In the “No Matter What” post  I talked about fully committing to my Faith journey. You can rest assured, I came to Faith with an abundant amount of questions, ungodly habits, problems and life issues. I was in my second marriage which was in trouble. I think it must be human nature to stumble along in life until we are in a place of desperation and THEN we turn to God. Oh God, I need you now! Help me and take my pain away. We want Him to take us out of the problem, to remove it or do something to fix the situation and make everything better. Sometimes He does. I have heard testimonies from people, who upon coming to Faith, had a craving or addiction completely healed, never to suffer from that problem again. It certainly is a miracle when God chooses to act in such a profound way. I am convinced He does so in love and mercy when it is for the good of the person. Generally there will be another area of their life God will use to grow their faith. I believe every thought and desire God has for me, and for you, are for our good. I have found, usually, God does not provide a quick fix. He chooses instead to give me just enough strength, enough encouragement, wisdom, insight and other tools I need to work my way through the life crisis. He knows we need to build our faith and learn to trust Him and his plan for us. He is the Master Potter molding us into his masterpiece. He knows how hot the fire needs to be, and how long to allow us to stay in life’s oven, to achieve the change and perfection he desires for our life. The Master Gardner nurturing us into a healthy and vibrant plant.

I was a smoker when I came to Faith. God did not zap me to remove my desire to smoke. Gradually I began to realize my habit did not please God, and I very much wanted to please him. Then I read in the Word that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to quit smoking. Still God did not remove my addiction to nicotine. I struggled along and eventually I quit. I recognized God had enabled me to stop. He received the recognition and Glory for what He had done in me, enabling me to overcome my habit. It built my Faith and trust in Him. There were numerous other pruning exercises God undertook in my life. I still need pruning from time to time.  This is the kind of scenario typical in my walk of Faith.

In my experience, there has not been any instance where God has left me to flounder on my own. He has walked through life’s situations with me. I have not encountered one experience where God’s dealings in my life were not for my good and well-being. He Loves me and is for me. He Loves you and is for you as well!  Psalm 57 NLT and AMP