Chasing Assurance

Synonyms: word of honor, a vow…

Like most people, I think about what my life will be like in five, ten, and fifteen years from now. Where will my career be by then? Where will I be living? Thoughts of marriage, children, and everything else comes to mind. I get excited thinking about all of the possibilities, but it also freaks me out. The unknown. The fact that I have my life planned out all the way down to the color of my future bathroom tiles, and yet everything could end up completely different. 

This last year I found myself in the biggest “unknown season” of my life. I was denied admittance into every nursing school I applied for and as a result I convinced myself that becoming a nurse was not in my future. Yeah, God had something else planned for me, however, that was not a reality I wanted to accept at that time. I had worked towards this  career path for years, so to be denied the opportunity to graduate as a nurse broke my heart. My life was at a stand still, and I did not know what I would do next. 

For you, it might not be nursing school or career related, but there is a wide range of things you could fit into a similar scenario from your own life.

As much as I got tired of hearing the phrase, “Everything happens for a reason, God has a plan for you”, looking back I now believe there is nothing truer than that. For many of us, during  difficult situations in our lives there are times where this phrase just doesn’t make sense. We go through storms and seasons of brokenness, betrayal, the death of a loved one, or experience hurts, and as a result of those things all we can see is the chaos and all we can feel is turmoil.  It is difficult sometimes to pull ones self out of troubled waters, trusting that in time WE WILL BE OKAY. During seasons like this in my own life, it hasn't always been easy for me to believe that God is watching over me and would continue to do so through every second of my existence. Often times, my first reaction is to let my emotions get the best of me. I try to control things, not allowing God to take over. There have been moments in my life I didn’t understand why situations were happening the way that they were, and I've often found myself asking God, why? Why? Why? Why did this happen to me? Why did this happen to my family? Why did this happen to the person I love? 

Well there isn't always a concrete answer to this question, and we are human and therefore our emotions do get the best of us at times. However, no matter how long it may take for us to collect ourselves, God says to us all, “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."

A song from Hillsong United called "Take Heart" says it well:
There is a light
It burns brighter than the sun
He steals the night
And casts no shadow
There is hope
Should oceans rise and mountains fall
He never fails
So take heart
Let His love lead us through the night
Hold on to hope
And take courage again

This is where resting assured in who God is and His plans for our lives comes to life. Three months after finding out I had not been accepted into any nursing school program, I received a phone call from another University that had previously wait listed me. Their news? I had been admitted into their nursing school and if I accepted I would be starting in the fall. Looking back now as I prepare to begin this new chapter of my life, I want you to know that as big as the storm may have been, and as BIG as your storm may be today, dare to believe that God has something great for you ahead. As it says in Psalms 125:1:

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Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountain surrounds Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and FOREVER MORE.

Take heart, for God and His word are an assurance we can count on, and rest assured for His will to be done. 

Chaltu is a current undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Nursing. She is passionate about helping people and hopes a career in the medical field will give her the opportunity to provide optimal healthcare services to people from all walks of life. When she is not studying for school, Chaltu enjoys traveling, adventuring, spending time with her family, friends, and serving at her home church.