12/15/2007: "Down And Out"

No one ever said life was easy. A typical cliche that most likely doesn't give anyone any sense of relief. Many times all of us will go through some very good moments and some very bad or scary moments in our life. A lot of Christians believe the good times is when we should be thankful and the bad times is when we should persevere and stick to our faith in God to get us through it. For those that don't believe I imagine it's a bit more difficult as the extreme sense of feeling alone in the world probably doesn't help.

I can't say for sure whether God tests us at these times, I know he does test us in our lives but I'm not sure what all those tests are. Whether they be simply a test of good acts when we have the opportunity, whether we can handle tough moments without giving up on God, or maybe it's a combination of a lot of things.

It is true that the Lords sun and rain will fall on us all whether we are righteous or not, and many times when the rain hits, it hits hard. Sometimes everything is wrong and it doesn't seem like there is a ray of hope at all to get out of the mess you are in. But it's at these times I myself have learned to remain calm, in fact I'm almost more at peace during certain moments of difficulty, and the reason why is because in my short life so far I have come to finally realize that people out there care about me and love me. It's because of other's love for me that I feel calm that one way or another I'm going to get through this tough path I'm on and hopefully learn from it to progress further in life.

I understand a lot of people that have marital or relationship problems, money troubles, or worst case scenarios of death or crimes done against your family, it seems it's hard to be motivated to go on or even get a clear head as the stress is overwhelming. Take strength in the Lord though, for he knows your troubles and wants you to get through them. Nothing is going to remain bad forever, you have to believe that and know that someday, there will be no more struggle.

Don't ever lose hope, and work hard to get through your tough times, and treasure every minute of the good times, because compared to the bad the good always seems fleeting.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

"Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!"