Struggling

OK I have to be honest, I've really been struggling with my health. My knees hurt so bad I can hardly walk, I have had chronic ear pain for a year and I have low energy. It has been a struggle to get everything done for my health. I have literally pushed through everything. Sometimes without joy. So this morning, in my devotions, I found the following:

From In Touch ~ (April 2010)
Read Acts 14:21-22
If you want a meaningful life, you will at times travel the road of adversity. However, every hardship in your path has a specific purpose. Our Father allows pain and trials into His good plan for our life (Rom 8:28).

When we are facing dark times, the first word that comes to mind is usually Why? God welcomes our questions but challenges us to obey Him, even when we don't get answers (Prov. 3:5-6). In fact, we may have to wait months or years before knowing the purpose behind a trial. Sometimes the answers don't come at all in this lifetime.

Joseph spent 13 harsh, dark years in Egypt. He faced betrayal, separation from loved ones, and culture shock followed by slavery, false accusations, and prison time. His only evidence of a sovereign, loving God was that he consistently prospered, even during times of trouble.

Everything Joseph endured prepared him for a job as Egypt's Prime Minister. While still a boy, he learned the language, culture, and mindset of a foreign nation. Moreover, the man who emerged from hardship was the Lord's disciplined, faithful servant. In the end, Joseph was positioned to save more than a country; he rescued God's chosen people - the family tree of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Living in the center of the Lord's love doesn't guarantee an easy, pain-free life. In fact, the opposite is true. God loves believers so much that He conforms each one to His Son's likeness through any means necessary. In His expert hand, we become servants whose victories and trials glorify Him.

Then the next thing I came across in my devotionals was this from New Day New You by Joyce Meyer.

This Too, Shall Pass
In this life whatever exists now, or will exist in the future, is not permanent but temporary. The good news is, no matter how dismal our current situation or outlook, we are assured by God, "This too, shall pass."

Life is a continual process in which everything is constantly changing. If we can grasp that truth, it will help us make it through the difficult times in which we find ourselves. It will also help us not to hold on too tightly to the good times, thinking, If I ever lose all this, I just can't make it. God wants us to enjoy all of life ~ not just its destination but also the trip itself.

I am choosing to enjoy the trip ~ How about you?

Hugs!