JACKSON, Tenn. — Oct. 19, 2016 —
Noe Garcia encouraged students to choose joy during the first Faith in Practice chapel Oct. 19.
鈥淐hoose joy in spite of your circumstance,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 control your circumstance. You can control your perspective that God is still on the throne.鈥�
Garcia is the senior pastor at North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, and is leading the Faith in Practice chapel series this year. His first lecture was titled 鈥淭he Strength in Our Pain鈥� and was based on James 1:1-4. He said God uses circumstances and trials to grow his people and allows pain in their lives to bring about his purposes.
鈥淚鈥檝e realized in the brokenness of pain is where I met my savior,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淭he sweetest moments of my life are in the midst of brokenness.鈥�
He said many Christians want spiritual maturity without spiritual labor, and one cannot be had without the other. He said trials expose faith, and the greatest ministry often comes from the greatest pain. Spiritual pain is often the path to spiritual growth.
鈥淵our pain is not in vain,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淕od will not waste a tear. God will not waste a hurt. God will not waste experience.鈥�
Garcia said God always has a reason and a purpose behind trials, and they are not always obvious. He said it is important to remember that God is present in pain and that the presence of pain is not the absence of God.
He said Americans live in a world of instant gratification, and it is hard to look beyond circumstance. He said this is why it is important to differentiate joy from happiness.
鈥淗appiness is based off your circumstance,鈥� he said. 鈥淛oy is the internal hope that cannot be taken away.鈥�
Garcia said when Christians focus on the mountains in their lives, they lose sight of the God who moves mountains.
鈥淭he challenge is not necessarily our circumstance,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he challenge is our focus.鈥�
He said trials can take many forms, and they are different for everyone, but God鈥檚 love is constant, and his faithfulness is never dependent on anyone else鈥檚.
鈥淚n the midst of a trial, focus your eyes on him,鈥� Garcia said.
Garcia will give two more chapel addresses in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel as part of the Faith in Practice series. The second, titled 鈥淒ating Sin,鈥� will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, and the third, titled 鈥淭he Poser and the Doer,鈥� will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21. The series will also include a Spiritual Leadership Summit BBQ on the patio of the Bowld Student Commons at 5 p.m. Oct. 20.