“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the GOOD of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”                                                                       Romans 8:28

Who Do You Run To?

When I lost my mom I ran to my friends, I ran to alcohol, I ran to drugs to relieve the pain, I tried to ignore everything that was happening. Everything I tried seemed to leave me empty and with even more pain. Sure, I could temporarily get rid of the pain, but I’d still have to wake up the next day. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape the reality that I lost my mom.

Friends and Family Weren’t Enough - while having hundreds of friends and family members around to comfort me was great, they didn’t really help. An hour after the funeral they we’re all eating potato salad and having a good time while patting me on the back saying, “it’ll be ok”. To which I’d think, “You have no idea if it’ll be ok – you’ve never lost your mom, don’t tell me…” Nearly weeks after my mom passed the phone calls stopped, the visits,  the sympathy, people did what they should do – returned to their normal lives. The only problem was . . . I was still struggling with nowhere to run and hurting so bad inside…

The God Decision - Essentially you have to choices when you go through storms as big as this one in life. Either blame God and run from Him while holding all of the pain inside (dealing with it on your own), or believe God is good, embrace His love, and run to Him. Most people blame Him and run from Him, and to be honest – when they choose this path – their lives end up sucking and they never truly get through grieving. Everybody must choose in the midst of battle – (You can read the story of my decision in my “About Me” section.)

God was and is More than Enough -Through some “only God” moments in the process – I chose to run after and surrender my pain and emptiness to God. That was the greatest decision I’ve ever made. God took away all of my pain and gave me a peace in my heart that to this day I can’t explain any other way than “only God”. I’m telling you – THERE IS NO OTHER WAY to deal with pain, emptiness, loneliness, regret, bitterness, etc. in your life than to run to God. HE IS THE ANSWER (Romans 7:25)

Bottom Line – You’re going to run to God (The Answer – Romans 7:25) or run to something (drugs, friends, etc) that will never help you. The choice is yours, but in my mind it is a no brainer.

Tomorrow I’ll go over the “Musts” of Grieving – Practical things to do AFTER you’ve decided to run to God.

I interned with Revolution from 2003-2005 and it changed my life forever. If you’re 18-25 and looking for a great ministry internship – I’d highly recommend this internship. See below for details!

What: Revolution Student Ministries Internship

About: The Revolution Internship is a 5 month program designed to allow you to see and be involved in the behind the scenes of ministry, develop your leadership skills, and to develop you spiritually.

Who is Eligible: Young Adults/College Students 18-25 year

When: August – December 2009

For more information or to apply please go here: http://iamrevolution.tv/connect/internship/ or e-mail Bubba Smith at bsmith@lifeatvictory.com

Apply By July 1st, 2009

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the GOOD of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”                                                                       Romans 8:28

The Loss of My Mom

For those of you who don’t know my story, I lost my mom when I was a senior in high school. She was sick for the majority of my life and I saw a lot of suffering throughout the process.  After losing her I realized what it’s like to lose a mom, to see a husband lose a wife, to see parents lose their daughter, and to see friends lose a great friend.

Since my mom passed I’ve seen a lot of people lose people dear to them. Everyone seems goes through the grieving process in their own way. I’d like to share my thoughts on getting through storms as big as these can be and what got me through.

Experiences like this can cripple people for a lifetime. They can also stand as a period in your life that while they seemed like the most devastating time in your life, God will turn it into something great. If you’ll give your hurt over to God, I promise your life will never remain the same.

Though it may not seem like it, the difference between the two is simply a choice.

Tomorrow I’ll start to share some things I’ve learned that I pray will help you if you’re currently going through something as tough as losing a loved one.

In the mean time, I strongly encourage you to watch this sermon by Louie Giglio. The message starts about 29 minutes into the video. Definitely a life changing message that will help you out.