Your Ways Are Not My Ways

Had another submission:

Have you ever felt like your life was a vacation for a split second? It felt like nothing was going wrong and that everything seemed easy? Some of you may say, "Yes." You've felt that way before. Now, let me ask you: did it stay that way for very long? Did you just sit at the very bottom of the mountain in a recliner and say, "Well, I can get over that thing without a problem, no biggie!" I'd say not. If you're anything human, you are probably shaking your head violently right now. Of course you didn't stay in that place of vacation! You have to get over that mountain sometimes or another if you're going to get anywhere! Life happens, folks, and sometimes it's just not easy.

As a teenager and just being human, my life is full of activities and events. I am sure yours is as well. But these courses of events can bring stress and trials. But I also believe that a lot of our actions have to do with how much stress and struggles we have in our lives. Then, of course, there are the struggles that life honestly just brings and that's God's ways and he can use those ways for His glory.

- Can my trials really be used to glorify God? And if so, why?

Yes, God brings things in our life for a purpose -- to make us stronger. And who knows what will become of your trial? It can turn into a beautiful thing if you allow God to work. Sometimes we can't see the good things out of the circumstance until the end. Recently, I had been worrying about a situation and I asked the Lord why He had given me that trial. As I continued on throughout my week, I kept praying and kept asking the Lord "Why?" And It was on a simple day where I felt like the "mountain" was too big for me to climb that God gave me a clear answer. 

I felt very needy before the Lord and I was at school before class started. I searched around through our bookshelves and found a "Keys for Kids" devotional. I laughed and picked it up and and started to read one of the stories in the book. As I read, I found that the story was just for me. Though the story was written in a childlike patter, I found out what the Lord had been trying to tell me all along and it was so clear. The story was about a child asking his parents why God was letting his grandfather continually get sick and why He was letting the old man die. The child's parents told him that the situation was in God's hands and He would work out the best. I instantly realized it was the same for me. God had my situation in His hands and He told me that He had it under control.

The story also referenced a few verses from Isaiah 55, and here is one of them: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord." God's ways are not my ways, and He has different plans for my life and my circumstances. My thoughts of how my life SHOULD be and what WILL be aren't vital. But what is vital is that I allow God to work through my life and lead me through the trials and dark times. So remember throughout your day that God's ways are not your ways. If we plunge through life thinking we can do everything and never have any help, we will crash. When we depend on God, our lives turn out much better.

- Natalie Sorrell

Noah, Daniel, and Job

Have you ever had a distinct challenge from God? It's a wonderful testimony of His faithfulness to us. Recently I was reading in Ezekiel, and I ran across a passage that stood out. Ezekiel 14:13: "Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and best from it." If that's as far as you read, it's a pretty dismal verse. Doesn't give much hope for humanity. Basically God is saying that if the earth becomes too sinful, He'll destroy it. But the next verse was a real challenge to me. Ezekiel 14:14: "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God."

Though the world was in peril many times, these three still were saved. First of all, just look at the names. Noah, Daniel, and Job; all names of men who were stedfast in the faith and endured perilous times. By faith, Noah built the ark and saved his family, despite being opposed by everyone else. Daniel was exiled to Bablyon in 605 B.C., but he kept close to God and garnered a reputation of a righteous man. Job was severely tested, but still held faithful to God. Each of them, in their own respective times, behaved righteously. They all lived in corrupt times, but prevailed because of their commitment to God. The caliber of these individuals is not to be taken lightly. And it causes me to think. If these three pillars of faith were saved, I have to be like them to save myself. That's a tall order, and it won't come easily.

The next part of the verse says "they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness." Their responsibility was individual, they couldn't save those around them. But, just as we can't save those around us, they can't save us either. Our walk is individual. We can't get by with being around holy people, we have to walk the walk ourselves. It also says they did it by their righteousness. It's not the righteousness of others. Establishing ourselves in Christ and proving ourselves righteous in His sight. The final part of the verse gives us an assurance; "saith the Lord God" indicates that He will personally honor our service to Him. That's a promise we can hold on to. This verse was such a challenge to me, but also an encouragement. We live in a perverse, divisive, and wicket generation. There's a lot of people not living for God, and it can be worrying sometimes. But, we have to keep ourselves righteous like Noah, Daniel, and Job. It's no easy task, but we can do it and save ourselves from God's judgment. Stay encouraged!