Accountability

The worst part about being an adult is being held accountable for our actions. When we make promises, or say we are going to do something and then break that promise, we hurt people. At the same time, we hurt God. I have failed at following through on my actions with Summer Project. I applied with a strong will in my heart that I would not let people get between myself and God. And yet, I have failed. May you seek Christ first as always the center of your life so that you may not make the same mistakes as I. Who am I without God?

2 Samuel 22:3

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
   my shield (sovereign) and the horn (strength) of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
   from violent people you save me. 

2 Corinthians 12:10

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (KJV)

Psalm 61

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
   I call as my heart grows faint;
   lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For you have been my refuge,
   a strong tower against the foe.

 ⁴ I long to dwell in your tent forever
   and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
⁵ For you, God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

 ⁶ Increase the days of the king’s life,
   his years for many generations.
⁷ May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;
   appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

 ⁸ Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
   and fulfill my vows day after day.

Anxiety

My skin tingles with the nervous anxiety before an exam. I need to do better, I need to pass. These thoughts take over my mind, cloud me from focusing. Last night I turned my thoughts over to God, with a clear conscious. This morning I did MUCH better than the last exam, but still below the class average in Biochem.

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

In order to do well, I must give my worries to God by having strength through him. By redirecting my thoughts to the things that are important, I can be happy. Giving of oneself yields a fruitful reward. For those of you who do not understand, I am not being hard on myself, I am freeing myself from anxiety through Jesus who gives me peace.

2 Corinthians 8:5-15
And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”