Always Getting The Short End of The Stick? (continued)




It's amazing how God knows just what you need. The sermon in church today was preached by our youth director and his sermon was on point with what I needed to hear. Relating to my post last night, he talked about making God real and knowing He is there when we are suffering.

The personal example he gave was related to how he became our new youth director. He has recently graduated college and had been trying to find a job. Well like most fresh out of school college students, he was struggling to find a job. He finally realized he made his time of trying to find a job an item. It seemed he was idolizing this want/need and not really focusing on God. Even though the job he wanted was God-based, he was so focused on getting the job more. 

I want to focus on the verses Habakkuk 3:17-19. Short couple of verses and the whole book of  Habakkuk pertains to this topic. But these two verses stood out to me the most. 

Though the fig tree doesn’t bloom, and there’s no produce on the vine; though the olive crop withers, and the fields don’t provide food; though the sheep is cut off from the pen, and there is no cattle in the stalls; I will rejoice in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance. The Lord God is my strength. He will set my feet like the deer. He will let me walk upon the heights. (Habakkuk 3:17-19 CEB)

What Habakkuk is saying in those couple of verses is that although things aren't going the way 'it should' he is still going to praise God. Even though it's a rough time, The Lord is still good. Those little things aren't the ones that really matter. What truly matters is our faith in God. Who are we worshipping? Something that we want or something that we truly need? 

When it comes to us suffering, we need to realize what we are suffering in. Me, personally, I feel it's been hard on me because I'm not making the money I was, I don't have a place of my own yet and I don't have the 'traditional family'. Through our youth director's messages today it hit me what I am doing wrong. I'm making the goals and wants an item. I'm making it something I'm putting way too much attention on. These things will come. But for now and always I need to not be worrying about what I wish I had. I need to focus on what I do have, and that is Jesus Christ. No one is closer to me than He. No one knows me better than Him. 
We need to stop worrying about our struggles because we are making them our idols. Are you spending more time focusing on your struggles rather than God? If so, you need to reconsider your priorities. 

Here is the link to the sermon given today by our youth director. It's an awesome message and I'm sure it will encourage you if you are dealing with some hardship.
God bless you, always!

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