A couple of months ago NASA launched the LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) to the moon. At first glance this mission would seem like any other NASA spacecraft, launched into space to live out the rest of it's days orbiting earth or one of the planets or moons of our solar system, gathering scientific data and broadening our understanding of the heavens.

There was one slight difference in this mission, a part of the craft, the Centaur module, was not destined to live out the life of a normal spacecraft... no this module was smashed into the surface of the moon.

Why this seeming waste and meaningless destruction you might ask? Why spend millions of dollars to lift this module to the incredible heights of space only to let it crash and break on the surface of the moon?



Well, there is a reason. The people at NASA knew this reason from the beginning. However before I tell you the reason behind the crash landing of the Centaur module, I'd like to point out something that God has been teaching me and kind of relates to this...

Recently God has been showing me how far i fall from the mark of who He wants me to be (aka more like Christ). I need to be broken down more before He can use me as He see's fit. In some ways my life has felt kind of like a NASA mission gone desperately. Which you may think of LCROSS at a glance...

Perhaps this is where life finds you too.. like a spacecraft that just slammed into the surface of the moon... and all that is left is the pieces and a crater in the middle of a barren wasteland. Whether it is relationship or family problems, or perhaps the consequences from a life of poor decisions, or whether you just feel lonely, whatever the reason, whether it's your own fault, or something out of your control you feel broken and alone...

... and feeling broken is never easy. Feeling separated from everything you ever knew is hard. These feelings are especially hard if it is your own fault that you are where you are. As down as things are seeming right now my purpose in writing is to give hope to anyone who is feeling broken or alone.

I can tell you for sure that the Centaur module never knew that it would end up in a million pieces... you probably feel this way too. The only reason i can give you a message of hope out of all of this is because of God's Word (aka the Bible), If you are a child of God, if you have ask Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and give you a new life then His promise is that everything happens for a reason...

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28

If you are not a born again Christian then I challenge you to look into the teachings of Jesus and see for yourself what it means to follow Christ, I warn you this is not an easy road (Luke 9:23)...

If you are a child of God then think about the promise of Romans 8:28, ALL things work together for good. This means that no matter what the circumstances that you are facing God has a plan (and HIS plans are always good! Jeremiah 29:11).



Well, to get back to the LCROSS mission, the greater plan behind the "crash landing" of the Centaur module was a very specific plan. Actually scientists at NASA were planning to use the remote sensing satellites in orbit around the moon to observe the plume of dust created by the impact of Centaur.

The goal behind these observations was specifically to look for life sustaining water that could be present on the surface of the moon or hidden just below the surface. If it were not for these observations it might be impossible for astronauts to ever find out whether or not they might be able to one day establish a permanent base on the moon.

Similarly though I do not know the specific reason for the season of pain or loneliness that you might be in right now, I do trust that God is just behind the scenes working out a plan that you might not ever know fully until heaven.

For me personally I am sure I will never fully know why God allowed things to seemingly fall apart but I have been slowly learning that God has been allowing me to be broken down for several reasons... first because of the big changes that I have gone through over this past year God has shown me several strongholds of sin that need to be rooted out. specifically, I have discovered that I can be a very critical thinker of the people around me (though i don't usually say anything), and God has been teaching me that I need to focus more on the positive things in others (please pray fro me in this area!) in addition to this I think that God has allowed me to go through some of these things so that I can be a comfort to other people who might be going through similar difficult times (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

My last words of hope are to point you to the following passage from 2 Corinthians chapter 4...

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

A clay jar can be broken (just like a NASA spacecraft) but if it is and there is treasure inside then there is an opportunity for this "treasure" to come out. For the Child of God we have a chance to let the Light of Christ's Love shine out when we are broken! So yeah, if you find yourself lonely or broken or just in a painful or confusing time of life,

1. Remember that God has a GOOD plan for His children (Jer 29:11, Romans 8:28), even if you do not see it right now, just like the scientists had a plan for LCROSS all along.

2. Take some time to ask God to help you shine through the difficult season (and please ask the same for me too!), and to be a source of life giving data, like LCROSS is in the search for Lunar water.

I did not write this devotional but I found it to be a very encouraging reminder, I hope that you do too!
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READY:
“…God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
-Hebrews 13:5b

SET:
Recently, I was serving as a course marshal for my school's cross country meet. That basically meant that I stood at a certain place and made sure the runners went the right direction. The high school students had to make three laps, so I saw all of them three times.
One particular runner was fourth-from-last on the first lap. On the second lap, he was last, and I thought there was no way he would even finish. He was struggling to breathe with each step he took. On the final lap, as he approached me, a man from the sidelines joined him and completed the race with him. The man was definitely not dressed to run as he was in street clothes, yet he stayed with the runner to the end. Perhaps without the man running beside him, this runner might not have finished.

After the race was complete, I saw the man and asked if he was the coach. He said, “No, I am his father." As I reflected on his comments, I thought, "What a great example of what my heavenly Father does for me." When I am gasping for breath, struggling with each step, my Father is running with me to encourage me each step of the way.

GO:
1. In life, do you ever feel like this runner?
2. Do you believe that God is with you at all times?
3. Do you have Christian brothers and sisters in your life who can encourage you in tough times? If so, how does that help you realize God’s presence in your life?
4. How can you encourage someone today who is struggling?
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Honestly it is things like this reminder that keep me going at this stage of life. Very thankful for a God who will never forsake me and for brothers and sisters in Christ who are there too!