Out of Zion

"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." Psalm 50:2

Our God is coming back.
We need to remember that.

Life gets awfully confusing sometimes. Right now, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to "be when I grow up." I have a lot of wonderful friends who are trying to help me understand what I'm supposed to do and why I'm here. However, standing in the middle of it all is tough because I am confused.

My high-school mentor, my "other dad", expressed to me the other day that doubts are very prevalent in this time of one's life. I'm fairly certain one can experience doubt at any point in life. Who am I? Do I have some glorious purpose I'm supposed to realize? What if I'm not one of those special people who history remembers? Why am I here?

Doubts like these are pretty scary when they come along. So what do we do?

I once spoke with a man who said that hope was the strongest force available to humanity. "Nothing beats real hope." As a Christian, my hope is in the Living God. He told us He is coming back: "Behold, I am coming soon..."(Rev. 22:12) I believe that. I am living for the day when I see God's face. This hope is genuine; it is trustworthy.
But hope cannot survive on its own.

"Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."(Hebrews 11:1) Hope all by itself is exhausting and open to a lot of doubts. That's why you need faith. Faith steadies hope. When hope feels flimsy or foolish, faith has to be there to back it up.

Frequently, I find it necessary to go back to the basics of my faith. What is it that I actually believe? What are the things that I see everyday that defend my beliefs and help me know that my faith has a foundation?
What is the only foundation that will stand the test of time, life, experience, doubt? "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus."(1 Corinth. 3:11)

Jesus is the only foundation. When we know that and trust Him, we can believe His promises. Life is full of doubts, but we should not be afraid of doubt.

Bigger picture moment: I'm a small thing. I will make an impact on few lives at few moments throughout my life and I will not be remembered by history (at least not accurately.) God is big. He made everything and He made it all for a purpose. No matter how big my confusions and doubts seem, God is bigger and stronger. All my little battles are part of a really big war that the Bible talks about. You know this stuff: Good vs Evil, God vs Satan, "principalities, ...powers, ...the rulers of darkness of this world." (Ephesians 6:12) And you know what the best part is? God is winning.

He promised to come back and end the war. In power. In love. In majesty. In awe-inspiring splendor. In undeniable victory.

His church, the Bride of Christ, has nothing to fear. I have nothing to fear. God is going to come back, and when He does, He will shine.