Are you patient with God?  Many times as followers of Jesus we walk around expecting life to be glorious! But thats not what we're here for, is it? Following Christ doesn't mean that life is going to be a piece of cake. It means that we're going to go through heavy and high waters sometimes so that we may be sharpened and strengthened in order to be mighty soldiers in the army of the Lord! But when the storms come, do you trust God and wait in patience for Him to strengthen you and reveal His plan, or do you turn to sin.. to alcohol, to sex, to drugs, to cutting, to depression, to porn, to violence, to stealing, to anger, to anxiety, to lying, to idols, to addictions, to obsessions, etc?Be honest with yourself. And trust me no one is perfect! I will be the first one to admit that I used to turn to some of these things! And trust me I still slip up. It seems easy. It seems like an escape. But little do you know that by not looking to God and turning instead to any one of these things, it creates a pathway.. a pathway for the devil to grab a foothold in your life. Now I don't know about you, but I love being peaceful!! Peace and joy only come from one place and one place only, and that is God. He loves you SO much and wants to pour out His love and affection onto you but when you voluntarily bring these things into your life, you're giving the devil permission to step in and create a barrier or a blockade from the love and peace and joy that the Lord is trying to pour out on you. 

Literally take a second and picture the Lord reaching out for you, but you aren't able to hear Him... because while your eyes were on something other than Him, the devil snuck in and placed a barrier between you and the Lord so that you can't feel Him anymore or hear His voice saying "My child, watch out! Come back, it's not safe!" 

People often wonder why they can't hear or feel the Lord anymore. People wonder why there seems to be no hope and like their lives are falling apart. They also wonder why they're filled with rage or anxiety or addiction or the personal worst for me, completely empty and alone. But ask yourself: Where have your eyes been? Have they been on the things of this world or have they been on Jesus?

DON'T LET YOURSELF BE BLINDED

At some point this world has to come to the reality that there is a God sized hole in all of us. Without Him we are literally nothing! When our eyes on Him and His Kingdom, THAT is when you find real happiness. Not one that fades, not one that fluctuates, not one that is conditional. A happiness and a joy that is constant and unconditional, no matter how terrible the circumstances. If you are anxious, if you feel alone or empty then take a look at your life and where you've placed your eyes. Find what is blocking you from the peace and love of the Lord and repent and get rid of it! Come back to the safety of the Lord.

When the storm comes... TRUST. Choose to look to the Lord and trust in Him even if the world looks like it's going to come crashing down. Psalm 9:10 says, 

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you."

I can confidently say that throughout my entire life the Lord has never once forsaken me or left me out to dry. Many of you don't know the extreme circumstances I faced at such a young age, but on 3 separate occasions i've looked death right in the eye... and I called out to the Lord and he saved me. Nothing, not one thing in this world is too big for Him to handle. Place your struggles in Gods hands and look to Him for comfort. You may not always know His plan, but stand firm in the truth that He will NEVER leave you. And what seems terrible now is nothing compared to the glory that He will reveal to you later. 

My favorite verse in the entire world is Psalm 62:7 "On God rests my salvation and my glory. My mighty rock; my refuge is God."

God is our mighty rock. God is our refuge. Anything else is a distraction from the salvation and glory that God has for you. Don't let the devil drag you down any longer! Take your eyes off whatever it is holding you back from the presence, love and peace of our Lord and Savior and instead place them back on Him. Like I said, there is a God size hole in all of us. Nothing is big enough to fill it but God himself. Do you want to continue feeling empty or do you want to be entirely complete?

Think about it.

How many times has something you've wanted been taken away from you?For me, I can say that that has happened to me more times then I can count. But what do we do when that happens? How do we respond when life doesn't seem to be going our way? We choose from two options:

~FEAR or FAITH~

When things in life go wrong or don't go our way the devil sets his trap of deception. He likes to get right up in your ear and feed you lies and to create false insecurities in your mind to make you believe that something is wrong with you or your life is going to fall apart, or even worse that God is not with you and is not looking out for your best interest.. I am going to go ahead and clarify that NOTHING about any of those statements are true. Those of you that know me know that I am a competitive cheerleader at Spirit of Texas. All my life I had grown up watching these Spirit of Texas teams and I DREAMED of one day being on their International Coed team. From 3rd grade and up, every year, I never failed to go watch their performance. After busting my butt, last year the most incredible thing happened and I finally made that team of my dreams! After training over the summer with them and having the time of my life, I had an accident at a highschool practice and tore two muscles in my back, causing me to be unable to compete that year. Needless to say I was devastated. The one thing I loved and wanted so much was to be on that team and be able to compete with them and within an instant all of that was stripped away from me. The funny thing though is that the best thing that ever happened to me seemed like the absolute worst thing to happen to me at that time. It took me 7 months later realize all that God had been doing in my life over those months, and how none of it would've been possible if I had been able to cheer that year.

The Lord says,

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

When things seem to go wrong in life, when you feel like God is taking you on a turn that you didn't sign up for, have faith. Someone once said "When you see God through your circumstances, God seems small. When you see your circumstances through God, it's your circumstances that seem small." No matter where you are, no matter what you do, no matter what is going on in your life God is right there next to you! When something isn't going your way, take your eyes off your circumstances and place them on God! Stand firm in the fact that He knows what is best and that you may not know what God is up to right now, but whatever He has planned is always going to be the absolute best thing for you in the end.

IT'S TIME TO TRUST Gotta give a quick shout out to my amazing friend Kassidy Leonard for this picture.

I want you to take a second and just really look at this picture. Really grasp the fact that God will never set you up for failure. He is never going to take something out of your life unless He has something that not just He thinks is better for you, but something that YOU will also see is the best thing that could've happened in your life. You may not understand what God is doing in your life right now but place your trust in Him and let Him take care of the rest. No matter how long it takes for you to understand what He is doing, be strong in the fact that you are sons and daughters of a KING and that you are well taken care of! Stop trying to take control of your life, stop trying to have your way and trust. Place your life in His hands and watch your life transform into the best thing you could have ever imagined.Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."