I am starting a five-week series that will consist of taking a verse from the Bible and pealing it back. Pealing it back like an orange… Say what?

As a college student, I rarely take the time to actually dig deep into scripture, and soak in the rich and gracious love that has been written to share the good news of our Lord and Savior.    

I often forget on a daily basis, many times hourly, the power and strength scripture is. I often remember the power and strength social media has, because that is the first thing I click to when I am waiting in line or sitting on my bed. What would my relationship with God be like if instead of opening up Snapchat, I dove into his word?    

Living in the world we do today, social media is our first instinct to gravitate to. I wish I could say I open my Bible at least twice a day, or even once. The hectic schedules, lack of sleep, and endless varieties of social media have clouded my mind and drive to open that mysterious book on my shelf. The mysterious book that holds the answers to how I can obtain the truest of loves. God is the truest of loves, because he is love. Love is real, and it is right underneath our noses… Say what?    

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4… Say what?    

Guys, this verse is indeed REAL. In this letter of James, beautifully written to show the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. Counting it all joy. I struggle with this as I am walking to class wondering why this campus is so large, and that I only have 10 minutes to get from point A to point B. Looking at hardships in your daily life, and seeing them as joy is not necessarily in our human blood. God knows that we are prone to sin, but when we do sin or come across a negative moment in our lives, he wants us to draw near to his everlasting goodness. Then when our eyes are fixed to his will we see JOY in our hardships. Trying to see the positive in a negative situation on your own is impossible, especially for me. Depending on my messy, sinful self to be guided through trials in my life has and will lead me to a dead end. GOOD NEWS.    

God sent his one and only son on the cross to pay for our past, present AND future sins. This allows us to have a personal relationship with god through Jesus. YOU are never alone! God is with you, for you, and forever cheering you on, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. I don’t know about you, but looking at myself in the mirror I am drawn to the negatives and the imperfections. Being a woman is hard enough with the society telling you you’re not good enough, but being a college woman is one of the hardest things that I have experienced. It’s hard with all the emotions, dealing with the dreaded phrase, ”so what does your future look like?”

These struggles are temporary. God is INTERNAL. His love is everlasting and unconditional. Grace, that we are freely given, even though we don’t deserve it, is poured out for those who place God in the center of their lives.    

We are his children. He looks at us seeing every aspect of our lives, even the parts we consider ugly, and calls us beautiful. He loves us more than we could ever imagine. With him, our lives are complete, lacking nothing. Though we sin, he reaches out to us with his outstretched arms, wanting us to come and follow him.        

The only thing I have to say is… Say what?