Miraculous Might

It's 12:19 A.M. and I am sitting in my room finding it absolutely impossible to sleep. And since Netflix can no longer entertain me with the shows/movies I have binge watched, I've decided now is the perfect time to write my second blog post from the desk of a college student. I think it's been about a week or two since Bid Day and the stress level has definitely gone down. And, since October is my absolute favorite month, I'll allow absolutely nothing to ruin my mood. Okay, yes, I'm not going to lie, the loss Ole Miss suffered did indeed upset me. But, I have nothing but full faith that Ole Miss can make a comeback and beat A&M this weekend. This leads me to what I've learned these past couple days, or honestly, from something that happened tonight. Keeping faith in something you can't prove, and believing in something so often doubted by others is an ability so hard to fulfill, but so crazy, crucially important to obtain. 

I was having a conversation with one of my good friends and I don't exactly know what led to this, but he said something along the lines of, "I don't understand how some people think everything in the bible is true, like no one actually separated the seas". And I asked him, "you don't believe the seas were actually separated?" and he said, "No". So I said well I do and then he asked if I believed the story about the fisherman (Peter) who walked on water, and I said yeah I believe that too. So after that he said, "Ugh Annie I can never think religion is realistic. Convince me!"

So, to my good friend, this ones for you. 

Okay so first of all I don't believe there is any "convincing" involved in believing in Jesus. Because honestly, it's a relationship that doesn't need convincing once you find out what it is for yourself. But what I can do is tell you what believing means to me, and why I believe God is capable of doing absolutely anything. 

I came to college with the expectation that not everyone is going to believe the same thing I do. But this is something I am 100%, absolutely sure about. If you choose to believe in Him, and if you let Him, God will introduce you to an incredibly amazing new life. I know this because it happened to me. I battled with God for a while convinced that nothing He could want for me would be better than what I wanted for myself. Of course, I was wrong. He changed my hard headed mind about certain things I once felt so strongly about. About things I obsessed over, craved, and worried about constantly. He made these certain things easy for me to walk away from, when at one point in my life I idolized them. When I decided to trust Him, and finally give it ALL to Him, He showed me His world. This is why I KNOW there is a God. You cannot find happiness in the things of this world because it does not devote itself to making you happy. And if you put all of who you are into the world, you will lose yourself. When it comes to Christianity, people tend to only believe the things that benefit them. We believe the things that sound appealing to us,  help us out, are convenient for us at the time. You cannot call yourself a Christian just because you believe Jesus died for you because you want to go to heaven, it doesn't work that way. You have to believe in it all. In the things you cannot see, in the things that seem hard at first and in the things that seem unappealing. And what comes from this type of faith is nothing but a joyous realization. That choosing to trust and believe in something you cannot prove or understand results to the ultimate reward of LIVING. Because that is what you get when you choose Him. I know the parting of the Red Sea, the walking on water, the feeding of the five thousand, the calming of the sea, the miraculous catch of fish and many more stories seem impossible to some. But there is no doubt in my mind that He didn't do any of that. Through my experience with Him, He has changed for me what I once thought would be impossible. To me there is nothing He can't do. 

Why does God need an explanation for everything He does? This is His world, His creation. In reality, it is us who owe Him the explanation. For why we act the way we do, treat His people the way we do, and allow such sin to occur. We are in no place to demand proof of anything from God. He gave His one and only son, what more proof could we need? We are so quick to believe every story we read in the magazines, or whatever commercial advertisements promote, but we have the hardest time believing in God when HE is the sole source of happiness, the source of everything good we are looking for in this life. And you know, it's okay to be honest with Him. Tell Him what you don't believe, tell Him what you have a problem with, He already knows it any way. But tell Him and I have no doubt that my God will not show you who HE is. God does everything in perfect timing. When we are waiting for what seems like forever for an answer that is His test for us. Do we trust Him? Do we believe He will do what He says He will? God waits simply because the greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. If God had answered every single prayer of mine the moment I prayed it, sure it would be amazing, and yes sometimes He does do that, but because in certain situations He has waited until the last possible second, until the moment where I feel I cannot hang on any longer, to show me that He has not abandoned me is why I believe in Him. Because in moments of weakness, in moments where all seems impossible, He triumphs. And nothing can be mistaken for Him. I believe in all those miracles because He is much bigger than me, because His power has no limits, and because He has revealed to much to me to ever want to turn back. Each miracle Jesus performed resulted in something amazing, something that saved His people, and something that He did for those whom He loved. Why would you choose not to believe in that kind of goodness? Don't you want to be able to say you believe in a God who is capable of such things? We should not question Him. 

I am setting out on a journey for the rest of my life. This belief is not a one time thing, it is not temporary, for I am called to believe in Him, to trust Him for the rest of my life. And there is nothing about that that terrifies me, challenges me, confuses me or leaves me wanting what I can't see proven by God. Because this journey of trust with Him has been a revelation. He has placed my fears and insecurities on His shoulders, He healed me, He allowed me to see purpose, He promised to walk this life with me and for all of that He owes me nothing. So, I tell the world bring it on. Bring on the pain, the tribulation, the torture, the hurt because I trust a God who is capable of miracles. I don't have to worry about going through this life alone anymore. Even if I can't prove that God parted that massive Red Sea or made it so Peter could walk on water there is no miracle too big that He won't do for us. 

So I say, "Heck yeah I believe all this happened because my God is awesome, He can do anything and guess what? That big, capable, unstoppable, miraculous God loves ME and wants to do awesome, big, miraculous things for me to". Who could say no to that offer? ;)

At the end of the day, it's comforting to know that theres something, someone to believe in much bigger than myself. I can't do this life on my own, no one can. Why not believe in someone who literally takes your pain as His own, who is constantly there for you at any time of day, wants nothing but the absolute best life for you, and loves you unconditionally no matter what you do. That kind of relationship to me is a no brainer. Lets face it, college is tough, life is tough. But it is a whole heck of a lot better going through it all with Jesus. You should have an expectation of joy every single day. Believing in Him will give you just that, I promise. 

It's now 2:11 A.M. and I'm finally getting ready to fall asleep. There is not enough time or room to tell you all the reasons why believing means what it does to me.  So to my good friend, betcha weren't expecting some long drawn out answer, but heres to you. And to whoever does read these blogs, choosing to believe the hard things, the things we cannot prove and the things that we don't see always benefit us at the time will lead to greater gifts we couldn't even imagine. Believing in a God who IS capable of such mighty miracles should be something we take pride in and want to brag about! Not something we question.

And finally, to all my Ole Miss fans, lets go beat A&M.

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself". 2 Timothy 2:13

HOTTY TODDY and Go Kappa.