"you belong to Me"

Well, here it is. The start of the second semester. After an extremely stressful and lonely first semester, I'm surprised that I can even continue. I have been dreading this day since the first day of winter break. I was afraid that the same old things were going to happen again: I'm going to be so alone, no one wants to hang out with me, there's too much going on back at home, I miss Craig, ect. ect. the list goes on. But here I am, sitting at my desk in my dorm room.

Winter break has been very good to me. I have been able to spend a lot of time with God processing the things that have happened last semester and ways that I can overcome those battles this semester. I have really saw the need in my life for a daily quiet time and daily prayer. Packing and leaving my house this morning was stressful because I didn't really want to go back, and as a result of this stress, I wasn't able to have a quiet time. So, here I am at 11:00pm when I have class bright and early tomorrow, getting my daily dose of God. But what God has revealed to me could not have come any more conveniently.

"You Belong to Me" was the title of my daily devotional focusing on the verses Isaiah 43:1-7

"But now, this is what the Lord says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your random, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, Give them up! and to the south, Do not hold them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.'"

This verse is so perfect. And the sad thing is, I had this verse written on a note card pinned to the cork board on my desk as a daily reminder, but I saw it so much that it seemed to have lost it's meaning...until now. As my new semester starts, I can finally have peace and realize that I am not alone, ever. We belong to God, He created us, called us by name, we're precious to Him, He has made us to bring Him glory! Just that last part has me jumping for joy! I don't know what it is, and I can't explain the feeling, but my heart feels so joyous right now because I have realized (finally!) that I am never alone! If only I had this devotional last semester...

God is always watching us, He is always with us. And I knew that last semester, I kept trying to tell myself over and over again, but it wasn't helping. The problem was the world. I was so focused on what I'll call "earthly alone" that I wasn't seeing the big picture. I was focusing on, 'where are all of my friends, why haven't they called me?', 'I hate that Craig isn't hear to keep me company, without him I have no one." I was seeking comfort and worth in people, who are broken, and not in God, who is Perfect. God didn't make us to hang out with friends (not that He doesn't want us to), but He created us to glorify Him! And tonight, I have realized that if I spend my time bringing glory, honor, and praise to God instead of dwelling on the thoughts of how sad I am and how I have no one to turn to, I will find inner peace and joy and realize that God is all the company that we need!

I can honestly say that it isn't easy bringing glory to God everyday through everything. I have dealt with painful things in my life. But God is so much bigger than anything we could worry about, that it really isn't worth my time to be thinking about how pathetic or depressing things are, but I should be praising God and trusting that He will bring me through everything! This semester is going to be full of many battles, but I am ready to fight them, with God at my side, knowing that He has made me the way that I am. My new focus through these battles is how can I bring God the glory and not myself? I challenge you to do the same.