Phillippians 3:13-14,16

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.  Phillippians 3:13-14, 16

I guess that's why we keep going.  Not that times are easy or hard.  Not giving up despite circumstances.  To keep doing what we know we should do.  To keep moving forward.

Life is not easy...nor were we ever promised it would be easy down here.  If it were all fun and games and no challenge, we would have no reason to ask for God's help and no reason to look forward to eternity with Him in heaven.

But even in all the challenges and the daily grind, we know that God is in charge/in control.  That nothing happens that He hasn't okay-ed or allowed.  It is for our growth.  To teach us.  To make us more like Him.

"If we could summarize the primary message of the book of Job, it's this:  Life is full of problems and pain; questions are all right, and so is the occasional ranting and raving, but don't grow bitter and never throw away your faith.  All these things will work for good and God will turn it to gain as we keep our eyes locked on Him and walk by faith, not by sight."  p192 (The Promise by Robert J Morgan)

"Our testimonies are forged and crafted in the trials of life, our pain has an evangelistic purpose, our problems become His pulpits, and the things that happen to us turn out for the furtherance of the gospel." p. 184 (The Promise by Robert J Morgan)

"Problems dislodge our core of self-sufficient pride, drive us to the Lord, teach us humility, and enable us to trust Him with our cares.  In the process we learn that it is for our benefit that we are afflicted." p165  (The Promise by Robert J Morgan)

So, we need to change perspective.  We need to become thankful for the hard times b/c it is in those times that we are most prepared to reach out to others.  We watch God and all He is doing and get excited to share all that He does.  It stretches us and makes us count on Him.  It makes us, a little more every day, into the people that He knows we can be and wants us to become.

written 5-26-11