Spiritual Thoughts
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Went down the hill,
The other day
My soul got happy
And stayed all day
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Went in the room,
Didn't stay long
Looked on the bed
And brother was dead
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
I really like that song. It's like an old Negro spiritual, and I have no idea if that's how it originated or not...but that's what it sounds like. And sometimes that's how I feel life is...that the troubles of life just get too hard to bear. This week wasn't a matter of troubles so much as being supremely busy and quite a bit stressed. Everyone around me is sick, and I haven't been getting adequate rest, so I've been trying to watch what I eat and drink more water... I don't want to get sick, too. ;_; But I know that a lot of my friends are dealing with hard times. Some are dealing with such deep internal issues (which I only have a glance at from talks we've had) that it's really hard to know what to do as a friend...what they need. A lot of times I tend to think it's a listening ear.
But on that same note, I go to things like vespers tonight (like I go every Friday night), and I come away feeling like I'm not doing enough to spread the message. A lot of my hallmates are in the process of seeking...Victor is the only out-and-out atheist, though Kate isn't Christian. I want to invite them to some of my church's group activities, and I definitely want to invite Kate (who expressed an interest in getting to know more about Jesus) to the Bible studies our church is going to start in my dorm. I'm just really hoping some doors get opened, but at the same time I'm really scared. I'm not perfect at all, and I'm a pretty blatant sinner in some respects. There are some things I feel are ok, which more conservative members of my denomination would not agree with (ex. Dancing). But at the same time there have been some temptations for me, and I'm working on over-coming those. Having good friends help, esp. hallmates that aren't all about peer-pressure, but are very cool about being open-minded and accepting of new things...even though they all come from very different backgrounds then I do.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened
And I will give you rest
Take my yoke upon you
And learn from me
For I am gendle and humble in heart
And you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy
And my burden is light."
- Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
"And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted
Beyond what you can bear."
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
"And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love Him,
Who have been called according to His purpose."
- Romans 8:28 NIV
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life
Neither angels nor demons,
Neither the present nor the future,
Nor any powers,
Neither height nor depth,
Nor anything else in all creation,
Will be able to seperate us from the love of God
That is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 8:38 NIV
And those last two promises are special favorites of mine. A lot of times in life I feel like I don't understand why bad things happen, and it's good to know that all things work for good. In some things I've been able to see that...I've learned, later in life, why certain things were allowed to happen in my life. In other things, I don't think I'll receive the answers until I get to heaven. As for Romans 8:38, I love that verse because it reminds me that no matter how guilty I feel for something wrong that I've done, God still loves me. I really needed that verse's comfort this week, because I was feeling like I was becoming really worldly, and having a hard time standing up under all the burdens crashing down on me. A lot of times I get that feelin of "I'm not worthy"...this verse really helps lift me up out of that guilt-trip that I lay on myself.
Man, thank God for Fridays...for the Sabbath. As Ana said to me as we were walking (I was walking, pushing her in her wheelchair) back from vespers, "Sabbath is my favorite day of the week. I look forward to this day more than any other." And she has a point. I need to keep that in mind.
So yeah, this was a pretty deep post for me . . . I don't tend to delve into my spiritual life much in this journal (I have other places and ways for doing that), but this was kinda just stuff I needed to get off my chest. And that is, after all, why I have this LJ. ^_~
Good night all. God bless!
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Went down the hill,
The other day
My soul got happy
And stayed all day
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Went in the room,
Didn't stay long
Looked on the bed
And brother was dead
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Oh Lordy, trouble so hard,
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
Don't nobody know my troubles but God
I really like that song. It's like an old Negro spiritual, and I have no idea if that's how it originated or not...but that's what it sounds like. And sometimes that's how I feel life is...that the troubles of life just get too hard to bear. This week wasn't a matter of troubles so much as being supremely busy and quite a bit stressed. Everyone around me is sick, and I haven't been getting adequate rest, so I've been trying to watch what I eat and drink more water... I don't want to get sick, too. ;_; But I know that a lot of my friends are dealing with hard times. Some are dealing with such deep internal issues (which I only have a glance at from talks we've had) that it's really hard to know what to do as a friend...what they need. A lot of times I tend to think it's a listening ear.
But on that same note, I go to things like vespers tonight (like I go every Friday night), and I come away feeling like I'm not doing enough to spread the message. A lot of my hallmates are in the process of seeking...Victor is the only out-and-out atheist, though Kate isn't Christian. I want to invite them to some of my church's group activities, and I definitely want to invite Kate (who expressed an interest in getting to know more about Jesus) to the Bible studies our church is going to start in my dorm. I'm just really hoping some doors get opened, but at the same time I'm really scared. I'm not perfect at all, and I'm a pretty blatant sinner in some respects. There are some things I feel are ok, which more conservative members of my denomination would not agree with (ex. Dancing). But at the same time there have been some temptations for me, and I'm working on over-coming those. Having good friends help, esp. hallmates that aren't all about peer-pressure, but are very cool about being open-minded and accepting of new things...even though they all come from very different backgrounds then I do.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened
And I will give you rest
Take my yoke upon you
And learn from me
For I am gendle and humble in heart
And you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy
And my burden is light."
- Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
"And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted
Beyond what you can bear."
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
"And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love Him,
Who have been called according to His purpose."
- Romans 8:28 NIV
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life
Neither angels nor demons,
Neither the present nor the future,
Nor any powers,
Neither height nor depth,
Nor anything else in all creation,
Will be able to seperate us from the love of God
That is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 8:38 NIV
And those last two promises are special favorites of mine. A lot of times in life I feel like I don't understand why bad things happen, and it's good to know that all things work for good. In some things I've been able to see that...I've learned, later in life, why certain things were allowed to happen in my life. In other things, I don't think I'll receive the answers until I get to heaven. As for Romans 8:38, I love that verse because it reminds me that no matter how guilty I feel for something wrong that I've done, God still loves me. I really needed that verse's comfort this week, because I was feeling like I was becoming really worldly, and having a hard time standing up under all the burdens crashing down on me. A lot of times I get that feelin of "I'm not worthy"...this verse really helps lift me up out of that guilt-trip that I lay on myself.
Man, thank God for Fridays...for the Sabbath. As Ana said to me as we were walking (I was walking, pushing her in her wheelchair) back from vespers, "Sabbath is my favorite day of the week. I look forward to this day more than any other." And she has a point. I need to keep that in mind.
So yeah, this was a pretty deep post for me . . . I don't tend to delve into my spiritual life much in this journal (I have other places and ways for doing that), but this was kinda just stuff I needed to get off my chest. And that is, after all, why I have this LJ. ^_~
Good night all. God bless!