I always overcome because I have HOPE.

I have HOPE that God is using and will continue to use me to change lives for His glory. I have HOPE that one day all of the things in my life that seem so crushing to me will one day be brought to fruition and I will see why I had to endure them. And most importantly… I have HOPE that there is coming a day when there will be no more weeping and no more pain. I will be with God forever. There is nothing that this life can throw at us that can take away our hope that we have.

One of my favorite lines is… “So let hope rise and darkness tremble in Your Holy light.” The darkness wants to consume us. It wants to drown us. But when we choose to hope, darkness trembles. It knows that it is defeated. There is nothing that can keep us down when we hope. Oh there will be hard times and we may stumble, but we won’t stay down because we have HOPE that cannot be taken away.

I don’t know what you’re going through, but if you choose to HOPE, your problems will begin to grow smaller and smaller in light of how big God is and how much hope you really have.

Give HOPE to the hopeless. Endure whatever comes your way because it will soon be gone and your hope will become a reality and you will no longer hurt or cry or be anxious or be fearful or be abused or worry or doubt or weep because you will be in the presence of our holy God and there is nothing that can touch you there. There is nothing that can separate you from Him! So hang in there and always… HOPE!