If Only I Had Some Thoughts...

Well, go figure. I, prime thinker, have nothing to think about. So, well, I decided that now is an opportune time to think about God's love for us. I actually have something of the like on my laptop, which I might upload later if I deem it appropriate, as it was essentially a doodling of my thoughts during my quiet time at STRONGER. The reason is that because it was a 'doodle', it won't make much sense. And that's exactly the opposite of what the aim of my blog really is... I don't want to lead my readers into thinking that I'm just a bullshitter par excellence. Which I am, anyway.

Well, I decided to Google (!! - yes, I was feeling lazy and tired when writing this!) some Bible quotes with regards God's love for us, as I felt that these could really be attributed to STRONGER (for those reading who don't know what it was, it was Y4J's recent weekend live-in). Anyhow, in my opinion, this was the strongest verse that emerged of all:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

This quote managed to make me further reconfirm the love that God has for us all. God has no plans to abandon us when the going isn't good, because He knows that He can pull us through the hard times. God loves each and everyone of us so much that He gave us His only Son, who then subsequently died for us in the ultimate form of suffering - on the Cross. God loves us so much that we will be saved simply by believing in Him, nothing more, nothing less. He promises everlasting life to all of those who do so, it says it clearly in the Scripture! STRONGER was an opportunity for us all to reconfirm our belief in the Lord, and hence quantify not only our love for Him, but also His love for us.

Then I came across another quote that I thought was really applicable to the weekend as well:

"The LORD opens the eyes of the blind: the LORD raises them that are bowed down: the LORD loves the righteous." - Psalm 146:8

I thought that prior to STRONGER, we might have perhaps been blinded by circumstances that took priority in our lives. I'm not perfect, and based on personal experience, I was definitely one of these people as well. Times would pass where I wouldn't pray or spend some quiet time with God, and hence, start to become 'blind' once again. On the other hand, our faith might have grown stagnant and hence we might have needed to 'recharge our batteries'. This is what STRONGER enabled us to do as a group - it enabled us to realise that living in God's light, or, to use Andrew Consiglio's term, boarding and being part of the "ark", was the righteous thing. I felt that this weekend really helped a lot of people, myself included, to see this once again, and to get back on track with God firmly rooted in my life. Once again, I stress though, I'm not perfect... and indeed, there have been times this week where I have slipped back into being blind! However, I believe that living in this light is a growing process that one has to evolve through with time. Which brings me to wrap up this section with a verse from Deuteronomy, and is the reason why I believe in such a God...

"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He." - Deuteronomy 32:4

Moving on now. Something of a landmark (I was really going to say the word 'judgement' after 'landmark', seeing how many times I've heard it during law lectures!!) nature also happened for the first time in a long time at STRONGER... I went to Confession. Only God knows how long I hadn't gone prior to last weekend, and judging on my calculations, it must have been around 4-5 years ago. (EDIT: It was actually around 2 years ago. Honestly.) While I don't think I had anything in particular to confess about, I did somehow feel as if I had managed to take a huge weight off my chest after this happened. Now, suddenly, while browsing through other websites, I came across this and understood why fully...

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9

The priest that I confessed to then told me that as a penance, I should look at Psalm 23 and reflect on it. I decided that to do such an 'analysis', I should write down what I think about it on a piece of paper (as I didn't have my laptop with me at the time). Needless to say, I found Verses 3 and 4 of particular inspiration, and the following is what I wrote regarding this:

"You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage." - Psalm 23:3-4

There are many periods in life where we encounter walking through such dark valleys. Most times we know about them and are conscious of the wrong that we are doing, but sometimes we slip into such darkness subconsciously, without knowing it's there. It could be for various reasons, which need not be mentioned. In such circumstances, we have to try and realise the wrong that we are doing - as difficult as it may be - and rectify that wrong. (Knowing that we have the Lord by our side, in all circumstances, whatever the situation may be, makes us stronger.)

I think that's all I have to say... I'm sorry if my post has, for one, not come across in a clear and structured manner and secondly not made sense at all, and can hence be classified as bullshit! Ironic now, isn't it, that the title of this blog is If Only I Had Some Thoughts...

God Bless You all!
Matti