Loving, Trusting, Waiting.

  Sorry for the lack of blog posts the past few weeks! Life has been busy and exciting! Just the way I like it! :)

  So I've been thinking about God's love for the past few days. My blog is about me learning to love God more, but I've also been thinking about how He shows His love to me, and how valuable it is.

  Ever since the Passion for Jesus conference last March at our church, my absolute favorite passage of the Bible has been Romans 8:35, 37-39. It says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (37)  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (38) For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers (39) nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

  As I said in my last blog post, this year has had a lot (and yes I mean a lot!) of ups and downs. There have been times when I've felt so discouraged that I just wanted to give everything up. Living for Jesus isn't an easy thing to do...but then I remind myself that God didn't intend it to be easy...and it won't be! But it is possible. With Christ Jesus's help, all things are possible. (Philippians 4:13) God is there every step of the way, and NOTHING can separate me from His unconditional love!

  When I was little, my mom used to say to me, "Jesus loves you more than anyone in the whole world ever could!" That was a lot for me to process. I didn't think anyone could love me more than my mom did. I also didn't really understand what kind of love that was. God has been teaching me more and more about loving and trusting. Those are two things that I don't do very easily. It's hard for me to love and trust Someone who I can't see or touch.

  The more I read my Bible, the more I learn about God's love, and the more I question what makes me stop loving and trusting God. Do hardships, disasters, catastrophes, unexpected road blocks, etc. make me question God's love for me and cause me to stop loving Him?

  Verses that have come to my head countless times recently are, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7  I was trusting in what I felt was the right thing to do too often. That's why I wasn't getting anywhere! God has had to throw some things my way to wake me up out of that mind set!

  When I put my trust fully in Christ, He provides answers for me! I am a babysitter, so jobs are pretty sporadic. I went through a month or so without a job, and there were a lot of things I needed to pay for. It was easy to get worried or anxious about money, or the lack thereof! I was reading through Psalms one morning, and God gave me a verse that encouraged me so much. (I love it when He does that!) "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord". Psalm 27:14 I had been worried the night before, but after I read that verse, I felt so at peace! I prayed, placing that need in His hands, and completely trusting Him to provide for me. Within two hours, I had gotten two babysitting jobs! It's so encouraging to see God answer prayers like that!

  Loving, trusting, and waiting. Those are not my favorite things to do, but I'm so glad that God is teaching me more and more about how to do each one. God's love is everlasting. He will provide for me. He's faithful. I'll close with this verse: 
  Jeremiah 31:3 "...I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore, I have continued My faithfulness to you."