Consider your struggles a gift...

Ok, so some of you may be thinking "this girl is crazy" after reading the title of this post. Once you take  a minute to read what I have to say, I promise it won't sound so far fetched anymore. Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, authors of the book "What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do" tackled this topic in their book. They say this:

"Whether the problem relates to careers, relationships, health, emotions, or loss, we all tend to focus our energies on putting out the fire and making sure it doesn't flare up again soon. It may be a recurring chest pain you just hope will go away. It may be disconnect in your marriage you are learning to cope with. It may be an eating problem for which you are trying various remedies and plans. It's a problem, it's painful, and we want it gone" (page 50).

I don't know about you, but this is so relevant to my life and the way I deal with things. If there's an issue, I just want it to go away. I don't want to deal with it. I don't want to endure it. I'm sure a lot of you can relate to that.

But here is what Cloud and Townsend have to say about that:

"God sees our difficulties very differently than we do...God loves you completely and wants the best for you. But he is less concerned about your immediate comfort than about your long-term health and growth" (page 51).

Consider what the Bible has to say about struggle in James 1:2-3:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

Basically, what I'm trying to show you is that God is bringing you through struggle for some higher reason. I don't know what that reason may be, and neither do you. The most important thing is that you are not going through hardship for nothing. There is something good that will come of it. Just to give you a real life example-- I have Cystic Fibrosis. This past winter I was hospitalized for the first time since I was diagnosed when I was 1 1/2 years old. I had pneumonia and a kidney infection. I was extremely ill, and supposed to return to college in just one week. The doctors wanted to keep me in the hospital for a MINIMUM of ten days (meaning I had know idea if I would even be able to go back to school). As if that wasn't bad enough, I also had horrible nurses. I mean, I'm talking down-right awful. I went 24 hours without being fed. I had some of them tell me I was just some "teenager looking for drugs." I would lay there in pain for hours before they would come help me. They were rude, inconsiderate, and made me feel a hundred times worse than I already did. So there I was, 18 years old, in the hospital, wondering if I would have to drop out of school (which I did), and dealing with these awful nurses. I really struggled with why God was putting me through all that. Now that its over and I look back on it, I see exactly why He put me through it. Not only was He trying to show me that I need to take better care of my health so things like that don't happen, but He was also trying to make me realize there is a demand for caring nurses who understand what it's like to be a patient. So,  now that I'm back in school, I've changed my major to nursing, and I couldn't be more grateful for the struggles God brought me through last winter. 

"Don't ask God to get rid of your problems, and don't merely tolerate them. Welcome them as gifts and you will find God's way through them. View your problems as the next steps of growth for you" (Cloud and Townsend page 57)

You are loved

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. I know this verse can seem a little cliche, and I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times. But, I feel like this one verse holds so much weight for us. Let's take a minute to really grasp this concept. Imagine you had one child. That's it, just one. Now imagine how much you would love that child. That one child would change your whole world. You would experience a love like never before (some of you reading this may have children, so you will really get this). Now imagine loving people you've never even met enough to let your ONE AND ONLY child be brutally murdered, just so others could live a saved life. I'm assuming most of you would never in a million years ever let that happen. But God loves us THAT MUCH! He loves us so much that He was willing to SEND His son to earth, let him walk among humans, and then be KILLED on the cross, so that we could be saved from ourselves. That is so amazing to me! If you're feeling down in the dumps, like you don't matter or aren't very important because your boyfriend just broke up with you, or your parents kicked you out, and  now your best friend is mad at you; I hope you'll remember that the almighty God loves YOU (yes YOU!)! He loves you so much that He sent his only son to die so that you could spend eternal life with Him. Know that God is thinking about you; He is watching over you; and that HE LOVES YOU!

He walks on water

Do you ever feel like life and all its struggles become so overwhelming that it's almost like you're drowning? So often we find ourselves caught up in such a tangle of financial problems, relationship struggles, heavy school loads, and so many other things. Without God and faith in Christ, life's struggles would be too much to bare. I know because I've been there. I wasn't raised as a Christian, so I know EXACTLY what that feels like. But let me tell you something wonderful: When you believe in Christ and trust that God has your best intentions in mind, all of life's struggles don't seem so hard to handle anymore. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know that I (and a lot of other Christians I know) often forget that we don't walk alone. It takes reminding yourself. God isn't physically holding our hand and telling us everything is going to be ok, but rest assured that He is watching over you, and already has your life planned out. When you feel like you're overwhelmed, in over your head, or even drowning, don't forget that your lifeguard walks on water.

Matthew 14:25-31 says "Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."

"Lord if it is you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus.But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink cried out "Lord save me!"

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

Welcome!

Hey y'all welcome to my blog! I've decided to start this blog and titled it "The Encouraging Christian" for a few reasons. One being that we all need a little pick me from time to time. I know I find myself getting down when I get swamped with homework, my schedule gets crazy, and I'm just not sure how I will make it through the day. I've also noticed lately, as I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed, that a lot of people (including myself) don't really have any happy news to share. Well, let me tell you, I have the happiest news there ever was and ever will be to share! GOD IS WITH YOU AND HE IS FOR YOU ALWAYS! So, that being said, I've decided to dig into the depths of the Bible, the internet, and other various sources and post all the encouraging and uplifting things I come across here for all to see. I hope that this blog will bring you not only some motivation and encouragement to conquer your day, but I hope, through this blog, that I can also share the awesome news of Christ and God's word with you all!