...for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; there fore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon-from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me--a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, 'Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?' My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever had a pep talk with your own soul? "Why are you downcast?" I've been trying to read a Psalm each day but when I got to this Psalm last week, it was difficult to proceed. I have this desire to rely and trust God with all my heart and devotion. There are so many things in my life right now that suffocate that desire. If I give God the first hour of my day, looking to listen to his voice in his word, then what voices am I listening to during the other 15 awake hours? When I think about what I think about, it is rarely with the desire to glorify God. "Be joyful always," says 1 Thessalonians 5:16. "Pray continually," continues verse 17. "Give thanks in all circumstances," demands the verse after. These verses, meant for direction and encouragement, can sometimes feel like impossible expectations in times where all I want to do is fight being joyful, keep from praying, and not think about all the blessings God has given me.
What is wonderful to know is that no matter how I feel, no matter what happens to me or my circumstances, God is in control. It is in this unshakable truth that my faith is strengthened. The day goes on. His love keeps going.
This morning, I went to Shiloh (my church) to partake in a six-week Saturday morning series on authentic manhood, going deep in the Bible to discover what this generation of men is missing that Jesus has. There were about 200 men that came to the early 7:30 a.m. study. It was very refreshing and eye-opening. This week's question to answer was, "Are you following the example of the first Adam (as in Eve's husband) or the example of the second Adam (Jesus Christ)?" This morning explained how Jesus came to earth to fulfill everything that Adam failed at. I could go into more detail about this morning and will perhaps another week.
I have a big prayer request. I may or may not have mentioned this to you over the summer, but 2nd Mile Ministries is working on renovating a building right next to the church we partnered with for the summer day camps and after school program. This building was only being used for storage of some of the church's lawn equipment and when asked if we could use the space for a possible community center in the future, they were very willing to let us take control. Anyway, this Tuesday night, Nov. 13th, there is going to be a donor dinner held for doctors, lawyers, business men, etc. who could potentially add significant funds to the renovation process. There has already been so much free volunteer work done on the building from high school kids to churches to members of the Jacksonville Jaguars. There are before and after pictures at the bottom. Please be praying for the speakers at the event to clearly communicate the vision of the ministry to our special guests and please pray that God would show us incredibly he provides for us. This building is a much bigger space than the current bottom floor of the church where the program currently exists. As the students we mentor now get older, it could be the perfect place for them to grow into middle-school students, and eventually into high school students.
A personal prayer request would be this...that I would grow to trust God more and more and know that his thoughts and plans for me are so much bigger and better than my own. (Isaiah 55:8)
The name Andrew means either warrior or manly. I pray that God would mold me into a man of him rather than the man of the world I often convey.
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| What the building looked like less than a year ago |
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| Ceilings, partitions, fixtures out as of beginning of summer '12 |
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| Some Jaguars helped with demo |
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| Current progress. Still has leaky roof, broken windows, random light fixtures. |
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