Life Won't Always Be A Bed Of Flowers!

Flowers: a state of blooming or flourishing

I was sitting outside this evening just admiring God's beautiful creation and I began to think about all of the things that are going on in the world today and about the path that God has set out for us. The fact is that the path that God has for us won't always be smooth - it's not likely to be a path free of obstacles and set backs.

We often think that just because we're Christians, everything in our lives is going to go smoothly. My friends, God didn't promise us a smooth path. However, He did promise that He would never leave us or forsake us - which means that He's with us even in the tough and rocky times, just as He's with us doing the smooth times.

In times like these, we have to remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So while we can't move the obstacles or avoid the setbacks, we can find strength and encouragement in the Lord and His word. Hebrews 13:5 tells us, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." It's imperative that we continue to be prayerful and share the love and the word of God with others - for that's how we get and share strength.

I'm beginning to understand that these circumstances are not reasons for us to lose faith and hope in God, but instead, we should draw closer to Him, because it's in these times that God wants to carry us, so let's draw closer to Him. He also said that goodness and mercy would surely follow us all the days of our lives, which means that He's there in the good times and the bad times (all the days of our lives).

Saints, we serve an awesome and powerful God! Remember, what James 1:2 says, "count it all joy." Please notice that the author didn't say that only great things would happen to us, he simply said count it all joy, so that lets us know that although life may not always be blooming or flourishing, if we count it all joy, that joy will be the strength we need to survive anything the world throws our way!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!