In Times of Trial

For the past few weeks, God has really been putting it on my heart to read Job. I've heard the story a million times, but He has opened my eyes to a couple new revelations that I want to share with you. For those of you unfamiliar with Job's story, let me fill you in:

Job was completely blameless and lived a life that was pleasing to the Lord. Because of this, God blessed him abundantly - he had a wonderful family, tons of livestock (which was a sign of extreme wealth), and good health. One day, Satan came to present himself before the Lord. The two talk and God agrees to let Satan test Job two times to prove that he truly is a man who fears the Lord. In the first test, God allows Satan to take away his sons, daughters, and his livestock. In the second test, God allows Satan to inflict great wounds upon Job. Job becomes miserable and curses the day he was born.

Pretty heavy stuff, huh?

In the end, God blesses Job with twice the amount of what he had before. More livestock, happy family, better health...but despite the blessings, it's hard to look back on all of the terrible things that happened and see God's goodness.

I'm sure you've heard over and over "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good." But when tragedy strikes, how can we be sure? Job suffered so greatly, and for what? To prove a point to Satan? If God is so good, why does He allow bad things to happen? How good is God really? 

In this life, terrible things are going to happen. This world is beyond imperfect, and unfortunately that's never going to change. There is however, something to keep in mind -

As much as you may hate to hear it, that cliché saying is 100% correct - God really is good. In fact, God is so good that he repurposes your pain and positions you to receive blessings in the future. He works through all of the hurt that you're feeling and builds up your faith. You may come out the other side scarred, but those scars will serve as a reminder of where you came from and what you can overcome with God on your side (and He is on your side, I promise!).

I see so often that when people experience a tragic event, they distance themselves from God. I'm guilty of this - when my mom had cancer, I refused to pray for months because I was so angry with Him, and I was scared that He was going to tell me that I was going to lose her. I no longer enjoyed going to church, and I stopped reading my Bible. I felt abandoned and depressed. It wasn't until I went to a summer church camp that I realized that the only person I was hurting in distancing myself from God was myself. God had not abandoned me, I had simply moved away from Him. I reopened my heart to Him and He filled me with such incredible peace. He completely restored the joy that had seemingly disappeared from my life.

When you allow God to use your pain to grow you faith in Him, it's kind of like leveling up in a video game. Sure, there's gonna be new twists and turns and monsters to fight, but you've got new weapons and armor. New doors will open for you. 

It may still be difficult to understand why Job had to suffer so much. I'm sure many of us can relate to him in that way - I have received so many prayer requests and we're only one month into 2018. But take comfort in the fact that while it may be dark now, blessings are coming. Psalms 30:5 is a great reminder of this:

"Weeping may take you over at night, but joy comes in the morning."

 Job serves as a reminder to Christians to persevere through trials. Suffering is unavoidable, but the good news is that we serve a God who takes our pain and turns it into something beautiful. He is a good father, and He is the ultimate comforter.

He hasn't left your side.

Rejoice in His goodness.

You're going to be okay, because you're not alone -

He's right there with you. 

_________________________

If any of you are struggling with anything and would like some prayer, please shoot me an email, DM, or comment on this post!

_________________________

Songs to comfort you in your trials:

Hills & Valleys - Tauren Wells

Oh My Soul - Casting Crowns

I Won't Let You Go - Switchfoot

Even If - MercyMe

New Year, New You

Happy new year, beautiful friends!

It's the beginning of January, A.K.A. "New Year, New Me" season. I've seen hundreds of posts on social media about resolutions, the top ones being:

1. Eating clean

2. Getting in shape/losing weight

3. Living life to the fullest

These are all wonderful things! You should want to improve yourself, and I will be praying that you stick to your resolutions! 

What I want to do however, is push you one step further. 

All of the things listed above have one thing in common: they are all surface level. If you're looking to these things to make you happier, feel more fulfilled, or love yourself more, there's a way easier way to achieve your goal...and it starts within.

I encourage you to take out the 2018 resolutions list that you made and add one more little thing to it -

seek Jesus daily.

It's something that we're called to do. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says:

"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually."

That statement in itself seems so simple, but what does it really mean?

It's not the same for everyone. Every single person has a different way that they feel connected to Jesus. For some, it's listening to music. Some read their bible. I personally hear God the clearest and feel the closest to Him when I journal. Try out a couple things, see what works for you. It doesn't matter how you do it, He just loves hearing from you!

Building and maintaining a relationship with God is the highest form of self improvement. It is 100% the best thing you can do for yourself. The closer you get to Him, the more comfortable you'll feel in your own skin. You'll feel more successful and satisfied. You'll feel yourself become more gentle and loving, more like Jesus. He won't just open doors for you, He'll knock down walls for you.

 Proverbs 16:3 says "commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans."

Let 2018 be the year that you let Jesus take over your life.

He can do amazing things for you and through you when you let Him sit in the driver's seat.

___________

Songs to hype you up this new year:

Fix My Eyes - for KING & COUNTRY

Follow You - Ben Rector

In His Image

If you follow me on twitter, then you know that a few days ago I tweeted out that I wanted suggestions for what to post about next. I received so many wonderful ideas (they're all stored away in my notebook), but the most common topic of interest by far was self love.

I've spent a lot of time in prayer lately specifically asking God to make my heart hurt for what makes His heart hurt, and having so many of you beautiful young ladies telling me you need to learn how to love yourselves nearly broke my heart in two. 

You see, we live in a world that has laid out in black and white ink what it means to be "beautiful." The world says that in order to be "beautiful" you have to have clear skin and straight teeth and shiny hair. The world says that in order to be "beautiful" you have to have a lot of money and a successful career. The world says that in order to be "beautiful" you have to be as skinny as a Victoria's Secret model - and if you don't fit the bill, the world knows how to make you feel so absolutely terrible about yourself that you feel compelled to change and conform.

But there are a few very important things I want you to keep in mind.

When the Bible says that you are made in the image of God, it's not talking about the human race as a whole. The "you" it's referring to is you specifically. 

Yes, you.

The one reading this. 

You are made in the image of God -

and my goodness He is beautiful.

There are so many verses that talk about the beauty of Christ -

Psalm 27:4 - “One thing I have asked of the Lord: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”

Isaiah 28:5 - "Then at last the LORD of Heaven's Armies will himself be Israel's glorious and beautiful crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people."

Isaiah 33:17 - "Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar."

- and those are just a few. People in both the Old and New Testaments wrote about the unmatchable beauty of God. He is gorgeous beyond measure, and He thought you were good enough to make in His very own image. Not only that, but He hand selected each of your traits.

Think about the thing that you dislike most about yourself, whether it be physically or personality wise. Would you hate this thing so much if you thought about it as a gift specially designed for you?

Because that's exactly what it is.

God put thought into every aspect of you. He took time knitting you together in the womb. He picked the color of your eyes and thickness of your hair. He chose how deep your voice is and the sound of your laugh. He picked the size of your feet and drew the lines of your fingerprints. He put dreams in your head and desires in your heart. His work can be seen in the tiniest details of you. 

God does not see you the way you see you. He looks at you and sees nothing but beauty - and if the Author of Life looks at you like that, you have 100% permission to look at yourself in that same way...and you absolutely should. 

You are a beautiful creation made in His image.

He made you exactly how you are supposed to be.

 He doesn't make mistakes.

You are beautiful by His standards -

and His opinion is the only one that matters. 

___________

P.S. - if you like music, here's a couple awesome songs that I think compliment this message!

Details - Sarah Reeves

Beloved - Jordan Feliz

There's No "I" in Team, but There is in Anxiety

This week, I want to talk about something that hits close to home. Something that I have fallen victim to almost my entire life. Something that I know a lot of you struggle with daily  -

it's our good ol' friend anxiety. 

You know what I'm talking about - the pit in your stomach, waking up in the middle of the night sweating with you heart pounding out of your chest. I don't know a single person in my life who doesn't struggle with it. It seems to be a world wide epidemic, contaminating the minds of over 40 million Americans. So many people struggle with it, which begs the question:

why are we all so dang anxious?

I've always looked at anxiety as if it was a part of me; something that had to with a misfiring in my brain and therefore out of my control. I've spent countless nights laying awake in bed absolutely begging God to take away my anxious thoughts, but to no avail. I told myself that this was a burden that I was going to have to learn to live with.

What I didn't realize was that I was unintentionally imprisoning myself in my own mind.

When the devil wants to attack you, he's going to first set up camp in your mind. He's going to whisper nasty thoughts in your ear all night, making you worry and drift from bad thought to bad thought. His goal is to fill your head with so much junk that you couldn't possibly hear God's whisper.

And over 40 million of us fall for it. Every. Single. Day. 

What I never thought to consider however, is that I could actually be the root cause of my anxiety. I was choosing to fall victim to my anxiety because it was "out of my control," when in reality my lifestyle was what was causing me to have sleepless nights.

You see, we live in a world that tells us that the decisions we make are important. Our society tells us that we are in control of our destiny, and therefore we have to be very careful and take our time when making decisions. We are told daily "the choices that you make are going to impact you for the rest of your life, so choose wisely!"

If you're like me, that's where a lot of your anxiety comes from.

Fear of making the "wrong" decision has turned me into a major people pleaser. I am ashamed to say that I base almost all of my decisions on what will look good to others. I avoid any type of conflict because I live in a constant fear that I'll say or do the wrong thing and upset the people around me. For you, maybe it's the same thing. Maybe it's deciding where you're going to go for college. Maybe it's whether or not you should break up with your boyfriend. Maybe it's what you should have for dinner.

Maybe you spend so much time weighing the pros and cons of a situation that you end up just pushing it off, and you mask that procrastination by saying "I'm praying about it, but I haven't gotten a clear answer." 

By doing this, we give ourselves opportunities for anxiety and we call them "options."

But I'm going to let you in on a little secret - 

it doesn't matter.

You're staying awake all night and making yourself sick over something that God has already worked out. By allowing those anxious thoughts to ruminate in your brain, you're implying that you are in control of your life, when in reality God is the one who oversees it all. He knows you inside and out. He knows every decision you're going to make, and whether it's the right one or the wrong one He has already designed a plan for your life and you cannot possibly get in His way. If your heart is in the right place, then it doesn't matter what decision you make. People say "you made your bed, now lie in it" and I hate it. 

If you made the bed the wrong way, apologize and remake the dang bed. 

You're allowed to mess up. You're allowed to pick the wrong decision because God already has it all worked out. 

Stop worrying so much!

Your brain is a sacred place created by God - it's where He resides, where he communicates with you, and where He reveals to you your destiny. The next time you feel those anxious thoughts creeping in, yell at the devil to get his hands off of God's property.

Here's the bottom line: you're going to have hard decisions to make, and the enemy is going to use those to make your mind an anxiety ridden warzone. All you have to do is remind him how big your God is, and remember that He has your entire destiny completely mapped out.

I invite you this week to take control of your anxiety. 

Shift your intention from "how are people thinking of me?" to "how am I thinking of others?" Stop worrying about what "might" happen and remember that God has it all worked out. Start saying no to people when you want to say no to them, no matter how upset they may get with you. 

God is too good for you to stay anxious. 

Jesus is looking at you with nothing but love. No matter what choices you make, he is sitting on His throne and saying:

"This is my child, and with them I am well pleased."

Learning to Walk

I'm back!

I haven't been able to post for awhile because I was sick with some kind of terrible plague (and by plague, I mean a head cold - but it felt like the plague). I'm better now though, so let's do this!

I recently attended a Salt Company retreat at a cute little camp called Hidden Acres. Mark Vance (a pastor at Cornerstone Church in Ames) spoke, & I swear some of the things he said were meant specifically for me. I left feeling filled to the brim with love for Jesus. 

One of the things that he talked about was the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15. If you're unfamiliar with this story, let me fill you in:

Basically a father has two sons. The older of the sons is hardworking & determined to make the father proud, while the younger is irresponsible & resentful towards him. One day, the younger of the two sons tells his dad that he wants his inheritance immediately, then takes his money & goes into the city where he blows his entire life's savings on gambling, prostitutes, and other worldly pleasures. Eventually, he comes to the realization that he's going to have to return to his father if he wants food or a roof over his head. On the journey home, he rehearses what he's going to say to his father the entire time: "Father, I have sinned against heaven & against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your slaves." He knew that he messed up & was ready to live the life of a slave.

However, before he had even stepped foot on the property, his father saw him and ran to him. Instead of the rage & disappointment he expected, he was met with compassion and love from his father. He threw a big party in honor of his arriving home. 

Wait, what?

I think we can all agree that he messed up pretty badly, so why on earth did his father throw a welcome home party? Well, the answer is simple really - 

because he loves him. 

Think of it this way: he didn't care how badly he messed up, he was just overjoyed by the fact that his son was home!

The coolest part is that this is exactly how God looks at us. 

We sin constantly. Not a single day goes by where we don't sin. Not one. Yet our Heavenly Father loves us the exact same. No matter how far we stray, how often we sin, or how badly we mess up, He loves us the exact same. 

It was explained to me this way: 

Let's say it's a couple years down the road & you have a baby, & that baby is just learning how to walk. They stumble about, sometimes running into things, sometimes hurting themselves, and toppling over often. They take a few steps, but then they fall down. Would you be angry with them for falling? Of course not! You would be overjoyed by their stumbling, because that means that they're developing correctly. 

God doesn't look at your sin with disappointment, Jesus took care of that. Because of the cross He looks at us with nothing but warm smiles and the love of a parent. He knows that you're not perfect & that you're going to mess up (a lot!), but He is glowing at the fact that you're bumbling and stumbling around because it means that you're trying to walk towards Him. 

You are allowed to mess up. Don't beat yourself up over it.

He loves you no matter what, & He is oh so proud of you.

Keep stumbling baby!

"The Defense Would Like to Call the Next Witness to the Stand..."

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

In Acts chapter 26, Paul defends himself to King Agrippa against accusations made by the Jews. He hadn't done anything wrong, but Christians were a highly persecuted people by Jews and Gentiles alike (sound familiar?). If you are familiar with the story of Paul, then you know about the whole Saul to Paul transformation. If you haven't heard this story, let me give you a brief synopsis:

Paul used to be called Saul-King Saul, actually. He was not a good man - he persecuted saints; throwing them in jail and even sentencing them to death. He pillaged synagogues and even traveled to other cities to put believers to death. His life took a complete 180 however, when Jesus Christ himself appeared to him and told him that He was changing Saul's name to Paul and was sending him out to be a witness for God. Paul did exactly that, eventually becoming one of the most influential witnesses for Christ ever.

So when Paul was called to testify and defend himself, he told Agrippa his story - just like he told everyone else. He told him about his own experiences. He told him the truth. 

The people in the king's court didn't respond very kindly - they called him insane, saying that he was out of his mind. Paul gently replied that he was not crazy, that he was just telling the truth. Turning to the king, he asked Agrippa if he believed the teaching of prophets (basically, "do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah?"), to which Agrippa replied "do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?" (Acts 26:28). 

Paul replied, "short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains" (Acts 26:29). 

Now how amazing is that?

Paul demonstrated perfectly what it looks like to be a true witness for Christ. If you watch T.V. shows like Law and Order or other courtroom dramas, you know that the job of the witness is to go up to the stand, swear on the Bible to tell the truth, and report to the courtroom what they experienced. It is not the witness's job to decide who's guilty and who's innocent, that's the judge's job. All the witness has to do is tell the truth. 

If you call yourself a follower of Christ, then you are called to be a witness for Him. Kind of intimidating right? Well, the way you're thinking about it, it probably sounds like it - but I promise that it's not as hard as you think. 

You don't have to know all of the answers to be a witness. If someone asks you something about the bible and you don't know the answer - 

listen up, I'm about to blow your mind

- that's 100% okay. In fact, it's expected. No one has all of the answers! It's totally fine to tell someone who has challenged your beliefs that you don't know the answer to one of their questions. All you have to say is "that's a good question! Maybe I can look into it and we can meet up and talk about what I find" or "I don't know, all I know is what my experiences are."

As long as your response is full of respect and love, then you did your job as a witness. You shouldn't shove your beliefs down the person's throat (as much as I would like to - but people don't like being choked or smothered by the Gospel, believe it or not). All you have to do is tell people the truth - that Jesus Christ is the son of God, was sent to earth to live a blameless life, died on the cross for our sins, and conquered sin and death by rising from the dead. 

That same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is alive inside of you -

What are you going to do with that power?

Will you be a witness for Christ?

Light of the World

"You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lamp stand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" - Matthew 5:14-16.

This verse is the one that inspired the name of this blog, and - as you probably could have guessed - is my favorite verse in the bible. In fact, I have a small lightbulb tattooed on my shoulder so I am reminded daily that I am called to be the light.

So, what makes it so important?

Someone told me once that not only are we lights of the world, but we are floodlights for Christ. How come you can see the Washington Monument at night? The Statue of Liberty? Because the architects installed floodlights at the feet of the structures that illuminate it so they can be seen at all times; even in the darkness. In the same way, Christians are floodlights for Christ. Our actions point back to our Creator, and they should illuminate Him in such a way that it's impossible to ignore His goodness and glory. 

Today's world is so full of sin and hate, but you didn't need me to tell you that. You could turn on the news and see it - riots, hate rallies, crime, etc. What's the first thing that came to your mind when you read those words? Was it Charlottesville? Perhaps Ferguson?

What about Westboro Baptist Church?

I know, I know. If you're familiar with the works of Westboro, you're thinking "they're not a church! They're not real Christians! They're a cult!" 

I know that. You know that. But do people who aren't saved know that? Honestly, the sad truth is that they probably don't.

Non-believers look at organizations like Westboro and they use it to judge all Christians. This is sad, but understandable because hate screams so much louder than love.

But Westboro isn't the only place where hate is being spread. We spread hate daily without even knowing - when you gossip about that girl that you don't particularly like, when you walk by someone and look away instead of smiling at them, when you judge others sin as if you don't have your own. Not one person is above another, especially not in sin - God sees all sin equally. This means that yes - you lying to your mom about where you were last night is just as bad as murdering somebody in the eyes of God. Crazy, right? That being said, we have absolutely no right to cast judgement or hate another person. 

Let me put it this way: if people look at the Christian community and see nothing but dysfunction, hate, and unrighteous judgment, they're going to think we serve a dysfunctional, hateful, and unrighteous God. 

If you knew your actions impacted someone's view of Christ, would you act differently?

How do your actions illuminate Christ?

Do they demonstrate his love and compassion for all? Or do they cast him in a bad light?

I'm not saying you have to be perfect; that's not the case at all. No one is perfect, that's why the cross was necessary. But the more you pray and grow your relationship with Christ, the more like Him you'll become. Your words will drip with kindness. Your actions will be motivated by love. When you allow God to continually soften your heart, it will start to beat for what His beats for -

people. 

Is this thing on?

What am I doing here?

That's a good question, a question that I'm sure everyone has asked themselves repeatedly in their lifetime. When I was little it was so easy; people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I would answer (rather enthusiastically, might I add) "a paleontologist! I'm going to dig up dinosaurs." Then it was "I'm going to be an actress," then "I'm going to be a doctor." It didn't matter how far fetched it was, I was always so confident. 

Now that I'm a little older, I am realizing that life is a little less black and white than it was when I was a kid. There's a lot of uncertainty in the world, but there are two things that I am absolutely, wholeheartedly, 100% sure of:

Number one:

I have no idea what I'm doing. 

Oh no, I'm having a midlife crisis at 19.

But take a deep breath. Everything is okay. Number two is a more comforting truth:

I don't have to know.

That's the best part - it's not my job to know. It's not your job to know either.

It's God's.

Do you trust Him?

As I continue to write, we will be tackling all of life's tough problems hand in hand in hand - that's my hand in yours, and our hands in God's. Through my posts I will be working with you to grow your faith, uncover your God-given talents, and challenge you to be the best you that you can be.

I am so excited to share my faith with you.

Oh, one more thing - if you have a prayer request, a question, or something specific you want me to write about, shoot me an email! My social media links are at the bottom of the home page.

With an abundance of love,

Bailey