COMPASSION

Dear Christian teens,

In our daily lives we stay busy.
As Christ followers, we get so caught up in this fast paced culture that we forget to focus on our spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of those around us.
 We lose sight of the most important thing.

Focus.
The very essence of it is so great.
When it comes to glorifying God, it seems to be something so small and unimportant.
The very thought of the word is so frustrating.
In this culture, the meaning is a joke.
And now, we simply do not care.
Either we live too much in the worldly pleasures, or we look so deeply on what
"has to be done" that we forget God's mission.
Our relationship with Christ is so far from our minds that we forget what honoring Him is like.
We even forget to minister to others.
And most importantly, we forget to live out our own faith.

You're not alone.
I struggle with this too.
I'm pretty sure many of us do.
Focusing on God's love and not our "preferred love" is difficult.

But we have to overcome this.

1. We find a greater joy when we know that God's love is the ultimate gift.
2. His love and joy begins to overflow through our lives and we begin to leave behind our worries and anxieties.
3. God uses us in our right relationship with Him to glorify Him, and His kingdom.

How awesome is that?!
God will use you.
We've crossed that bridge, now let's look farther...
In this ministry, begin to look at others through Christ's eyes.
Look at the lost and the hurting with compassion.
Lose the selfish attitude and look outside of yourself!

I know it's difficult to love others through your own pain, but imagine what Jesus went through!
God will surely give you strength.
Let Christ soften your heart. Settle your yearning for love and trust Him.
He will give you such a great peace!
It breaks Christ's heart to even look at someone who is lost, just as it says in the Bible, it must break our hearts too.
I hope that you are able to let go of whatever you need to so that God can use you.
I pray that you will find God's unending love and that you will let His joy overflow through your life.
It breaks my heart to know that you are hurting...but know this:
He will care for you...just let Him.

sincerely,
                Sophie

LET HIM INTERFERE

trials.

depression and sadness. loneliness. hopelessness and loss.

an unending cycle of pain.
just when you think things will get better, the very fabric of your core joy falls apart.

Dear Christian teens,
Hope is not lost.
When you're in the very depths of despair, Jesus will enter your life...
you will find an imperfect but perfect peace.
Trust it.
Trust the peace He gives you.
The quicker you give your worries to God, the quicker you learn to surrender yourself,
and give all glory to Him.

Now wait.
Wait on God's plan, and enjoy His lovely gift of peace.
It may seem in this time of waiting, that God's voice is quiet, or totally silent.
Simply trust Him.
Know this: He is God...the winning God. He will help you win this battle of pain,
sadness, and hurt that you're going through.
When you put your hope, trust, and your whole heart in His hands,
you've already let Him win it.
So wait! Even if things don't work out in this life on Earth, know that there is a place,
a Home in Heaven, where God will conquer all your pain.

This is a time to grow.
Grow in Christ's love and joy.
I don't believe that becoming a Christian means that we'll always be happy.
In fact, a lot of times, we'll be quite the opposite.
We will be in the depths of despair. And we'll walk through the valleys.
As Christians, we should follow in Christ's footsteps.
And if we truly choose to, then we will be persecuted just as He was.
So what I'm trying to say is that we should always have joy. Even though we're not always happy,
let God's love radiate through you. Let it shine so brightly.
Grow in your Christ's joy.

Next comes this: learn patience.
In all of these challenges, I believe they are a way of God showing us a new perspective on His love.
A way of growth in our faith and a growth closer to Him
In every aspect of our lives, God will constantly be teaching us something.
Sometimes we can't always find the lesson from God above the surface.
Sometimes we have to dig so deep into the dirty real to learn more about our faith.
I encourage y'all to do that.
When you learn more about your faith, you grow closer to God, when you grow closer to God,
you find more peace and joy.
You find the precious bread of life.

Christians, let God interfere.
In confusion, we need to give up our worries.
Simply let it go.
Let God interfere in your life, in your heart, and in your mind.
When the people and the things of your life fall apart, let God interfere, and simply pray to Him.
When you know your heart isn't right with Him, and you've turned away from God, simply pray to Him...let Him interfere.
When your mind is filled with the world, simply pray to Him...let Him interfere.

Hope, Wait, Grow, Learn Patience, Let Him Interfere.

sincerely,
                   Sophie