Saturday, January 19, 2013

God is my Rock and Foundation


It’s been awhile since I wrote in my blog.
I was talking to a teacher colleague and friend yesterday and shared how I’m not a social person. Yet as a teacher I have to express myself so often that by the time I get home, I’m “talked out”. I’ve even started to notice that my teenage kids spend more time in their rooms these days and I think they are much like me.

With my teaching this academic year, I have committed myself more to planning my lessons in writing and developing notes for some classes. I’ve also had more writing for my women’s fellowship group since I’ve been leading devotions these past several months. I think that’s why I haven’t written much, I just feel “wrote out” and dry.

That’s not to say I don’t think about what I’m reading or journal sometimes about the sermons or chapel lessons I hear. On the other hand, I also have written fewer status posts on facebook.
I feel it’s important to have something to say, but sometimes I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot, especially when I lead devotions or write my blogs. Yet, I have to admit, that what I’m saying often does need to be repeated.

In our women fellowship devotions yesterday I shared a devotions from one book that chooses a hymn for each day and writes about the faith of the author and the meaning or story behind the hymn. Yesterday’s reading was about Joseph Gilmore, who penned the words to He Leadeth Me. The words were written as a poem during the US Civil War. They focus on Psalms 23.

These past weeks and months have demanded I place more attention on my lessons so that my classes are more organized and focused since discipline issues have taken more of my attention during individual lessons. Through it all, I have expected God’s guidance.
That expectation is one of the benefits of the intensity of my faith in God. God is my cornerstone to the foundation my faith is built on. I’m not afraid to question God, and I don’t doubt that He is who He is or that my questions will erode away any part of my faith. My faith in God has been tested over the years, but I have never wanted to disbelieve. There have been a few times where I wanted to set God aside so I could have a little “fun”, but it never took long before I realized that life without God beside me is no “fun”! Sometimes I was turning back to God's presence in a few short hours!

God is always there for me, leading and guiding me through life’s challenges and providing me encouragement and incite when I need it the most. He doesn’t care that I might be boring or repetitive or that I might shout a little and make some mistakes along the way. He keeps pushing me along when I feel unmotivated and loves it when I depend on Him. Where ever you are in your life and walk, I pray that you too can rest on a strong foundation of the Bible and the Truth and hope it offers. As a history teacher, I’ve noticed what happens to civilizations that lose an understanding of Truth and hope…eventually they either have a revolution or fall. In order to rise again they have to turn to God and have a vision. I’d like to say that they have to always focus on the Christian God, but I must admit that some civilizations have adopted other forms of belief, but I believe that that’s also why their forms of government continue to struggle. I can’t imagine life without a belief in God; I can’t imagine trying to live through life’s challenges without the hope and peace He has to offer. May you too rest in Him and never be afraid to depend on Him.