there is freedom.

i've been in a dry spot for awhile. i'm feeling tired and burnt out. i don't feel like i have what it takes and the prospect of graduation and beyond is daunting. i'm encouraged by a few verses i read this morning though.

Exodus 15:13
In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed. In Your strength, You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.

by our own strength and in ourselves, it's difficult to make it through the hard times. for me, i just want to give up. i can't go on anymore. i'm tired and worn out. i don't know which way to go but i need to lean on God and his strength, seek his peace and comfort and know that i can make it through. he's carrying me.

Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

we're put in dry spouts for a reason. the israelites went through an amazing time of salvation, then they were taken into the desert before God led them into something greater and beyond their imagination. when we're in these dry spots, we need to remember God. he's testing us and disciplining us. what is on our hearts? are we desiring him above all else or are there other things that we worship more? it is in these tough times that we need to trust him more and focus on him more, knowing that God is building up our character and making us more aware of our desperate need for him. it's true that only he can satisfy. we can look for happiness and satisfaction in other things, but they are all always only temporary. we are fulfilled for a little while until we feel empty again. i'm in that spot. i need God to fill my emptiness and take that void out of me.

Exodus 14:14
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

God's got it under control. he loves you and has a plan for you that is better than anything you can plan for yourself. following Jesus will bring you into suffering. it clearly says that in the bible, but God is fighting for you. we can't focus on things that are happening to us. we need to focus on things that are happening for us. God won't give us more than we can handle and in everything we go through, he is right there beside us.

it's hard, it's tough, and it sucks to be feeling this way but i'm hanging onto the truth that there is something more. i know that there is more and i believe that you go through these periods for our good and discipline. it is in these times we discover more of who God is and what he wants for us. it is in these times that we realize our desperate need for God. and it is also in these times that God pours out his unfailing love and mercy and grace to us to draw us even closer to him.

for me, it's not even about what i'm doing after school anymore. school, graduation, applications, these things all seem so small. i need God to define my life, take complete control of my heart and fill me up till i'm overflowing. i need him to fill me with that unwavering passion and desire for him again.