Driving the Grump Truck: God is good ALL the time

Joshua 1:9 - "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Oscar the Grouch ain't got nothing on me lately. I have lulled myself into the mindset that I deserve to be heatlhy and when I am not, that I deserve to go to the doctor and he will give me the means towards feeling better. If I will myself through exercise, diet, lifestyle change, etc. I should be able to make myself feel better, right? But no where in that scenario am I leaving room for God to work. Each time this happens, I am left with shattered expectations and hopelessness begins to set in. I have been to countless doctors appointments recently and none of them have yielded satisfying answers or promises of a cure. A friend sent this excerpt to me today and I must admit, I am ashamed to say I have not been faithful in my dependence on God, but failing horribly on my own strengths. What joy I "should" be experienceing through these opportunities, to rely totally on my Savior, and watch through His faithfulness as He provides in better ways than I could ever imagine. It is so irritatingly (yes that is now a word) true when I am told time and again that I have this disease to bring God glory. It is my calling. I choose to submit today to His will and not my own.


Excerpt from My Utmost, Oswald Chambers
. . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . —Ephesians 1:18
Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be
manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total
energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election
as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may
come your way.
You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do
something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which
God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech,
your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it
“out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on
having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and
sanctified you.
God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life
to see if you can jump over them properly—”By my God I can leap over a
wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements
of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not
think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as
though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” Rise to the
occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much
it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life
of Jesus in your body.
May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a
readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of
life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of
our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never
dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on
God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us
what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and
poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.