As I listen to people share their problems in life and read on social media the things people write about concerning their life, there is so much sadness, despair, fear, and bitterness in the world right now. Some of the bitterness is towards people but much of it is directed at God. As I listen and read there is one common mistake that everyone makes. They expect that God is going to give them a measure of pleasure in life, and when the storms come they shake their fist at God. The big mistake is they forget, I guess that is what happens, they forget that life is rotten on purpose, by God’s design, it is supposed to be full of trials so that we will grow in character, to be like Jesus Christ so that when we enter heaven we will be like Him, and therefore will enjoy Him and eternity to the max.

Weak character doesn’t like rapid change. We like time to adjust to change so we can be secure and comfortable. Now change is happening almost daily, and those with weak character panic, fear, make poor decisions, talk way to much, and react selfishly. So I am going to choose to pray a lot and ask God for joy, peace, strength, and wisdom. I am going to choose not to enter into negative conversations about the present situation and future fears. I am going to choose to be joyful always, not in a “head in the sand way”, but in a way that communicates faith in God. I will remind myself at least daily that life is designed by God to be hard, full of trials, and extremely difficult, and heaven is wonderful beyond comprehension. Those who will enjoy heaven the most are those who enter into glory with the character of Christ.

So many people believe that because God loves us He will keep us from hard times in this life. The truth is God knows this life is a blink of an eye in length and then we will be in eternity. We need to “set our minds on the things above, not on the things of this earth”. We need to anticipate and expect hard times and grow through them.