He is There!
Hello! My name is Lauren. I attend Colleyville Heritage High School. I have been involved with Students Standing Strong for four years.
One of my favorite biblical stories is in Genesis 3. In short, God created a perfect world, placed Adam and Eve in it, and told them they were not allowed to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Falling into temptation, Adam and Eve ate from the tree bringing us to Genesis 3:8, a verse I relate to very much. “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the Garden”.
I’m going to be honest and say something that I have been afraid to admit for a long time: I am not perfect. Sometimes I forget to read my Bible, choose my way over God’s, and put my identity in the things of this world. When my sins are brought to my attention, my first instinct is to hide from God, as Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3:8. I want to go somewhere away from Him and somehow fix myself. A mentor once explained it to me like this: Our life is a clay pot that we have smashed. On our own, we try to pick up the broken pieces and mend the pot, resulting in a huge mess of Elmer’s glue and tears. However, when we give the broken pieces to God, He takes them and fixes the pot perfectly, making it into a beautiful masterpiece.
Sometimes I am afraid that my sins are too great. I think that if I am a Christian, I should not have to repent from my sins since I shouldn’t be committing them in the first place. So, I hide. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Did you get that? “He will not leave you!” No matter how many times you sin, how far in your walk with Christ you are, or where you come from, God will never leave! He is with you through the best and the worst of times. When I go to God with my problems rather than hiding and dwelling on them, I am freed! I challenge you to go to God with your questions, sins, and problems. He is there, waiting for you with open arms, ready to free you.
Blessings,
Lauren, Colleyville Heritage, S3 Student
God is Great! Keep up the great work!
Lauren, thanks for sharing. You are not alone! I really like the analogy of the broken clay pot. Let’s quit trying to hide and instead open our hearts to God as David did in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”