Testing and Timing

This last Monday, I was reminded by a friend (one of the most encouraging and challenging friends I have) that in September, I claimed that I had never feel doubt towards God nor had I felt like I had been tested or challenged by God.

This was the reminder that she gave me while I was crying, pouring my heart out, declaring all of the tests that I feel I'm going through in my life right now.

God has really been challenging me to give up control and to trust in His timing and plan.  Reflecting on some recent happenings has really shown me how much God is intentionally present in my life.  

Here are three testimonies of what God has been doing in my life.

• I used to think that I had never been tested in my faith.  Then I remembered that when I was 13 and 14 years old, I used to wonder if God was real and if He was worth putting my hope and trust in.  It was in high school at a Bible study where God showed me His realness and why He was worth more than what I can give.

• I visited some old and cherished friends when I was last home.  One of them talked about his passion for biblical science, connecting the Bible to science that is proven to be true.  I've always believed that events in the Bible account for much more than for what science credits.  In one of the first days of my biology lecture, the professor handed out an article explaining that science and religion are very separate entities that cannot be intertwined.  I thank God for the conversation I had with my friend, reminding me who Created every living and non-living thing in the universe.

• Yesterday (the day that the temperature was -5 and the windchill -30) my car battery died.  It died off campus.  I had to call a tow truck and get a new battery.  It was a stressful and long afternoon.  But, in the midst of what seemed to be chaos, there was the biggest, most beautiful sun dog I had ever seen.  It was a glorious circle of light, wrapping around the sun, shining brightly through the clouds.  It was in that moment that I realized who was in control.  That's right.  The big guy.

There are many other areas that God works in my life.  I often fail to recognize His work, but I know that He is always working.  There are many things that I allow to cause worry and frustration.  I keep praying for strength and a longing to lean on the Everlasting Father, the One in control.