Dear Friend...

Hey friends. I want to stop through and encourage you. This life is sometimes filled with pain and trials, tests and the suspenseful unknown... to be honest- sometimes we don't know which way we should turn. At times we come to a place where we have to make decisions and feel caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm there right now: having to make decisions that will affect my life forever. I know how it feels, but more importantly, Jesus knows how we feel. He really knows... he's experienced having to feel pain, having to be led into the unknown, having to make decisions that will affect his life and other's. For example, take the decision he had to make when it came to him having to be lead to death on a cross so that generations of people to come after him might truly KNOW God. I mean, could you imagine what he went through when he woke up that day? He probably woke up with no sleep due to the amount of unrest he had throughout the night. Tired, weary, weak. His heart was heavy throughout the day due to the emotion that flooded through his body and I'm sure that at some point, the thought of running away knocked at his door (afterall, our Lord was tempted in every way- Hebrews 4:15). The great thing about this story, despite my rough, hypothetical depiction of how Jesus must have felt, is that he knew who his keeper was. He knew that God, the Father, would not leave him. He knew that despite the way his circumstance looked, there was a plan for good to come out of it. He FAITHFULLY walked into his destiny with pain and toil on his mind, but knew that on the other side of this circumstance was joy, redemption, freedom and God's will.

I encourage you to endure whatever circumstance or test that may be set before you. God is your keeper and on the other side of your circumstance is joy, redemption, freedom and God's will. Stay Faithful to the plans of God and do not let your sight of what's directly before you keep you from seeing what's eternal, or to follow.

I want to leave you with a note that a friend wrote as a written excercise at a bible study we were at about a year ago. I kept it, not realizing how powerful it was, until I read it yesterday:

Dear Friend,

I know you are going through a rough time in your life right now, but what I want you to do first is take a deep breath. Spend some time alone, by yourself with your thoughts and your Bible. Remember to continue to pray in these times. It says in the bible that God will never forsake you and if you trust in Him, He will provide for all of your needs. However, in this hard time, you have to release the burden off of your shoulders and give it to God. 

There are many times when I myself feel alone and that God doesn't hear my prayer. But all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. It says in Numbers 23:19 that "God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" You, my dear friend, must continue to remind yourself of what God has promised you so you can have peace of mind. In your darkest hour and deepest despair, God will always be there. Here is a scripture to leave you with: Psalm 119:49-50.

Your friend, 

Colter

I hope this letter helps someone like it helped me. Stay faithful and burn for God despite your feelings. 

Seek the King,

Martay