“I have hoped for the best from God and have believed too in His love. That in everything that happens in my life, He ordains from up above, To Bless me.”
There are times in life when people are distracted by the world and lose sight of God’s love and wisdom. People are often distracted by worldly desires and self-pity.
“There are times when people say, ‘Why me Lord? This isn’t fair,’” said Pastor Johnson as he looked across the room. He then asked his faculty and staff, “Do we act like or think that God doesn’t see everything?”
“I forget that God is watching me and God will teach me a lesson in his own way and I will know and God will give me that signal,” said AUHS Director of Institutional Research, Sisi Chen.
God’s plan for us is beyond human comprehension. We may not know it is a blessing until it has come to pass.
“No matter what I do in my life, God already knows me and He already has a plan,” said AUHS Clinical Instructor, Kristen Soegeng, “He already knows what happens next and everything I go through is a blessing from God, whether I look at it as bad or good.”
There are times in life that people think that they know everything or that we know more than God but these individuals are mistaken.
“We have this tip of the iceberg view of what’s going on and when we say, ‘Why me?’ we’re not seeing what’s under the water,” said Dianna Scherlin, Provost, “We forget that we don’t know everything.”
Although we can never fully understand God’s plan, it is important to have faith and believe that He wants to bless his children.
“I hope for the best from God,” said Hai Luong, AUHS Admission, “A lot of the times we forget that God owns the whole universe. The bible says heaven is God’s throne and the earth is his foot stool.”
Humans try to get the good things from this planet but the earth is only God’s foot stool. Sometimes we just ask for too little, other times we expect for too little.
“Jesus says you do not have because you do not ask. Ask and you will be given. This makes me hope for the best in God,” said Luong.
Hope – She has taken refuge night the fireplace. Has found warmth right near your heart. She has determined to stay ‘til what was asked. Has not simply birthed, but starts.
There is hope because of God’s eternal love. Sometimes people’s hope is small and needs to be nurtured and protected like one would do for a baby.
“Hearth means heart. I think think this refers to how you find comfort in the hope that you have through God,” said Amarri Sanders, Student Success Coordinator, “This speaks out to me because when we’re scared and cold, we want that warmth and hope to protect us. You keep this hope near your heart like a baby and protect it.”
Despite the most desperate and helpless situations one may encounter in life, there is always hope because of God’s eternal love for us.
“Hope is always there. Sometimes it starts off really small but it manifests itself when you need it the most,” said Stephanie Lien, Librarian.
If there is no hope, then there is no life. Pastor Johnson told the room that his last sermon was about hope. He remembered how he saw that many of the parishioners sitting in the pews seemed to have lost hope.
“Once you get the point where you’ve lost all hope then you have lost everything,” said Pastor Johnson, “There are people walking around who are like the living dead because they have lost all hope.”
There are people that we, as fellow Christians will come into contact with whose eyes are open but their eyes are shut because they have lost hope in themselves and in God.
“It’s up to us as sons and daughters of the most high God to waken hope inside of them, to stir them up again, to rise up on their behalf to fight for them, to wield shield and buckler and spear and arrow so that we can slay whatever has
made them fall asleep and whatever that has taken their hope,” said Pastor Johnson.
Faith – I have faith in God’s promises. You see, I know His word is true. So no matter what I’m confronted with, the Lord will bring me through.
“Faith is everything as Christians. Faith is the motivation to keep going. Faith is the fire that burns within you that keeps you going, the determination,” said Sanders, “Faith is important when it comes to believing God’s promises, and believing the word that he speaks and that we read. I think that’s a core value in what we do in life, why we live and breathe.”
Not only is faith is essential in walking on the path of salvation but your intentions as well.
“It’s really important for anybody to have good intentions. Once you have good intentions and you decide to do a task then God will be with you,” said Aya Almukhtar, Admissions, “God promised that he will be with everybody regardless of your dreams or desires and He will help you through it.”
Almuhktar also discussed how trials and tribulations can be a blessing in disguise.
“Sometimes bad things happen to us because when we wish for something, we are attached to negative things and we don’t know it,” said Almukhtar, “ In order for us to reach our destination, we have to let go of these negative things. God will take the negative people, events and things from us to lead us where we want to be.”
Pastor Johnson offered his insight as to how God did not want to take things away but to give us more. God only wants to bless His children and we must have faith in His intentions.
“Sometimes God allows bad things to happen so He can bless us. We want to hold on to nickels and God wants to give us a dollar. We want to hold onto a dollar and God wants to give us a hundred. We want to hold onto small things, and our God is a great God. The gold and the silver are His,” said Pastor Johnson, “We’re sons and daughters of the most high God so our faith is in God’s faithfulness in His love for us.”
