Finals. Guh.

Here are the facts: in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for our sins. Jesus died, was buried and rose again on the third day. God allows genocides, human trafficking, and depression to happen in our lives. Jesus Christ is coming back again to redeem His children!

Quite a way to start off my first blog, huh?

Isn't it great that God has done all these things? We can find peace and joy in all these things that God has done! Okay. Let's get to that third sentence already. I'm tired of beating around the bush.

Depression can damage a person from the inside out as well as the people around them. Human trafficking is one of the most disgusting things that takes place in our society today. Genocides are a back-hand, brass-knuckle slap in the face to humanity and ethics as a whole. But these things don't take place unless God allows them!

In Daniel 1:2, we see that the Lord gave the king of Judah as well as vessels of the house of God to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Quick note: Babylon was often used in the Bible as a place of godlessness (Revelation 14:8,17:5). So not only did God allow Jerusalem to be besieged, it just so happen to be by one of the most pagan countries in the Bible! Babylon was like that immoral kid a grade above you that always pantsed you in front of the cute girls and made you say how cool he was whilst projectile farting on your face! (Too graphic? Sorry. Build a bridge.) Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the smartest and best looking men in Israel to be brought in and taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Basically, it just wasn't a fun time for the Israelites. Their land was taken over by completely godless people and the smartest men in their country were forced to use their talents for purposes besides their own. They had no freedom at all. They even completely changed their names!

It's hard to look at the hard times we go through as joyous and peaceful, but knowing that God is letting it all happen can bring us peace! God is using this situation in Daniel to show how great and awesome He is. As much as Finals make me want to skin a cat and lock it in a gas chamber, I can still know that God is using all this stress, sleep deprivation, and failing grades for His plan and that He is in control!