I AM THANKFUL

It’s a Saturday morning and I am up at 7am not able to find in myself the ability to fall back asleep. As I was thinking that going to bed early last night would be the greatest thing ever after a very long week of finals prep, my roommate asks me if I wanted to stay up and celebrate May the fourth with him. For those that do not know, May the 4th holds a special place for Star Wars fans everywhere (may the fourth be with you... Get it? Yes? No? Oh well). I have been a huge fan of Star Wars since a very young age, so I would always find someway to celebrate it, but had been so busy with other things that I had no time to think of something. Long story short, we ended up attempting to play through the entire Lego Star Wars story mode (six levels per episode, six episodes) starting at like 11pm last night. It is safe to say we did not make it very far before we gave up and went to bed. The whole reason I explain that is because it ended up being 1:30 in the morning before we quit and went to bed, and now I am up six hours later not able to sleep. Those that know me know that I do no usually thrive on little sleep very well unless I have to. So it is odd that I am sitting here able to even have the mental capacity to do this post, but that is the whole reason I felt I needed to write this now. Some of the reason I cannot sleep is because I have not been able to find in myself to stop continually thanking God for what He has given me lately. The past week has been one of the greatest of my time here at school for many reasons. Because of this, I seem to not be able to stop smiling about how faithful God has been to me and how much He has given me to be happy with. My grades are coming in to show the fruit of persistent, hard work (which was a big anxiety problem of mine all semester because I was going into my first eighteen credit semester). There were times this semester kicked me while I was down with more and more work, but God was there to continually reach out a hand to pick me back up and continue the good fight. While I know the context is that of our goal as Christians on earth, and the prize we inherit once we get to heaven, I think in a way, this can be used other ways. In 2 Timothy, Paul is writing to Timothy with encouragement and speaks of what he himself has accomplished as to boost Timothy up: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Like I said, I know the real context of this verse, but it feels applicable to my circumstance now. College will always have hard or stressful times for anyone who attempts it. But if we go with it, if we run the race God has set before us, if we fight the good fight, there are rewards waiting for us on the other end. For me, I have seen my grades go up to and all-time high since stepping foot into college three years ago. Then came our final campus church on Wednesday night. Here I was encouraged by our campus pastor that despite all of my mess, I am a child of God, I am a masterpiece, I am free, and I am victorious! Through the message, I also realized one last “I am,” and that is how thankful I am. Another great highlight of the week was being surrounded by my last accountability group with my fellow Resident Shepherds of the semester and gaining encouragement to pursue God’s plan for my future. I am in awe that God blessed me with this position and those to serve along side of. Semi capping off the week (because it is not over yet) was yesterday where I could get away from all the work load and have a night worth spending and really enjoying it without thinking anything of school. The spring semester is almost over, and it is almost time to go back home. Thinking back on how faithful God has been in the ups and downs has left me with no other feeling but thankfulness.

With every other blog post, I usually come up with the title before the content comes through, but even this far into this one and a title still is not formed. I woke up with little sleep compared to what I normally get and could not sleep. This blog site was meant to be an outlet of sorts for me. To be able to take what is on my mind and heart, and release it through writing. This morning was no exception to that. When I could not sleep because I could not stop saying thank you over and over again, I knew there was something more. So out came the computer and this is it. The signature theme of this post is obviously thankfulness, but also patience as well. It took so much patience with God to get as far as I have. There were times where God was quiet and I had to just be faithful and continue to pray until I heard from Him again. The thing that helped me get through that was something a guest speaker at Liberty said to us. He felt God telling him “Just because I am silent does not mean I have abandoned you. I am taking you guys to something new.” A little bit of context shows that he said this while referring to the time his wife was in a two month coma and he had to live a single dad lifestyle while finishing law school and taking care of a six month old baby for that period of time. He did not lose faith though. He was patient with God and stayed faithful that His plan was better. Isaiah 40:31says, “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” My semester right there. Sometimes I did not hear God’s voice in something, but I waited. Sometimes I was scared of a decision, but I waited. Sometimes I wanted to do something, but God did not, so I waited for Him to tell me what to do. Through these decisions, I have gained so much more than I ever could have imagined.

I also want to say thank you to those who read my posts. There would be no point in doing an online blog if people never read them, but you do. I hope the words I muster up can be encouragement to both you and someone you know. Below I have put down a few verses that go with this. Thanks again for taking the time to read these. It means more than you know! Always remember: Stay faithful and stay thankful! Also below is the link to the stream of Jay Wolf talking about it. The story starts at 10 minutes.

Isaiah 40:28-31

2 Timothy 4:7

1 Chronicles 16:34

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Colossians 3:15; 4:2

James 1:17

John 14:1

Philippians 4:6

Psalm 28:7; 34:1; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1-18

http://media2.liberty.edu/mediaplayer/1080/message?_ga=2.25291965.1443876477.1525523991-1849070334.1516324358