Hello!
Right now I am sitting on my bed in my apartment on campus next to a pile of tissues and homework. This is how my life has been since I got back from spring break a week ago, and its been hard! Its not COVID, just a bad virus but I’ve had a terrible sore throat and a cold.
Through this little valley I have had to actively chose joy. This is not on my own strength but through God’s! Talking to a friend yesterday, I realized that being sick allows the enemy to creep in and whisper lies all the more. Its an opportunity for spiritual warfare! Choosing joy involves faith—trusting who God says he is despite the world.
Here are 2 passages that define faith as an active, counter-cultural thing:
’He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and the beginning to sink he cried out, ”Lord save me.” Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:29-31
’Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen‘
Hebrews 11:1
Heres a journal entry I wrote about this:
Recently God’s been reminding me what faith is. I had a rough couple of days where I felt like I couldn’t connect with the Lord like I was before. I’ve been in a season of growth in hungering for the Word! The Bible is coming alive and every time I read it my brain connects different passages together. But these couple of days it seemed to stop. Emotions were hitting me like a truck and I couldn’t articulate to my friends what was going on. I tried to talk to God about what was up but I just felt empty. Then the story of Jesus walking on water in Matthew 14 popped into my head. I started praying for faith like Peter’s. Faith that just looks at Jesus and not what’s happening around me. Hebrews 11 says faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the convictions of things not seen. Faith is trusting in Jesus despite the doubts and the lies the enemy tries to throw our way! I started to sink like Peter in those couple of days. I stopped trusting that Jesus is going to always be there, he doesn’t just step in to save us at the last minute.
All this to say, school has been hard but I only have three weeks left! As the school year ends, everyday I get more excited for the race, I am praying about changing my major to nursing right now, so that’s exciting! Its in the waiting for this next season of my life that the Lord is teaching me so much!
That‘s all for now!
Julianne
PRAYER REQUESTS
-for my body that I would continue to heal from my sickness and find rest in my busy schedule!
-for school, that I’d finish strong
-for continued peace in my fundraising
-for this season of waiting, that I’d take in everything I can!
