When my world is shaking, Heaven stands.

It's 9:09 PM, and I (Amanda) am forgoing algebra homework to write this. As if I don't look for any excuse not to do math homework.

So I suffered a pretty big disappointment today. Turns out I had the wrong idea about somebody- as naive as always, I misunderstood their actions towards me. They're probably a really great person, I just thought I saw the whole picture and so I didn't try hard enough to figure out what they're really like. The result being, I was disappointed when I realized that they weren't the person I'd assumed them to be.

I looked again at my last blog post, "He alone is my Rock and my Salvation," and I re-read that verse from Psalms. Feeling the way I do right now, I got something totally new out of it.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
-Psalm 62:5-8

What I realized from this and from everything I had said about God being constant is that He is never fickle. People play with your affections, mess with your head, and change their minds with a snap of their fingers. But God? No, that's not Him. Notice how the psalmist compared God to a rock: because, hey, a rock is a rock. It's not going to change its identity on you- suddenly become a frog, or leap into the air and sprout wings.

In the same way, we can read God's word and understand His heart, because He is eternal- the same then, now, and for eternity. The same God who continually forgave and rescued Israel despite their numerous desertions is willing and ready to forgive and rescue us. The same God who ripped the veil in the Temple of Jerusalem while Jesus Christ breathed his last on that cross, thereby reconciling mankind with Himself, tears down walls today and reconciles us with each other. And His love for us is eternal and eternally faithful. While men and women may casually toss around the idea of "love", giving and rescinding their affections with nothing to rule them but capricious fancy, that's not God. We are His flock and His creation; we can put our trust and our hope whole-heartedly in Him, the Shepherd. And then we "will not be shaken", because He will not shake. Do you get what I'm saying?

This makes me think of a song by J.J. Heller:

When my world is shaking,
Heaven stands.
When my heart is breaking,
I never leave Your hands.

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Thank You, Lord, for never being fickle, and for loving me truly and faithfully.

He alone is my Rock and my Salvation

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to him,

for God is our refuge.

-Psalm 62:5-8

This psalm says it all. In times of trouble or weakness, we can trust God and know that He will protect and provide for us. (Psalm 37:39 also says, "The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.") And one of the reasons why we can trust Him so absolutely is because he is so constant and eternal; He never changes or goes away. Even His Name proclaims this truth: I AM.

Being the studious person that I am, when I consider God's constancy, I always think of constants in algebra. In an algebraic equation, a constant is a number like three or one-half. It's used to do stuff to the variable- basically, to change the value of x, giving you y. You can do some pretty crazy stuff with constants and variables. You can make complicated equations whose solutions take up entire whiteboards, and you can dress them up in all sorts of mathematical clothing- radicals, exponents, whatever. You can add, subtract, multiply, and divide them with the variable; but through it all, the constant never changes. That's why they're called constants. The only time a constant changes in algebra is when it comes in contact with another constant- but since our God, I AM, is the only true God, that would be never. The only thing that changes is the variable... us.

Take a moment and think about that. The reason why I went on that tangent was to show that no matter what crazy things happen, our Father in Heaven doesn't change. He's not going anywhere. You can always rely on Him, and trust that He'll come through for you. And- now this is a big "and"- He will always tell you what you need to hear in order to get your life straight. He lovingly corrects us, making our paths straight; all that's left for us to do is obey, and thus not to stumble over the obstacles which we ourselves put in the way.

Can you say all that of anyone on Earth? Let's face it: people aren't constant, and they aren't always reliable. They tend to be a negative influence more than they correct and discipline us, and they certainly can't be there for us in every situation. There are some things which you just can't look to people or the world for in a tumultuous time; they're simply incapable of giving you what you need, although you may still try to find it in them. That's why He alone is my Rock and my Salvation, verse 6. What you desperately need to be happy, to have a "good life," is God. He is the only thing that will ever satisfy your heart. In Him is the only place you'll find joy, peace, grace, perfect love, and life.

You won't find it in books, movies or TV. You won't find it in the "In" crowd, popularity, or the praise and acceptance of men and women. You won't find it in sex, alcohol, drugs, or money. You won't find it in worldy knowledge, a college degree, a comfortable salary, or the latest scientific discoveries. You won't find it in a boyfriend or girlfriend, and you won't ever find it in yourself. These things will give you satisfaction and considerable contentment... but only for a short time. Then trouble comes, and who's there to save you? What use are success and popularity when you're lying on your deathbed? Is money going to protect you when you're caught in the claws of depression, or when Satan comes knocking?

I will say it again: What you desperately need to be happy, to have a "good life," is God. He is the only thing that will ever satisfy your heart. In Him is the only place you'll find joy, peace, grace, perfect love, and life.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Forgiveness

"Create in me a pure heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."-Psalm 51:10

To be completely honest I have not been following God like I should be. I've fallen into things that I used to do before coming back to God. I started watching "bad tv," cussing (not always outloud but in my head), disrespecting my parents, being lazy, overeating, and flirting for no reason. The process is not all at the same time, either. Satan isn't stupid, he knows what is going to get us. He's going to tempt us with the things that are irresistible to us, but they don't have to be. I've heard this my entire life, but it still doesn't always hit home. Psalm 51:10 is my cry, and guess what, God is so amazing that He can forgive anyone and everyone!!!

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men."-Titus 2:11

This doesn't say that only some can be saved no it says that it is to ALL men. No matter what they have done. When Jesus was on the cross, He was able to forgive the criminal next to him. He is even able to forgive us when we walk away from Him. He just wants a PERSONAL relationship with us!! Last year I found out that God doesn't expect us to be perfect, He just wants us to be honest with Him. This completely changed my life. I was always trying to be perfect and then it would fail and I would be depressed. I never realized that He just wants us to be honest which sometimes means admitting that I'm angry at Him. Even when we walk away, He forgives us and rejoices that we're back with Him.

"You may be knocked down, but (your) not our forever!"-from a song :)

A youth leader that has been a huge influence in my life said that our relationship with God is like marriage, and that whenever we walk away God wants to have us back. Although its not gonna be easy; because, who said Christianity/marriage was easy??

Its not His fault that we walk away. Its our fault for falling into temptation. His great love forgave us of what we have done, what we are doing, and what we will do. Think about it, when Jesus was dying He was thinking about your/my sins and life and hardships. He loves me personally, and He loves everybody in the WORLD. I'm glad that God can forgive me every single time I mess up. Even though I am going to try to live like Christ; because, I love and want to please Him.

Thank You God for taking me back no matter what I've done!!!

What is faith, really?

Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

But what does this mean? What does this look like in my own life, or in anyone else's?

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James 2:21-22: "Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."

Okay, so "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (verse 17). This makes me think that we express our faith through our actions, making it more than just a word we whisper in a quiet prayer to God. Perhaps faith, like love, is not an emotion or a state of mind, but a verb. A once-and-for-all, decisive action. But what kind of action constitutes faith?

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Romans 4:20-21: "Yet he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."

Wow. This was Abraham's faith: He asked God repeatedly to bless him with children, even though he and his wife were both ancient and sterile; he asked and trusted God to do the impossible. And when he asked, he had complete belief in God's great power. He didn't entertain doubtful thoughts in the back of his mind, never wondered if God really could. He realized that the same God who created the universe in six days was more than capable of giving him a son.

James 1:6: "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Abraham didn't put God in a box. He didn't try to confine the living God to the parameters of our world, the oppressive limits called Physical Reality and Logic. And that's where we- where I- stumble. God doesn't make sense according to the laws of science because He doesn't have to. He knows who He is, and He will always be eternally powerful; He doesn't have to stoop down to our level and "prove" his existence. Rather, he requires us to come up to His level; He demands that we put aside the blinders of "what makes sense" and put our faith instead in His Truth and His Way, Jesus Christ. That, I think, is how you have faith in God's promises- you realize that the power that was demonstrated on the cross is real, it defies all possibility, and it applies to you. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ." (2 Cor. 1:20) And above all, you trust that God will deliver. God will never mess with our heads or taunt us with false promises.

Matthew 7:9-11: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

So this is only a partial answer to the question, What is faith? Because honestly, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. I pray that you, like me, will continue to study God's Word in order to learn how to live a life of faith in Him. Until then, know that He has a plan for your life, and He will wait to answer your prayers until His own perfect timing. (And I can say from experience that His timing will be perfect.)

Happy Easter,
Amanda