Living in a society full of college-aged people sure has its ups and downs. Often we are faced with temptations, pretty much every form of temptation imaginable, that test our faiths in the toughest, but most beautiful of ways.

Being in college makes me realize more than ever that the world is sure enough broken. People are broken looking for security and to be loved, looking to every possible outlet to try and find that purpose for themselves that they are “supposed” to find. Society is broken because of the culture of the simple motions of partying and repeating. Often, acts of being vulnerable diffuse us into murky clouds of these temptations surrounding us; while we’re just looking to fit in and be “cool,” we become more broken by the second as we turn to things that can only bring short-term fulfillment.

But there is beauty in the broken. God wants us to see that He is working in all things. For good. He wants us to know that throughout our hardships He is our rock, He is the one carrying us through tough times even if we fail to realize it. Despite my constant sin and all the times I screw up, I love that I have a God who redeems me of my transgressions and loves me wholly, perfectly and unconditionally.

Some of the most powerful stories in the Bible teach us about sinners just like ourselves whom the Lord uses in ways unimaginable. King Saul was a murderer of Christians, a tyrant who the people thought had no room for love in his heart. But God, in His great mercy, restored Saul and transformed him into the infamous disciple Paul who led a journey of the first Christians across all of the non-Christian lands. The Lord equipped him with the discernment and knowledge to write letters to all different lands that we look to today in the Bible for comfort and teaching. He endured hardships and jail time and ultimately sacrificed his life for the glory of God, proclaiming the truth about Jesus for as long as his life took him.

While I’m not expecting to be physically blinded by the light of Jesus or taken on a journey through hardcore persecution anytime soon (but hey, anything is possible), I do believe in the real conviction of the grace God gives us. He promises us so many things, things we could not even begin to deserve, and uses every moment of our lives for His ultimate good (and our ultimate good as well). There is a real power in the first few words of so many verses: “But God.” Think about it. Noah and his crew were rocking the boat on the worldwide flood, scared to death.

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” Genesis 8:1

Jesus preached the Gospel for about three years, performing miracles and teaching the good news and never giving in to any temptations presented to him. Regardless, the world wanted Jesus dead, so they hung him on a cross on a dreary Friday afternoon alongside two robbers for hours until his body finally succumbed to death.

“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 2:24

You don’t have to have some magical transformation like Paul, or be called through the heavens like Noah, to be saved from your sins. In our wrongdoings, He is there. It even hits home with us.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Now knowing all of this and being a Christian doesn’t make me expect to be just blown away every day by miracles I see left and right. But it does make me appreciate everything I encounter. Messing up just makes grace a whole lot more appealing, and boy do I need a lot of it! No matter what temptations come your way, no matter what you give in to, He is there. Always. Forever. Unconditionally.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26