Ten Reasons to Hope when your Hurting…

1. God is truly in control. If God is God, then nothing happens apart from His knowledge and permission. While it is difficult to imagine why God allows some painful things to happen, His character, revealed in the Bible and through the testing of generations, leads us to the conclusion that He is willing and able to sustain you during the worst of times. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead (2 Corinthians 1:8,9).
   
2. There is an eternal life to come. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the Glory He will give us later (Romans 8:18). He will keep you strong right up to the end, and He will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns (1 Corinthians 1:8).
   
3. The story isnt finished yet. Time after time, the Bible records hopeless situations that ultimately ended in victory. Think of Jobs sickness, Josephs betrayal by his brothers, Davids adultery, and the many who were healed in mind, body, and spirit. But Joseph told them, Dont be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50:19,20).
   
4. God has not given up on you! Dont give up on Him. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11).
   
5. There is likely purpose in your pain. Ask God to reveal His purpose in allowing this difficulty in your life. Thats a legitimate question to ask. Often, the answer comes in the process of dealing with your circumstance. Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything (James 1:2-4).
   
6. You are loved! Even the most unlovable person in the world is actually loved so much by God, that He let His Son die a terrible death to restore their relationship. God does love you! He sees your pain and weeps with you. He has sent Me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent Me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lords favor has come, and with it, the day of Gods anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for His own glory (Isaiah 61:1-3).
   
7. Your prayers are heard. You parents if your children ask you for loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him? (Matt. 7:9,10)
   
   
8. You are not facing this alone. For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. That is why we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (Hebrews 13:5,6)
   
9. Others have made it through you can too. Try to connect with others who have gone through similar situations. You will find hope, strength and encouragement. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
   
   
10. Reach out to someone else whos struggling. Place your focus on someone else and invest your life in him or her. You may discover that your peace of mind is found in being a source of hope for another. All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us (2 Corinthians 1:3,4).

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faith?

FAITH. sering banget gak sih denger kata ini. iman. kepercayaan. entah apalah orang mengartikan kata FAITH ini. dan, mm.. beberapa waktu yang lalu gwe menulis di status bbm "Faith. that's all what you need". setuju gak ama pernyataan gwe barusan yang terlintas di kala gwe lagi nyapu, ngepel, dan beresin satu rumah?

Iman, alias FAITH, dibutuhin banget saat kita gak punya bayangan apapun tentang sesuatu. iman dibutuhin banget saat kita mulai goyah, dan gak tau arah tujuan. bener gak?

sering banget kita denger kata "keep the Faith" terlontar buat mereka yang lagi ada masalah, buat mereka yang lagi 'rapuh', buat mereka yang lagi 'capek'. karena menurut gwe, cuma iman yang bisa bantuin kita untuk berdiri. di kala harapan membuat kita ingin melangkah, dan cinta mendorong kita untuk kita tetep bergerak dan maju.

keren gak analogi gwe? :p FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.

hm, menurut gwe..

semua butuh iman.

butuh iman buat percaya kalau Tuhan itu ada.

butuh iman buat percaya kalau masa depan kita di tangannya Tuhan.

butuh iman buat percaya kalau orang tua kita sayang kita apa adanya.

butuh iman buat percaya kalau semua hal yang terjadi masih dibawah kekuasaan Tuhan.

butuh iman buat percaya kalau kita gak sendiri.

butuh iman buat percaya kalau kita berharga.

butuh iman buat gak mempercayai omongan orang yang bilang Tuhan itu gak ada.

butuh iman buat gak mempercayai omongan orang yang bilang kalau kita jelek,

butuh iman buat gak mempercayai omongan orang yang bilang kita gak berharga.

butuh iman buat gak mempercayai omongan orang yang bilang "SEMUA CUMA KEBETULAN"

iman, menurut gwe, gak boleh tergantung sama situasi. kalau lagi ada masalah, dan yang dilihat adalah kiri kanan kita, seriously, iman gak akan bertahan lama. gimana kita bisa beriman kalau kita berharga, disaat kita sering diolok, diejek, diputusin (berkali-kali), dikhianatin, dan dicuekin, dan yang kita lihat disaat itu adalah sekeliling kita, yang pada akhirnya cuma bisa bikin kecewa.

iman itu adalah, lihat ke Atas. lihat ke Tuhan. apa yang Dia bilang. apa yang Dia janjikan.

ya, dan lagi-lagi, untuk percaya apa yang Dia bilang dan Dia janjikan, butuh, iman. pada akhirnya, semua cuma tentang iman. it's all about FAITH.

pertanyaannya cuma satu, kemanakah iman kamu ditujukan?

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stop mengasihani diri sendiri..

beberapa hari yang lalu gwe sama nyokap sama temen gwe makan di suatu rumah makan gitu, dan disana tiba-tiba, lupa karena apa, nyokap sama temen gwe jadi ngobrolin sesuatu yang panjang, dan gwe lupa mostly tentang apa, tapi gwe inget, inti yang gwe dapet dari pembicaraan itu ialah.....

nyokap gwe gak suka dengan orang yang suka menangisi dan mengasihani dirinya sendiri.

apa tuh maksudnya?

maksudnya, nyokap gwe paling sebel liat orang nangis-nangis dengan alasan sepele.

semacam patah hati, putus cinta, dan bahkan sakit.

pas nyokap ngomong gitu ke temen gwe, gwe agak menyipitkan mata sih.. alias agak ga setuju, wong kalau patah hati, sakit, boleh dong nangis... ya, asal jangan lama-lama nangisnya..

gwe dibesarin di keluarga yang bisa dibilang cukup keras, gwe jarang banget memperlihatkan air mata gwe depan mereka, jarang banget mewek-mewek, manja-manja sama mereka, mungkin karena satu hal itu, nyokap gak suka gwe jadi anak manja.

dan, mungkin kegaksuka-an nyokap itu terimpartasi ama gwe, sekarang gwe mulai agak gerah ngeliat orang yang suka mengasihani dirinya sendiri, paling gampang ngeliat orang yang bertipe kayak gitu di twitter. mereka yang ngetweet most of the time ngeGALAU, ngerendahin dirinya sendiri, ngerasa gak oke, bahkan ngetweet banyak banget tentang kalau dia sakit, gak enak badan lah, apalah, langsung di tweet atau disebarin ke semua orang. gwe gak bilang salah loh, tapi itu ganggu banget kalo MOSTLY, MOSTLY tweetnya tentang menggalau dan ngasihanin diri sendiri.

bukan berarti gwe udah sempurna dan gak pernah galau atau sakit dan mewek-mewek.. skali dua kali boleh lah loe bilang orang-orang kalau loe lagi sakit, lagi sedih, atau kecewa, tapi... ya gak setiap saat juga kan?

ketika loe sering banget ngemanjain diri lo sendiri, ngasihanin diri lo sendiri, kapan dewasanya? dan ketika elo sendiri bahkan menganggap diri lo lemah, gimana orang mau respect dan menganggap loe kuat? kalau lo bahkan menganggap diri lo sendiri gak berharga, maka itulah yang bakalan diliat orang lain tentang lo.. mau dicap orang lain sebagai makhluk tak berharga? padahal Pencipta kita jelas-jelas udah bilang kalau kita berharga dimataNya.

yuks ah, stop mengasihani diri sendiri, stop nganggep diri sendiri jelek, stop bilang kalau kita gak berharga, stop nangisin cowok yang bahkan nganggep kita sebelah mata. stop stop stop. :))

buat siapapun yang kadangkala merasa gak berharga, termasuk gwe mungkin,

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