Absolutely Terrifying Beauty

I'm part of a small group/Bible study for high school girls in my church, and as we were talking about having positive self-talk last night, my mom, one of our leaders, was responding to another comment that was made, and she said "Sometimes, faith is just having the courage to keep going." and for whatever reason, it has stuck with me.

Actually, I know the reason. It's because of how true it is. There are moments when the only two options that we have are to keep trying, or to quit, and in most of those situations, quitting would be so much easier. It's like life is some sort of maze, with wonders and terrors strewn through.

Sometimes it would be more fun, easier, to sit down right were we are in the maze and say, "Nope. Not anymore, God. I quit. I don't know what's coming next, and if it's anything like what's come before, I don't want it. It isn't worth it." We refuse to listen to God, and we sit stubbornly right in the middle of that maze. All we see when we look back at where we've been are the monsters that have tried to tear us apart, but what we're forgetting is that we've picked up those gorgeous gardens along the way, and keep them in our pocket right with us. So we quit. We've all been there before. I know that I sure have.

But then, there are times when we don't quit, when we trust God, and walk through this maze. We widen our eyes at ourselves, and shake our heads, in disbelief that we're actually choosing to continue on, but still we know that God has amazing things planned for us. This maze has twice as many wonders as terrors, and even more in disguise.

Sometimes it seems as though we're walking through the maze alone, or blindly, but truly, I tell you, both are lies. We are never alone, never. God does not leave our sides, not in the good times, and most definitely not in the bad times. He's no fair-weather-friend, this amazing God of ours. And best of all, not only is He with us, but God is leading us through it. If only we would let Him, He'll take our hands in His and lead us through the twists and turns. It's only when we stray from Him that we get lost and hit these dead ends, but eventually we'll find that He's following right behind us, just waiting for us to turn around and fall into His loving arms.

There's nothing more beautiful than the love of Jesus Christ, and there's nothing more terrifying than living the life that He has for you. But when you put it together you aren't left with monsters and horrors. What you're left with is absolutely terrifying beauty. And there isn't anything more amazing than that.

So, yeah, doing God's work in the world takes an explicit amount of faith, but sometimes just continuing on takes even more. You'll see, though, that He never fails, never ever, and if you just turn around in this maze, you'll see Jesus waiting with arms outstretched to hold you and love you. So answer me this, will you turn around and let Him carry you?