30DaysOfBibleLettering - Round 4 Sample

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV

A few years ago, I moved to North Carolina to continue my schooling. I fell in love with the natural beauty and the people I had come to know. While living there, I began struggling financially and I prayed tirelessly for a better job so that I could stay in North Carolina. After constant job applications, it seemed everything was falling apart. I tried so desperately to stay, but I eventually ended up moving back to my home state. I was stressed out, frustrated and disappointed that what I had planned for my life was interrupted. 

Not even a month after I moved back home, I was able to get a job that paid well. A year later, I was able to move into an even better position helping me get back on my feet, and I became financially stable again.

Too often we live from moment to moment in happiness and our comfort, forgetting that happiness is only momentary. What happens when life takes a detour, leaving you in stress or heartache? Does that happiness still remain? 

Happiness is fleeting, but joy is eternal. If you are struggling today, be encouraged that God does not pick and choose our prayers. He is gracious and full of mercy. He knows our heart; our deepest needs and our struggles never go unnoticed. God may answer your prayer with a “yes.” But God may answer “no” and close a door, because He knows He has something so much better for you. If He is silent, be patient. In the waiting, God refines us and builds our character, shaping us for the next season He has for us. 

Prayer is not just asking God for a need. It is a personal dialogue between you and your heavenly Father, who loves you and knows what's best for you. This is the everlasting joy in the hope that we have in Him!"

by @remainauthentic