Well 'sup. I'm not Ariel or Courtney. I'm Ariel's younger brother Travis. I'm not really into the whole flashy, photo implementing, all over the place style like she is, so yeah. So, God kinda threw it in me to write this, and to write it about exactly what it's going to be about, and for you. And by you, I mean YOU! As in specifically, 100% you. Not the person I saw today while walking outside, or who I went to work with. It applies to them, but this is for YOU. Whether or not I know you. One of my favorite musicians, Aaron Weiss of mewithoutyou, told a story. “A farmer once had a horse. One day it ran away and when he told the neighbor, the neighbor retorted with 'Oh, that's terrible!' But the farmer said 'Who knows what's good and what's bad?' and remained content. The next day, the horse returned with a herd of horses. The neighbor said 'That's fantastic!' Again, the farmer responded with 'Who knows what's good and what's bad?' The next day the farmer’s son was out riding a horse and broke his leg. Again, the neighbor was sad over the misfortune, however the farmer, still, said 'Who knows what's good and what's bad?' and remained content. The next day, the military came with a draft, however due to the boys broken leg, they were unable to enlist him. As always, the farmer remained content.”
Everybody's had struggles in life. Every single stinkin person. Some worse than others, but never make the assumption that what you're going through has never happened before, that no one else has had it as bad as you, or that you're going through it alone. If you're anything like me, at some point every single one of those thoughts has passed through your mind. There are plenty of instances in the Bible where God places his disciples and other people in some of the hardest and most trying struggles imaginable, and He helped them every step of the way and even gave plenty of them GREAT rewards afterward. The best instance that comes to mind is Joseph. His brothers tried to kill him, he was thrown in jail even though he did nothing wrong, and after staying completely faithful to God, became the ruler of Egypt. Huh. Kinda did a 180 there.
<<(Me saying goodbye to Ariel before I leave to for SOI in California)
“Joseph's master took him and put him in prison...But...the LORD was with him...and gave him success in whatever he did.”
Genesis 39:20-21,23 October 12(the date this was preached on in my devotional)
A few months ago I went through the toughest 2 months I have ever endured in my entire life: School of Infantry for the Marines. Beyond the hikes, the training, and the sleep deprivation, people didn't exactly answer my faith and Christian lifestyle with open minds. That last part was easily, and surprisingly the hardest part. Though they said they were Christians (who am I to judge, though) they made jokes about it that affected me more than they thought, and didn't exactly make my faith feel welcome. At one point, they even told me they hated me for wanting to go to church, throwing in a couple more cuss words, as well as telling me to perform some not so possible or favorable acts to myself. It just so happens, however, that immediately before I went to SOI (School of Infantry) my wonderful sister, Ariel, gave me one of the greatest gifts I have ever received: a Devotional with a passage for every day of the year that goes in depth on each. Through it, God has spoken to me more than I ever thought possible. I can't help but feel like that book was made for me. Without it, I would never have made it through SOI. I read it every single night, and almost every night's passage was about God helping us through turmoil. God was telling me every single day, as I was dying physically and losing all motivation, that He was with me, that He loved me, that He knew what I was going through, and that I would grow in faith from it. Always, always, always telling me, “Travis, keep your head high, show your faith with pride, and know that I am carrying you every step of the way, and with Me in your heart you will NEVER fall, and never experience more than you can endure.”
“He guarded him...like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on it pinions. The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” Deuteronomy 32:10-12 September 30.
I was constantly called a bible-thumping Christian, and at first I thought “heck, no!!” and took it as an insult. Turns out, the heck it is?! I WANT to have a resounding faith, and to be known as “that God obsessed Christian” in the group, because I am!! He carried me through SOI, meeting me halfway so that I'd have to work, and test my faith, and every day He reminded me that He's doing this for reasons unknown. On top of the fact that, in the end, my faith will become that much stronger (which it has) and I'll want to pursue Him that much more. So of course I love Him, and I want people to know that! I can't imagine what SOI would've been like without that devotional. I did my best to keep God in my heart, and my faith is twice what it was before I left.
So what I want, is for you to take that last sentence from the paragraph before last, the one where God spoke to me, and replace my name with yours. Because what He did with me, He WILL do with YOU! He's just that amazing, and loves you that much. Awesome, isn't it? Don't ever think for a second that He's not working with you, or that what you're going through is too much. I can tell you from first hand experience, NO. No. No. No. No. Whether you need this now or later, everyone needs to know this. I'll probably have to come back and read this at some point to remind myself.
God will test you, and He will put you through trials, and you will wonder where He is. Tell “lucy”(you know who that is) to “SHUT THE FRICK UP!!” and know that God is your Father, teaching you to ride a bike. You'll fall and get bruises and all that good stuff, but as long as you know God's with you, He'll pick you up, smile with pride as fathers do, and you'll become one of the best bike riders in the neighborhood. God loves you, and will absolutely, 100%, positively, no matter what, forsake you. Please, don't ever forget that.
Travis
“It was good for me to be afflicted.”
Psalm 119:71 October 1
“Who among you fears
the LORD and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the
dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his
God.”
Isaiah 50:10 October 7
“...dying, and yet we live on.
2 Corinthians 6:9 October 11
“Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave.”
1 Kings 8:56 October 23
Yeah, just a couple of the AWESOME things from this book!!!
And one of my favorite quotes from it...
“Said the Robin to the Sparrow
'I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.'
Said the Sparrow to the Robin
'Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.”
