God is Faithful

Over the past two days through the exciting, exhausting, and entertaining lock-in and the aftermath (today), I have been encouraged and reminded by the fact that God is faithful. This past week at small group, we talked about God's faithfulness. A few of many verses that were mentioned are:

II Thessalonians 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."

I Corinthians 1:9 "God, who has called you into fellowship with His son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

And I Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

This third verse, I Corinthians 10:13, has been a tremendous encouragement and help to me over the past two days.  The Tribe at Tatesbrook (The Church at Tatesbrook youth group) had a lock-in this Friday night. As the leader, Friday was filled with preparation beforehand and constant supervision and exertion of energy after the lock-in began. When events like this happen and I am having to stay up late at night / be active the entire time, my first instinct is to eat to keep me awake and going. This was very hard for me to deal with because I was low on energy before the lock-in began and bowling wore me out. On top of that, my sense of smell has been going haywire to past few days, and Friday night was no exception. In the bowling alley, I could smell the greasy fries smothered in ketchup and the processed cheese dip with nachos, just to name a few of many favorites... At the church, I could smell chips and salsa, fruit snacks, chocolate chip cookies, Cheetos, Root Beer, popcorn, and cool ranch Doritos... again, just to name a few. Almost everything inside of me wanted to snack and fill this void my stomach contains. However, in those moments of battling with my mind, God remained faithful and kept me strong. He did not allow me to be tempted beyond what I could bear. 

While I know God is faithful in my mind, it's an entirely different experience when God shows His faithfulness in moments when my flesh wants to take over. So, whether we are giving up food, being kind to those we don't necessarily like, or sitting in a time of darkness with no answers... God IS faithful! He will keep His promises. He will see us through to the end of where we have been called. He will lift up our heads when they are down. He will give us strength to walk on. He will guide us through the darkness. He will keep His promise because He is faithful! And as we walk in God's faithfulness, may He receive the glory of which He deserves.

Picture: Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park