romans 8:28

Lately I've been really discouraged. My short-sighted human vision has left me wondering what in the world God is doing. Its been a week of confusion, screw ups, and humility. But in all of this, God gave me comfort in a few things:

1. Once again, the story of Joseph blows my mind. I'm sure he had no idea what was going to become of his life when he was in a pit, on a slave caravan, in prison. Through all of his struggles, he found a way to trust and obey a God he knew little about. Its amazing to think that he followed and believed in God solely through the visions He gave to him, and I can't even trust God when I have a Talking Book and thousands of theological works at my disposal? Pretty humbling. And I'm pretty sure this means God's got my back, even when I don't see the big picture.
2. Back in middle school when I was having issues with girls at school, my mom gave me a little card (that I still have to this day, by the way; and found it today cleaning out a desk drawer). Inside the card read "When things get a little hairy, just remember God promises to work all things together for our good!" along with Romans 8:28. Not only was that encouraging then, it was still encouraging 6 years later. Thanks mom (:
3. Romans 8:28 is one of my favorites as it is. But my favorite is the Message version:

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (8:26-28)

I just love it when God uses His words to speak to us over and over again in different and new ways each time. He is so creative and loves it when we experience Him with fresh insight.

So there you have it. I keep praying that God will show me what to do and where to go, but all He can say is to trust Him. But in the end, thats all that matters anyways.