I love the sincerity and honesty of the Word of God!  I love the way it gets to the heart of the issue and shows us what we need in order to become better...that is if we let it.  Ya'll know I have some pet peeves and I am asking God to deliver me from them.  I am also asking Him to deliver me from those people who only seem to hear or read half the Bible.  They only read the part that talks about blessings and what God can do for them or the part that justifies their actions. Some how they miss the part that talks about what they need to do so they can get better.  Now don't get me wrong I like to hear about the blessings that God has in store for me but I am not naive enough to think that there aren't things that I still need to improve.  In other words, I haven't arrived yet. God still has to work on my heart.  He has to bridle my tongue on some days.  He has to humble me when I get too proud.  He has to remind me where my blessings come from. And His methods are not always ones that I would have chosen.  There are times He allows me to suffer.  He does what He pleases to bring about His desired result.  And because of this, I am very grateful.

How can I be grateful for suffering?  Because as I look back over my life and think about the way I used to be before I went through some things, I have to be honest with myself and say that I didn't like what I saw when I looked in the mirror.  My attitude was bad.  I was spoiled and always wanted my way.  I couldn't take any bit of pain.  I was always whining.  My mouth always got me into trouble. (Sometimes it still does...but I'm working on that.)   Now I try to see the lesson in everything that I go through.  I have no doubt that I will be better when it is all over.  I have learned the true meaning of the scripture in Hebrews 13:5 that God will never leave me nor forsake me.  Then the scripture goes on to say in verse 6, 'So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"  It is about having the confidence that God alone is sufficicient to care for all our needs.  And those needs are not all material.  Remember that prayer you prayed for peace and God showed you what it was like to live in total chaos, all stressed out and worried so that He could show you that He was the only one that could give you true peace and calm that storm.  You thought you were happy and then God had to take some things away from you to show you that you could, in fact, live on less and still have joy on the inside.  You prayed for patience and He took you through something that showed you how to wait.  That's the kind of God we serve.  You see, we don't always know what we need but He does and He knows how to get us to that end result.  The question of the day is will you take the long road or the short road.  The long road is you coming along kicking and screaming, bucking against God, repeating the same test over and over again.   Complaining and whining the entire time...WHY ME?  Why not you?  You accepted Him as your Personal Savior.  You said that you wanted to serve Him.  If you already knew how to get there why did you need God?  You could have just continued down the path you were on.  Instead you recognized that you needed someone to help you.  Nothing you had tried before could quite fill that void.  Since you know this then why not take the short road.  Instead of kicking and screaming, ask God for strength while in the storm.  Ask Him to show you the lesson you need to learn because when it is all over you will be closer to being like the Lord. 

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your Word. Thank you you for showing me the things that I need to change in my life so that I am a better servant for you.  Help me not to whine and moan through every little thing that comes my way.  I know you have my best interest at heart.  Thank you for caring enough about me not to leave me the way I am. I love you Lord.  In Jesus' Wonderful Name Amen.