If you are like me...

then you probably listen to music. Even sing along with it every now and then. And if you are like me, you may not often think about the lyrics of what you are singing, what they mean, and whether or not you mean them.

However! There was one night when I was thinking about the lyrics I was singing. They were, "There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning"

A variation is, "Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning"

So I was thinking about this, and my first thought was, "Do I actually believe that? When I am stumbling and tripping and afraid of the dark, in the dark, do I believe and look forward to the morning, when light breaks through and warmth surrounds me once more?"

That is also my question to you. (or, I would encourage you to ask yourself that, since it is phrased in the 1st person ;P)

The following is (sort of) my thought process....

Well, do I actually believe that? Do I believe that, though the sorrow may last for what feels like a very long time, that there will be happiness again? I would like to think that I do, but do I really? To be honest, I would say yes, but that is not while I am in the middle of the night, trying to stay dry during a storm. This is not when I am trying to resist the winds and storms of this life. This is when I am in a warm house, with a comfortable chair to sit on and food and water surrounding me. What else should I want?

So lets go to a time when things were not so hunky-dory. I was confused, sad, disappointed, and wondering what had happened. I was feeling alone. I wondered what had happened, how things had progressed to where they now were. I was glad to be alone, but I so desperately wanted someone to be with, someone to hold. But there was no one to hold. No shoulder to cry on.

I wanted to see the light of dawn. I wanted to behold the joy of His truth and love. I wanted so badly to be reassured that things would turn out ok. That things would turn out good. That things would get better than they were. But, as they say, it is darkest before the dawn.

You know, I don't think that is actually true. Just before the dawn, you should be able to tell that the sun is almost up, and you should be able to see that it is crawling its way up over the horizon. No, I think it is darkest when the sun is the farthest away. When the sun is on the completely opposite side of this planet. When we may have the light of the moon to see by, if we are lucky. That is when it is darkest.

It is interesting though. When the sun is literally the furthest away...it isn't much further away than it normally is. The distance from the earth to the sun is about 93 million miles. The diameter of the earth is (does a quick internet search...), at the equator, almost 8 thousand miles (7,926.28). (At the poles it is 7,899.80 miles in diameter. How about that.) So, when the sun is shining on the other side of the earth, it is only .0086% further than it is when it is shining on 'our side' of the planet. That is a pretty small difference. (yay maths!) Interesting, I find it, how our perception of things is not always accurate.

Long story short, things did get better. I realized that I do have friends I can hug and talk to and get advice and comfort from. I was reminded that God's grace extends beyond our brokenness. I have learned so much from that experience, and I have become much stronger because of it. I now know that things do get better, even when they feel like they have become the worst they can be. I have learned that I can go on, that I can keep on keeping on with the strength that God provides me. I have learned that when we are weak, He is strong.

So, I feel like yes, I can say that I believe that even when it is the darkest night, the sun will rise again in the morning. I believe that even though things will get bad, even worse than what I can imagine, they will get better, and even better than they were before. I am convinced that God works through all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. I know that even though I may not know what will happen, I know it will be good. I know that God is good :) and I am so thankful for His mercy towards me.

Romans 1

This may be more for you; it may be more for me. I don't really know yet. But I hope that both of us will benefit from this :)

I am using Biblegateway.com for reading different translations, and I am not planning on reading any extra notes. I'll let you know if/when I use some though ;)

NIV

1-6: The letter starts with Paul introducing himself, although he quickly moves on to what/Who is more important: God, and His calling on Paul's life. Paul starts off with what is most important; he has his priorities straight-God is first. I like that. I admire that. And I want that in my life. Do you ever think about that? Where should God be? And where is God?

11-12: I like that, "that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith." I think that is how spiritual gifts are supposed to work. One person, gifted by the Holy Spirit, uses their gift for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7) and it encourages others in their faith. Then the one who used the gift gets to see and hear others' excitement for God, and are mutually encouraged. I like that :) It reminds me of being at church and singing worship music. I quite look forward to singing worship music (now, that has not always been the case). It is wonderful to be reminded of who God is, and what He has done. It is great to hear others sing His praise and to feel the connection that is provided by the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3-6). God is so good :)

Verses 1-17 are all quite encouraging, I think. The compassion Paul has for the people is prevalent, and he is clear that his mission is to spread what God has revealed to him-that righteousness has come by faith through Christ. And this is good news :)

And then he gets into why we (humans) suck. Why we fail. Why we are evil in God's eyes.

18-20: Paul outlines why God has reason to be angry at people. Paul says that "what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to [all people]. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." 21-23:Even though it is clear that God is powerful and divine, we have still chosen to put something else above God in our lives. We think we know what we are doing, but we don't...we think we can live a life that is better if we choose our own way, but that is foolish, Paul says.

24: Ahh, this reminds me of a quote I heard recently by CS Lewis. I'll see if I can find it :) Found it! "There will be two kinds of people in the end: Those that will say to God 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God will say 'Thy will be done." In this verse, God says to the people, "Thy will be done." God continues to do this in the later verses...He lets us have our way...He lets us continue in our foolishness, in our lust, in our pride. And Paul ends it by saying that not only do we know that God tells us to do what is right, but that we approve of those who do wrong. We say, "Good show chap!" to those who deliberately choose to disobey God.

We know what is wrong. And we approve of it. We know it deserves death. And we pick it anyway. We choose death over life, because we have chosen not God.

Things are not looking so good for us humans at the end of this chapter. I hope you keep reading though ;)

Let's do Another Love Post

Alright so here goes something.

I don't think I have asked this yet, but how do you know someone loves you? Or, if you are not sure if you can know whether or not someone loves you, what gives you hints that someone loves you? If you prefer, what evidence is there that a given person feels love towards you? What is it that gives you reason to believe that a friend, family member, whoever it may be, loves you? Do you really believe it? Or do you just know that you are loved, and you struggle to believe that it is true?