Ouch!

These past few months have been very trying for me. I have had a nagging toothache for the last few months, but have not been able to do anything about it. There always seemed to be something that I felt was more important. My wife is expecting, my son needed glasses, and my daughter needed her tonsils taken out. But finally, I was able to get the tooth cut out. Praise the Lord! I feel the best that I have felt in a long time. Yet, as I think of the pain that I have had, and the trials that my family has faced these last few months, I find myself in awe of what God is doing in my life. You see, God uses a multitude of things to get our attention, or just to let us know that He is there. Sometimes good, and sometimes painful. This reminds me of one of my favorite verses, Romans 5:3-5. The Apostle Paul writes "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." God does not want bad things to happen to us, but sometimes He allows it to test our faithfulness to Him, just as He did to Job. However, instead of looking at how bad things are, or how they are piling up, think about how blessed you are. An old preacher from my youth once said, "Instead of counting all of your problems, try counting your blessings and see how long it takes you to feel better." When we look to God in times of trouble, we learn to persevere, build character, and gain hope for better things to come. For instance, getting rid of that tooth!

Thanks and God Bless You all this week!