stand strong in your faith
“By standing firm, you will win your souls.” Luke 21:19 NLT
today I want to talk about faith! we’ll be referencing Luke 21:19, which I’ve written above. to give some context to this verse, Jesus was in the Temple speaking to his disciples about the future. the disciples were admiring the stonework of the Temple, when Jesus said that a time would come when the Temple are all things around it would be demolished. of course, the disciples were puzzled, in which Jesus brings some somber news. He discusses how war will come to that area, that his disciples will face persecution, betrayal, and even imprisonment! but he brings hope with verse 19, saying that “By standing firm [in your faith], you will win your souls.” standing in the shoes of the disciples, Jesus’s words certainly seem frightening, but it is made evident that faith is what will save them. although physical war on land over religion may seem outdated, we can still draw from Jesus’s words of comfort in problems that we face today, in the sense that standing firm in our faith is always a solution. are you struggling with friendships or relationships? stand strong in your faith. are you in an unhappy environment with your employment? stand strong in your faith. are you troubled that the world around you seems to be consumed with hate? stand strong in your faith. now, you may be asking, “well what does it mean to actually stand strong in my faith?” it’s a great question, because many people say that they are faithful but do not embody it due to unrealistic expectations. although my life hasn’t been long, I believe the greatest test of my faith came in my freshman year of high school. to make a long story kind of short, I had been approached by the girls’ basketball coach (shoutout to Coach Mason, someone who truly changed my life for the better) at my school and asked to join the team because of my height, despite never having played sports before. I ended up joining reluctantly, just to see where it went. I’m not going to lie, it was hard. never having done much physical activity, I found it hard to keep up with my other teammates, who could run across the court without getting winded, unlike myself. even my coach would refer to me as running like a “Flintstone” character as a little joke. it’s embarrassing to say this now, but I would actually come home from practice every day after being last in every run and just cry, praying that God would give me the strength to keep going and not quit. despite the tears, I kept my faith, believing that something good would come out of this apparent struggle. as the season went on, I persevered with blood, sweat, and tears and while those times are seen as some as the toughest of my life, they inevitably led me to one of my greatest passions - running. from trying to get in shape for basketball, I ended up joining cross country and loved running so much so that I ended up leaving the world of basketball behind. with running, I lost 60 pounds, made drastic improvements in my race times, earned two varsity captain roles, and completed two half marathons in a year, making me a changed person. through an apparent struggle, fueled by faith, came an evolution, an ever-present drive for success, and for that I am forever thankful. as I have matured in my relationship with God, I have learned that faith doesn’t mean that you believe that everything is going to work out perfectly when something goes wrong. I think that one of the biggest misconceptions when people become believers is that they think knowing God will automatically provide you with a perfect life, but that’s simply not true. having faith in your relationship with the Lord means that when troubles inevitably come, you believe that God will give you strength and lead you through. you believe that you are strong and able to walk through troubles with Him by your side! true faith equips you with live with an eager expectation in God’s destiny for you, allowing you to pursue the best version of yourself and all that comes with it. stand strong in your faith my friends, as God’s goodness will always prevail.
freshman year, clinging to my faith…
to now! expectant and eager for what God brings next ♡
