I'm wandering hopelessly through a desert and it's hot and dry and...

Ever been walking through a spiritual desert? Has your faith ever been dried up by life?

There are times in our lives as Christians that we feel spiritually far away from God.  We can not feel him and we are not emotionally stirred by him in worship, or prayer, or quiet times, or sermons.  But the truth is, we can't rely on our emotions to reassure us that he is still near.  We are human and our emotions are seriously out of whack.  We can not trust ourselves because we are simply human-- sinners. 
This is how I had been feeling and as a result I was unmotivated, grouchy and a little bratty.  When one morning in my quiet time, the Lord showed me this passage:

1 Corinthians 14:15-16

So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?

 

 

Our relationship with Christ is not based on how we're feeling, yesterday, today, or tomorrow.  We are commanded to praise and obey our Father.  Sometimes we don't want to do it and sometimes we're just "not feeling it" but we are called to do it no matter what.  This commandment is what leads us to praise him even in the rough and dry seasons of our spiritual walk with Christ.  When our hearts are broken or hardened, our mind should still know full well the power and love that our Lord and Savior has for us.

And in that... in those times when the world is telling us to forget about our faith, in those times when it's hard and we find ourselves not passionate at all, we must still make sure that our lives point to Him.  This is what brings non-believers to their knees. When they see this in how we live, they see Him.  I've said it before and I'll say it again life is not all about what happens but how we react. 

 

So in those times when you're wandering hopelessly though a desert... and it's hot... and dry... and you're waiting and praying for the Lord to move and stir your heart, you've just got to keep on keepin' on.

 

 

God's Blessings

 

Karsyn Penelope

Post Summer

Well I'm back in Aggieland! Camp ended and it was pretty sad to leave and the rest of summer was not so eventful except seeing friends and family.  And that ended and I packed up and moved back to College Station. 

At camp they told us that the whole experience would take some time to sink.  And they were definitely right.  It wasn't until I was back at school and talking to someone for the millionth time about my summer at Pine Cove that I realized what I had learned. 
My personality is one where I like to be on the frontlines.  I am not naturally a backstage person.  But this summer being on the program staff at Pine Cove and working a lot in the kitchen, cleaning dishes, cleaning the pool, working the store, I realized that God was teaching me how to work and serve behind the scenes, where you don't get a ton of recognition.  Humility is required for that kind of job and that is exactly why God had placed me there.  I learned how to encourage and serve whole-heartedly, not always being seen.  What a blessing it was to understand what my purpose was this summer.
Now that I am starting back up a routine and school and leading a Freshman Bible study through my church here, this passage has a new meaning.
1 Corinthians2:1-5 When I cam to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Paul is telling the Corinthians that we don't have to know it all, look fancy, be in the center of the crowd, or talk like a genius to share the Gospel.  It does take humility in who we are and faith in who our God is.

God's Blessings,

      Karsyn Penelope