Fights of Faith

by Bella Bergman

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” –Exodus 14:14

God is constantly at work in my life. I know because of all the incredible things that have happened and are happening right now. God has blessed me in more ways than I could ever imagine and all the words of thanks in the whole world never be enough to express my gratitude to Him. He has given me the best family ever, friends I wouldn’t trade for anything, and the most amazing life in general. I couldn’t imagine life without God and I’m so lucky to be loved by Him.

Everyone has those times when things are too much, and we feel like we can’t handle it and just want to give up. I feel like that a lot, especially with school. Sometimes it can make me feel super distant from God because I think “Why would God give me all this stress when He says He loves me?” Even if I wanted to push God away during those times, I can’t. My verse reads, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” That’s exactly what He does. No matter what I am going through and how distant I may get from Him, He will never stop fighting for me. Nothing I can do or say will make Him stop fighting, loving, and caring for me. I can see God really fighting for me, especially during those times when I tend to shut people out and when things are not the best and seem like they won’t get any better. God gives me hope that things really will turn out better.

Growing up, I didn’t understand church and God like I do now. I knew that God created me. I knew Jesus loved me because we sang that song in Sunday School and my parents would tell me all the time that He did. I saw church as just the place we went on Sunday mornings to talk about Jesus. But now as I get older, I’m finally understanding who He is and how important He is in my life. I understand that it’s not just a song we sing in Sunday School; it’s true. He loves me with His whole heart. Now I see church not just as a place we go every Sunday but a place where I feel comfortable and safe knowing the sacrifice that was made for me. Church is where I grow in my faith as I learn about what happened years and years ago. I’m really finding myself through youth group, Confirmation, and engaging in the worship service. I have the most amazing bond with my Confirmation group and I couldn’t ask for a more fun group to go through the lessons with. We talked about a lot of things during Confirmation and usually ended up getting carried away, but we also talked a lot about God loving us no matter where we come from, who we are, and what we do.

God loves and cares for me so much that He will do whatever it takes to keep me all together. No matter what I do, He will never stop fighting for me. Though I may separate myself from Him and turn away when I need Him the most, He will continue to find a way back to me so that I can grow in a relationship with Him and live with Him for eternity.

Dear God, I pray that I will forever continue to grow in my faith with You right by my side. I pray for good times with the people I love. Also, Lord I pray for those who don’t know You yet, that they will find their way to You because You will fight for them. Thank you for everything you do for me even when I turn my back away from You. Thank you for fighting for me! In Your name I pray, Amen.