A Word to Weary Bible College Students

It's that time of year again.  With the end of every semester comes lack of sleep, impossible exams, and unexpected hardships.  I reread and once again found encouragement in this post written by Cary Schmidt.  If you are in college, please read this... it may be exactly what you need.

A Word to Weary Bible College Students by Cary Schmidt

Don't Hang Yourself... Hang Around

³ Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

⁴ Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that].

⁵ And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

-Matthew 27:3-5

Consider for a moment the similarity between Peter and Judas.  Peter denied Christ, Judas betrayed him, but both of them were guilty of basically the same offense.  Peter did it to avoid embarrassment and possible persecution, and Judas did it for money.  Both men did despicable wrong against their Savior.

Now consider what makes them so different from each other.  When Judas saw that he had made a horrible mistake, he committed suicide.  The End.  Peter, on the other hand, had a talk with Jesus about it and received forgiveness, restored fellowship with the Lord, and the chance to preach at Pentecost.

There comes a time in every young person's life when you feel like you've really blown it.  At some point after you mess up, you ask yourself, "What was I thinking?!"  No doubt both Peter and Judas thought the same thing.  Now you have two options.  You can go out and ruin the rest of your life (Judas) or you can hang on long enough to get it straightened out with the Lord (Peter).

If you've had a "Peter moment," hang on a second!  Jesus is there for you, ready to help you out of that sin.  Just be humble enough to repent, submit and move on with life.  Even though Peter's denial must have hurt Jesus deeply, He looked past Peter's faults and saw Pentecost.  When we screw up, He doesn't say, "Look what you did!"  He says, "Serve Me!"

Judas didn't have to hang himself.  He could have talked it out with the Lord like Peter did in John 21.  Just think, we could have a book of Judas!  He could have lived the dream that Peter did!  But no... 

When the time comes that you feel like you've made the biggest mistake of your life, do what Peter did. Repent, submit, obey, press on, and move on.  You don't have to live a defeated Christian life just because of one mess up.  God has a future planned out for you.  Get back up, get it straight and keep on serving the Lord!

Send Someone a Ray of Sunshine

One of the simple joys in life is getting an unexpected note in the mail.  Mailing notes for anything besides birthday and Christmas is almost extinct, but the sheer thrill of receiving a letter is not.  As a poor college student, I have to carefully gauge my spending money, even that which is used for stamps and stationery.  An easy solution: e-cards! 

Hallmark has a vast e-card selection, quite a few of which are free.  I encourage you to send a few and see if you like the system.  If you find you've discovered your new favorite way of sending a ray of sunshine, consider purchasing a year's subscription for $10 (as opposed to $1 each).  My favorite Hallmark e-cards to send and receive are Hoops and Yoyo!

It has been said that a card is the biggest little thing you can do for someone.  I recommend being an encouragement to someone when you're feeling down, because in lifting someone else up we become encouraged.  E-cards aren't the only way to send a smile, but I enjoy it and hope you'll give it a shot, too.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
-Lamentations 3:21-23


I love this passage; it is filled with hope and healing for the broken spirit.  But have you read the verses before verse 21?  They're depressing!


Lamentations 3:1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
Lamentations 3:2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
Lamentations 3:3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.
Lamentations 3:4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
Lamentations 3:5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
Lamentations 3:6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
Lamentations 3:7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
Lamentations 3:8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
Lamentations 3:9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
Lamentations 3:10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
Lamentations 3:11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.
Lamentations 3:12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
Lamentations 3:13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
Lamentations 3:14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.
Lamentations 3:15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
Lamentations 3:16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
Lamentations 3:17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
Lamentations 3:18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
Lamentations 3:19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Lamentations 3:20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

Have you ever felt like this?  I have!  Verses 21-23 wouldn't be half as beautiful and refreshing without the artfully but painfully written verses previous.  After taking in verse 1-20, we see the remainder of the passage in a whole new light:

Lamentations 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lamentations 3:23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Wait a minute... at first Jeremiah is lamenting over the affiction that apparently God has led him to, then suddenly begins rejoicing over His faithfulness.  Isn't this kind of strange?  Why would God allow all of these awful things to happen to Jeremiah?  Why would Jeremiah go from "he shutteth out my prayer" one minute to "his compassions fail not" the next?

My view of God was brought back into focus when I took a closer look at these verses.  We are wicked sinners and deserve nothing better than the sufferings of verses 1-20.  In fact, we not only deserve this, but eternity in Hell, too.  It is only by God's infinite mercies that we are spared of our rightful wages.  I think back to a time in my life when things were so bad, I felt like I could have written verses 1-20; then I think of what the justice of God would have required me to pay, had it not been for Calvary.  There, God showed His never-ending mercy and amazing grace when Jesus bore the punishment for all my sin and laid my every burden and heartache upon Himself. 

God deals with us, not according to what we deserve, but according to his faithfulness.  Trials are no fun, but are a cakewalk when we compare them to what we really deserve.  We have done nothing to merit the favor of God, yet He continues to bless us out of the abundance of His tender mercies.  He is so patient with us, isn't He?  It is because of His never-failing compassions we are not consumed.  Great is His faithfulness!

Heavenly Persuasions

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things that are unseen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

-II Corinthians 4:17-18

What keeps us going when nothing else does?  Heavenly persuasions!  God tells us here that the hurt and rejection we feel in life is light affliction.  Imagine how heavier it would feel if you carried the burden all by yourself.  God is the One carrying you through, and He keeps you going when the going gets rough.

All pain is temporary.  The Bible expresses it as "but for a moment" (verse 17).  Although suffering seems to last forever, it doesn't.  To a child, a bee sting is traumatizing because he's never been stung before; we as adults know from experience that the pain will pass, therefore we calmly dress it with baking soda and wait it out.  Every trial we face terrifies us because it is uncharted waters, but we must remember that each one is only temporary.

Remember, for every cross there is a crown.  Any affliction we might face "worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (verse 17).  In other words, it will be worth it all when we see Jesus!  What a good deal: our affliction is actually relatively light; it won't last forever; and by enduring with patience, we lay up treasures that will last forever!

Quote: Overcoming

"The world is full of suffering. It is also full of the overcoming of it. We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world."  -Helen Keller

For more inspiring tidbits, visit IFBKJV.com Quotes and Quips

Keep Your Chin Up

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. 
Proverbs 15:13

All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Proverbs 15:15

"Merry" is defined as cheerful, jolly, delightful, happy, jovial, gleeful, festively joyous, or pleasant.  What?  I'm supposed to be all of the above in the middle of sorrow?  Just because life isn't going according to your picture-perfect-plan, doesn't mean you have to be miserable!  After all, the Bible tells us there is a purpose for suffering (Romans 8:28). 

Keeping your chin up, one day at a time: Look at each day, find something to be happy about, and feast on it!  Did you manage to paint your nails without messing them up?  Was the cashier at the store especially sweet today?  Have any of your friends texted you recently?  Did your flowers get the rain they've so desperately needed?  Even in the midst of life's storms, good things happen; look for them.  After you find a gem of happiness in your day, ponder it instead of whatever is breaking your spirit.  There's plenty to be happy about -- have a continual feast!

It's going to be worth it. It's hard to cancel your own pity-party, but having a merry heart is so much more fun.  Even if your spirit and heart are broken, a positive attitude can bring a glow to your face that others in your position only dream of having.  Just think, when this fiery trial is over, you'll come out stronger, you'll be closer to God, and you'll be deeper in His will.  Now that's worth getting happy about, and it's certainly worth going through a trial.

I Have Found the Enemy

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.   If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
 
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
 
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
 
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
 
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
 
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
 
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
 
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
 
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 
Romans 7: 15-25

What you are about to read is the most anti-humanistic post you will ever read in your life!  It has been wisely said, "If God wanted to destroy you, all He would have to do is give you over to your own wicked heart."  Have you ever been bitter, jealous, selfish, or proud?  All of us have, and thinking back to those times reminds us that we are depraved sinners in need of help outside of ourselves.  If all we look to for hope is ourselves, we will find a very shallow well indeed.  In fact, the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, according to Jeremiah 17:9.


When the Heartland staff asked Tim to consider GloryBound, I developed a very selfish attitude and a nasty bitterness.  As far as I was concerned, my summer was ruined and my precious time with Tim was cut in half.  As I mourned in self-pity, I became more and more discouraged, and soon I found myself in deep depression.  As you can see, left to myself, I had no hope.  God was not welcome in the picture and consequently I began sliding down the slippery slope of self destruction.  However, as soon as I trusted God with these circumstances that were beyond my control, my attitude changed.  Consequently, the quality of my summer has changed.

"I have found the enemy.  It is me."  It took me my whole freshman year to come to grips with this unflattering reality.  If you struggle with anger or bitterness toward a situation, let me remind you of something:  Satan doesn't have to do anything to destroy you if he sees you're already destroying yourself.  We destroy ourselves with bad attitudes, because when we develop them, we chip away at our trust in God.  Remember playing the block-stacking game, Jenga?  Every time we give into a fleeting selfish thought we are taking away from our trust in God.  Essentially, we are telling God, "I don't trust You.  I want to run my own life."  After we start removing blocks, it is only a matter of time until our spiritual lives are in ruins.

It is a solemn thought, I know.  On the other hand, nothing can compare to the joy and peace of accepting God's leading hand in our lives.  When I finally let go of all my anger and jealousy, it was like a burden had been lifted off of my back.  No, I wouldn't have chosen what I was going through, but I still had joy.  If you are on the slippery slope of misery, get off!  Life doesn't have to be that way!   He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (Psalm 40:2).

I challenge you to find a quiet place and set aside at least an hour to get serious with God about your attitude.  Don't to the following step until you spend that time with God.  Then, change the way you think.  Next time you automatically think negatively about your less-than-perfect situation, push pause and replace it with Scripture, a catchphrase, a song, or a prayer.  It's not the power of positive thinking, it's training your mind to trust God.  If you can, day by day, gain victory over the way you think, you will have won a battle against your greatest enemy.

Ways to Correct Your Thoughts

After reading "I Have Found the Enemy," consider some of the following ways to think correctly about a situation that would normally cause a negative reaction from you.  Remember, without spending time with God first in prayer and His Word, any attempt we make at improving ourselves will not last.

Thoughts from the Bible

Isaiah 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Genesis 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Philippians 3:13-14  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 3:11a  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time...

Philippians 4:11-13  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.   I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 Thoughts from the Wise

"Don't pity the petty.  Don't hate the great."   -Bro. Sam Davison

"You may feel lonely at times, but you're never alone."   -Bro. Dave Hardy

"Don't give up what you want the most for what you want at the moment."   -Bro. Jason Gaddis

"Watch your thoughts, they become your words.  Watch your words, they become your actions.  Watch your actions, they become your habits.  Watch your habits, they become your character."   -unknown

How to Stop Discouragement

The whole reason we get discouraged is because we begin feeling sorry for ourselves. It's a normal part of life; Elijah, Moses and David went through seasons of discouragement. However, when we stay discouraged for prolonged periods of time, bad things happen. This is one of Satan's favorite weapons, because he knows that if we continue to wallow in self-pity it will develop into depression, which eventually leads to a defeated Christian life at best, and suicide at worst.

How do we stop from sinking into this easy trap? The answer is found all over the Bible. When did Peter start sinking? When did Elijah ask God to kill him? When did King Saul fall on his own sword? They all took their eyes off of the Lord, and consequently, lost all hope. Everything was fine when they were in touch with God and understood that God had everything under control. It was when they stopped looking straight up and started looking around them that everything fell apart.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Discouragement is easy to fall into because we're selfish and would really like it if the world actually did revolve around us. However, God designed us to rely on Him, not on ourselves, to get through tough times. There is only one way to survive the death of a loved one, a rough summer, a move, or a dissapointing experience without getting bitter at God: stop focusing on your misery and start focusing on how faithful God has always been to you. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.

3 Discouragement Busters

1. Listen to a song that talks about the victory won at Calvary (It Is Finished, Calvary Answers for Me, Victory In Jesus; leave a comment if you can think of another good one).

2. Do something for someone else. If you're broke, write an encouraging note to your manager (they NEVER get those!! LOL), loot through through the pantry and make cookies for your youth pastor's wife, or help mom do housework.

3. Read your Bible and pray. Of course, you should be doing this daily already, but it never hurts to have an extra appointment with the Lord. Read about Paul's tribulations, David's woes, and Jesus' miracles; nothing can heal a wounded spirit like the Word of God.