Day One Hundred and Seventy-One.

Verses: "On God my salvation and my glory rest; He is my rock of [unyielding] strength, my refuge is in God."

Psalms 62:7 AMP

Hey everyone! Gosh it's been so long since I have written anything. First I want to say: I have missed you all so much! The second thing I want to say is I am so sorry I haven't been writing. The reason I haven't been writing is because I started working an internship this semester at my college. Now I work and do school and that is why I haven't written anything since June. But I am happy to be writing today because I finished all my homework and work this weekend. I can't promise how much I will be posting but just know I love you all and I will write when I can.

So now here is today's devotional.

Maybe right now, you are really struggling. Maybe you are struggling with stress at school and/or work. Maybe you are struggling with depression, anxiety, any mental illness, chronic illness, COVID, cancer, or maybe you lost a loved one. I don't know what you are going through but what I do know is: that whatever you are facing, you CAN and WILL get through it. Why? Because you have God on your side, and with God on your side, nothing is impossible! (Phillpians 4:13)

I know right now, I am really struggling mentally. I have been battling horrible depression for months now. I have been talking with both my therapist and psychiatrist. I have changed some of my medicine for my bipolar and depression. But now I just have to wait and pray that this medicine helps. Because right now I am fighting chemical depression which means I have to have a medicine change in order for me to get better. The hard part is finding the right medicine to help me. That's what I am facing but I do know that I will get through this. Even though my "this" is depression. I know I can get through it because I have God on my side. And with God on my side, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Matthew 19:26).

I don't know what you "this" is, but I do know and truly believe that you will get through it. Why? Because our God is mightier, stronger, and bigger than everything we will ever face on this Earth (Hebrews 13:8). So how do you get through whatever you are facing? You run to Jesus.

How do you run to Jesus? You run to Jesus by daily reading The Bible, praying daily, and worshiping God daily. Why is it so important to do all these things daily? Because just think about it, how much information do you read on your phone everyday? How much time do you spend on social media? If you are anything like me, then you spend a lot of time on your phone. You probably (like me) use your phone everyday. So if we use our phones everyday, why can't we pray, read The Bible, and worship God everyday? It's all about what's important to you. I know you are like me and you are busy. But somehow we always find time to play on our phones. So instead of playing on your phone for twenty minutes, or ten minutes, use that time to spend it with God.

Now I am sure you are wondering: "the Bible is so big, where to do I even begin reading?" My advise and what I read everyday (or most days. Remember we are human so we won't read the Bible everyday but it's important that we do it most days) is I start reading in Psalms. Psalms is probably my favorite book of the Bible because it's David's prayers to God. David has struggled with depression. In Psalms, David truly opens up about his struggling and I truly relate to what David writes. So start reading in Psalms, and also start reading in Matthew. Honestly, just pick a chapter of the Bible and just start there.

How do you pray everyday? You pray everyday just by throughout your day, talking with God. What's important to remember in with spending time with God, it doesn't matter how long you spend time with God. You can spend time with God for five minutes, but the important thing is the you are spending time with God. God doesn't care how long of time you spend with Him, what He cares about is your heart and the fact that you are spending time with Him. Because God loves you (Psalm 136:1) and He just wants you to spend time with you. Just like any other relationship in your life, you have to spend time with someone to get to know them, it is the same thing with God.

So how do you worship God? There are many ways to worship God, one of my favorites is turning on Christian Worship Music and singing along to worship God. That is one way, another way to do a gratitude journal where everyday you write down things you are grateful and thankful for and then praising God for everything you wrote down.

Long story short, no matter what you are going through, you CAN and WILL get through this (Psalm 118:6). Why? Because you always have God on your side, who will always be there for you and always help you (Psalm 121:1-2). So run to Jesus! (By reading His word, worshiping Him, and praying to Him.) He can't wait to see you and comfort you (Isaiah 49:13).

Prayer:

Dear God,

I pray that as I run to you by seeking you through reading your word, worshiping you, and praying to you that you come and help me. Please bless me with everything I need to be able to face the storm I am going through. Lord, I ask that as I seek you that I grow to build a strong relationship with you because I love you and want to be close to you. I am running to you Lord and I pray that you open your arms wide, love, and accept me. I thank you for the cross and for Jesus who died for our sins. I thank you for your grace, love, and mercy. I praise you because you are a good Father.

I thank you for all my many blessings and for Your Son.

In Jesus's name, I pray, Amen!

Thank you so much for reading! I love you all and hopefully I will be able to post again soon💗💜 I love you all💗💜

-xoxo Caty💗💜❤️🥰💚