Roots.

For the past couple weeks, and a few more to come, Kyle has been preaching over a series called Roots. Every single person at one point in their life or another comes across a storm of sorts, and just as the roots hold trees down during storms, we need to have a set of beliefs, or roots, to hold us down during our storms. Even during the sunny, happy times, roots keep you grounded...and without these truths to cling to, it would be incredibly easy to fall.

The first root was that the Bible is ENTIRELY reliable and spiritually medicinal.

It's important to have this one as the first root, because everything else builds on this. For you to really cling to the promises God has, you have to believe that His word is real, and reliable.

The second one Kyle spoke of today was incredibly convicting. And it is that nothing is random; God is the gate keeper for EVERYTHING in my life and He has good purposes in mind, and He is worthy of my trust.

The main verse we dug through today was Romans 8:28 which says "And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been calling according to His purpose."

It's a short verse, but it's completely filled with truth. We have all been called to follow Him, and He absolutely wants the best for us. And this message sort of ties into the question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Just because we're followers of Christ does not mean our journey will be easy. In fact, several times in the Bible it says that we WILL face trials and tribulations, but to have comfort and peace in the knowledge that Christ has come to overcome the world, and our hope is to be found in Him. Bad things are going to happen, and though we may not have the big picture or reasons why at the time, God has a plan. Nothing sneaks by Him or goes unnoticed. Absolutely every single minute detail in your life has been planned, and God will use it for a greater purpose. And sometimes we may not know what that purpose is until we meet Him in Heaven.

The thing about today's message that really hit for me, was that sometimes looking at this verse it can seem like a vague promise. We are hard-wired to what to know the details of everything - why, when, and how. I especially do not like the unknown or unexpected, I want to prepared for everything and know what's going on. But it is a fine line with wanting to know answers, and accusing God. By needing to know why, when, and how something will be used is not fulling trusting God. And for me, being totally honest, that's a hard pill to swallow. Every single day I struggle with my body not functioning as it should, and wishing I could do things that I can't. And I've even been told straight up that I don't have enough faith because I have not been healed...which is not true at all!! But that's a whole other issue...I digress. I don't know why I have the diagnosis I do, or how God is going to use it for His glory....but I TRUST that this is all part of His plan for me. This acceptance has definitely not come easily, it's been one of the hardest battles of my life, and it is a daily struggle to trust Him. I would be lying if I said there weren't days when I literally cry out to God asking Him to take away my pain and this struggle that I don't want....but at the end of the day, I trust Him.

And it's not a single-issue problem, for me or anyone. Even trusting Him with the little things is important. That relationship you're not sure about, that person who hurt you so deeply, the loss of a loved one, your future plans....there is so much uncertainty in this broken world we live in, but we have to trust that God is sovereign and has a plan for everything. There is no random event that happens, no small thing slips past....EVERYTHING is planned. We may not see the why or how, or be assured of a date of when things will happen...but if it is God's good, pleasing, and perfect will for your life...it will happen. Trust.