I thought exam week would be a good time to share something that I have been learning recently.
I stayed up until 4:00 in the morning last night working on 2 projects. If you know me, that should shock you. I do not stay up, but I had a lot to do and it all took much longer than I was expecting (I also don't focus very well and I procrastinate, but that is a different post).
I tell you that because I think that you can probably relate. This is a stressful time for us. Too much work and too few hours to do it all in, not too mention the stress of moving out of our dorms and getting ready for the summer.
Several of my friends are going on summer project with Cornerstone or doing the CityProject with Summit and they are rushing to get all the support in that they need. That adds more stress.
But its not just exam times that we get stressed. And if you aren't in college, exams obviously don't apply to you.
We are trying to figure out what we are going to do with our lives, where we will work after graduation.
A few weeks ago, I was freaking out about whether or not I would get in to the school of education.
I do my math homework, trying to explain how to divide fractions, and I start freaking out about how I'm ever supposed to be able to teach this stuff in Hindi.
A few weeks ago, JD started talking about parenting in one of his sermons, and I started freaking about how hard parenting will be.
I hope that you get the point that I am trying to make.
Stress and worry can consume us!
And not just about things that seem reasonable.
It seems reasonable to be stressed and worried over finals that start in two days.
It is NOT reasonable for me at 20 years old to be sitting in church wondering how I will ever raise my kids-- that's crazy.
But you know what? They are both wrong.
This is something that I have been learning with Veronica recently.
We don't think about worry being wrong, but it is.
Do you know why?
Because it shows a lack of trust in God.
When I worry about my exams, I'm saying that I don't trust God to provide the stamina that I need to study and do well.
When I worry about how I will manage to teach or be of any use in India, I am doubting the very thing that God has called me and doubting that He will use me despite myself.
I am standing in my own ability to get things done and using God as my back up plan, for when I begin to fail, then I can turn to Him.
That's not what God has taught us to do.
He has told us to cast all our fears and burdens on Him, because He cares for us-- 1 Peter 5:7
He has told us to rely fully on Him and not on our own abilities-- Proverbs 3:5
When Veronica and I were talking about this, she told me something that I want to share with you.
When Jesus was on earth, He said these words,"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
On first glance, (and second) that is not a very encouraging statement. I mean that's what I'm worried about, that I won't be able to handle what is coming tomorrow.
But Jesus is telling us not to worry, to not be consumed with thoughts about tomorrow, because God will care for us.
What Veronica showed me is that Jesus is not saying that we will have to face tomorrow on our own, but that when tomorrow comes, God will give us the grace for the things that need to be done that day.
Things coming tomorrow, or next month or 5 years from now seem so huge and un-doable, because we don't have the grace that we need to face them yet.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"
Lamentations 3:22-24
How many times have you freaked out about something and then when it came, you were wondering why you were so worried?
This happens to me all the time.
I'll be freaking out about a project or test for days and then when it comes time to take it, its not that bad and I usually do fine.
This isn't because I'm such a great studier and hard worker.
It's because God daily gives us the grace that we need for each day.
I don't know how to be a parent right now, God hasn't given that to me yet. But, if the time comes, I believe that He will so why stress about it now?
This is not to say that we shouldn't prepare for things. I'm not saying don't study for tests and instead believe that God will tell you the right answers, that's not what He said.
Obviously, we have to still study for our tests. I pray that when the time comes to go to India, God will give me the ability to do the things that He has called me to do. I also pray that if He wants me to be a wife and a mother, than He will teach me how and give me the grace to love my family.
He tells us not to worry.
Pray and prepare, but trust and don't worry.
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:25-33
Seek God first, and He will take care of the rest.
Trust in the grace that He gives us every day. Grace for today.
I stayed up until 4:00 in the morning last night working on 2 projects. If you know me, that should shock you. I do not stay up, but I had a lot to do and it all took much longer than I was expecting (I also don't focus very well and I procrastinate, but that is a different post).
I tell you that because I think that you can probably relate. This is a stressful time for us. Too much work and too few hours to do it all in, not too mention the stress of moving out of our dorms and getting ready for the summer.
Several of my friends are going on summer project with Cornerstone or doing the CityProject with Summit and they are rushing to get all the support in that they need. That adds more stress.
But its not just exam times that we get stressed. And if you aren't in college, exams obviously don't apply to you.
We are trying to figure out what we are going to do with our lives, where we will work after graduation.
A few weeks ago, I was freaking out about whether or not I would get in to the school of education.
I do my math homework, trying to explain how to divide fractions, and I start freaking out about how I'm ever supposed to be able to teach this stuff in Hindi.
A few weeks ago, JD started talking about parenting in one of his sermons, and I started freaking about how hard parenting will be.
I hope that you get the point that I am trying to make.
Stress and worry can consume us!
And not just about things that seem reasonable.
It seems reasonable to be stressed and worried over finals that start in two days.
It is NOT reasonable for me at 20 years old to be sitting in church wondering how I will ever raise my kids-- that's crazy.
But you know what? They are both wrong.
This is something that I have been learning with Veronica recently.
We don't think about worry being wrong, but it is.
Do you know why?
Because it shows a lack of trust in God.
When I worry about my exams, I'm saying that I don't trust God to provide the stamina that I need to study and do well.
When I worry about how I will manage to teach or be of any use in India, I am doubting the very thing that God has called me and doubting that He will use me despite myself.
I am standing in my own ability to get things done and using God as my back up plan, for when I begin to fail, then I can turn to Him.
That's not what God has taught us to do.
He has told us to cast all our fears and burdens on Him, because He cares for us-- 1 Peter 5:7
He has told us to rely fully on Him and not on our own abilities-- Proverbs 3:5
When Veronica and I were talking about this, she told me something that I want to share with you.
When Jesus was on earth, He said these words,"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
On first glance, (and second) that is not a very encouraging statement. I mean that's what I'm worried about, that I won't be able to handle what is coming tomorrow.
But Jesus is telling us not to worry, to not be consumed with thoughts about tomorrow, because God will care for us.
What Veronica showed me is that Jesus is not saying that we will have to face tomorrow on our own, but that when tomorrow comes, God will give us the grace for the things that need to be done that day.
Things coming tomorrow, or next month or 5 years from now seem so huge and un-doable, because we don't have the grace that we need to face them yet.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"
Lamentations 3:22-24
How many times have you freaked out about something and then when it came, you were wondering why you were so worried?
This happens to me all the time.
I'll be freaking out about a project or test for days and then when it comes time to take it, its not that bad and I usually do fine.
This isn't because I'm such a great studier and hard worker.
It's because God daily gives us the grace that we need for each day.
I don't know how to be a parent right now, God hasn't given that to me yet. But, if the time comes, I believe that He will so why stress about it now?
This is not to say that we shouldn't prepare for things. I'm not saying don't study for tests and instead believe that God will tell you the right answers, that's not what He said.
Obviously, we have to still study for our tests. I pray that when the time comes to go to India, God will give me the ability to do the things that He has called me to do. I also pray that if He wants me to be a wife and a mother, than He will teach me how and give me the grace to love my family.
He tells us not to worry.
Pray and prepare, but trust and don't worry.
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:25-33
Seek God first, and He will take care of the rest.
Trust in the grace that He gives us every day. Grace for today.
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