Throughout my life, I keep thinking to myself it would be so much easier to just have huge arrows and signs telling me what to do. It would be so much easier reading those signs telling me what to major in, crowd of friends to follow, college to attend or guy to be with. But with that being said, I would probably not be the person I am today because each one of those issues has led me to some type of trouble or obstacle that I have overcome. Now, wouldn’t life be perfect if you had no worries or troubles? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just live, and go with the flow without any consequences or decisions to make? Well, this past weekend at church taught me a lot about how to face my troubles, or "my blitz" in life.
A former NFL quarterback spoke at our church this past weekend, and instead of calling his problems “troubles in life” he called them “facing the blitz,” which is a football term. He went on explaining his personal troubles, and how God has helped him out tremendously through everything. Now, I don’t want to ruin his whole story for you because if you're interested, you should think about purchasing his book, called "Facing the Blitz," by Jeff Kemp.
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The reason this man had such an impact on my life was because, at times, I do not know the right way to face my problems. I do not know how to go about dealing with family and relationship issues, whether it be with friends, siblings or my significant other. This man not only put everything in perspective for me, but gave me valuable advice that I will be using throughout my daily life.
There have been times when I just wanted to throw my hands up and give up on things I didn't understand, along with people that I tried to help, but didn't seem to care or try to better their life. There is nothing more frustrating than putting your all into something, and not getting the results that you wanted. This has happened to me so many times, and during these times in the past, I found myself getting angry at God and turning away from him. Well, Mr. Kemp put it all into perspective with one simple scripture he shared, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 NIV). This scripture threw me back because I am the type of person who does not understand why bad things have to happen, and how a bad outcome can turn into something good. Then, as I looked back on every obstacle and trouble I have faced in life, it was true.
In high school, everybody has that significant other they feel they are going to be with the rest of their life, but when reality hits, and you go off to college and break up, you think your world just fell into pieces. This was me at one point in my life, but then, going into my junior year of college, I met the love of my life and realized why it never worked out with anybody else. The reason for that was because God created this amazing man for me already, and He was just leading me to him.
This goes for some of my friendships, as well. I had a close-knit group of friends going through high school, but the longer I was at college and away from them, we lost contact, and I was devastated. Once again, I was heartbroken and stressed out. Then, once again, God spoke to me with a scripture that said, “Don’t be fooled. Bad friends will ruin good habits. Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34). With my old friends, I was not the person I wanted to be. We all had different opinions and ways of life, and even though I know it is good to have other opinions, it was not the life I wanted to think about living. Then, the people I met in college led me to a group of friends who turned into another family for me and are now my best friends. They not only bring out the best in me, but they are the type of people I can call, whether it be 4 P.M. or 4 A.M., and know they would pick up and talk to me.
So for you guys out there who are going through your own troubles, just remember it will get better. These obstacles that you are facing right now are going to lead you to something better in life. No matter how big or small your problems are, and no matter if you go to church every Sunday or every once in a while, just know that God has a plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11).
