it's always His glory. nothing less. nothing more.

As believers of our Jesus Christ, we tend to have the mindset that as God's children nothing will ever be unsettled in our lives and we'll never face trouble with the greatest enemy. How wrong that mindset completely is. As believers we should have the mindset that trouble will and does come our way, and that the greatest enemy is always lurking at our shoulder waiting to get his foot in our door.

As Christians, our lives are even tougher than an unbeliever's. Why? It's because the Lord abides in us and we must be accountable to Him as He is accountable to us. We have to rely on Him and not ourselves. And now we face an ongoing battle everyday with "self" and "flesh" and with the one enemy who wants nothing more than to destroy our lives. When we become children of God, Christ doesn't just redeem us and pour His grace on us, He abides in us like a lodger takes up residence in a house, and every time we do something wrong, that is harming Christ's residence. We defile His lodging. As His children, we should be blameless, holy, and righteous, and when we sin, we are trashing ourselves. I think of the passage in Matthew 21:13 "'It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'" We take up residence in His house, and cheapen it when we stray from the truth and live for self, which is so far from what a Christian is. Our walk with God is not an easy walk, but when you're walking with God, it is defeat on yourself and the enemy.

Christians have a hard time explaining pain. Sadness. Loss. Hardship. We tend to view it with hatred and rebuke. We look at Christ and feel sorry for ourselves as though He deserves us something. But the truth is, we deserve death. Hell. We should be grateful and humble to see that it is only by His supreme grace that we're alive and are His children. I don't think many Christians understand pain. In fact, it looks so unhappy, yet there is a happy in it. It's God's happy. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." - James 1:2 He isn't hurting us for the sake of hurting us, He's molding us for His good.Hebrews 12:10-11: "but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Unbelievers have the wrath of God on them, but believers have the mighty hands of God on them. He never promised us it would be easy, He just promised that He's be there. Hebrews 12:5-6 says,"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." He'll never stop molding us and using us. My opinion, there is different kinds of happy in every place our lives. It may feel like the worst thing to ever enter our lives, but there is a happy somewhere in it. The ugly always has a smiling face behind it. We tend to sit back and question God "Why, Lord?" But the answer is and always will be, it's all for His glory. Everything God does in our lives is not for our good solely, but for His glory alone. This world and our lives are not about us; it's about Him and His amazing glory and grace. The painful is all about His glory, our character and spiritual well-being, and His grace. This may seem unkind or like a ridiculous thought to hold onto, but there is happy in everything because nothing that enters our lives is by accident. It's His will and more importantly, His glory. "In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy." - 2 Corinthians 7:4