Rough Road vs. Smooth Road

"The eclipse of your faith, the darkness of your mind, the fainting of your hope, all these things are but parts of God's method of making you ripe for the great inheritance upon which you shall soon enter. These trials are for the testing and strengthening of your faith—they are waves that wash you further upon the rock—they are winds which waft your ship the more swiftly towards the desired haven... By honor and dishonor, by evil report and by good report, by plenty and by poverty, by joy and by distress, by persecution and by peace, by all these things is the life of your souls maintained, and by each of these are you helped on your way. Oh, think not, believer, that your sorrows are out of God's plan; they are necessary parts of it. We must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom. Learn, then, even to 'count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.'" Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.

It is often easier to think that God is in control when things are going along as we would like, but then that would be our trying to be in control. Think back on your life, long or short, and look where you have grown the most. I would guess that it was not when times were easy, but when times were difficult.

Our resting and trusting the Father's care is where we need to be and when we finally realize that we are in no way in control and that we really are totally dependent on Him, that is when we finally can grow.

Piper said something to the effect of, it is not difficult to love the Most Lovely, trust the One Who is always faithful, delight in the One Who is Most Delightful, and this is what we are created to do. We just have to get up every morning and remember why we are here.

If the chief end of man is to glorify God and to love Him forever, praise should always be in our hearts and on our lips, no matter what the events of today might hold, and no matter what dark cloud we think we might see in the future. What is the worst that can happen; we die and go to Heaven?, which is actually the best that can happen. "Oh, noble and pleasant employment to be for ever gazing at our sweet Lord Jesus!" Spurgeon.

Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your Reward in Heaven.