Problems.... adversaries...... Christians are without them.

Impatience is seizing God's means and substituting my own. Patience means to wait on God's promises of every tasks, trials and activities in my life until it is His time to act and in His own will, not mine. Waiting impatiently precipitate the action on my own, not God's which means I am using my own resources rather than the Holy Spirit's resources. James 1:4 states that "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Later in James 1:12 states "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to thoe who love him." "How does God want me to respond to this situation?" Faith always pleases God, because it comes to grips with our own reality. Christian who have faith understand the reality of their lives. Faith in God allows us to go as far as we can while trusting in God's grace to overcome the difficulties we face. God is asking us to stay strong in faith, keep at it, to carry on, to stick with it, as we trust in HIS possibilities. Those of us who are struggling with various circumstances including physical disabilities, we are not alone because we are struggling along with God's energy, which so powerfully works in us. For it is God who is working in us to will and to act according to His good purpose. He is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. God wants us to take joy over our circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Sorrow is a healthy and natural human emotion. Dwelling on your sorrow is not healthy and it is actually sinful because it is related to selfishness (self-pity). In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God said: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. God can only use believers who have limitations, which are weaknesses that the believer inherited or has no power to change, such as a physical disability or an emotional disability or or an intellectual disability. This is God's design, and it pleases Him to do so. Our strengths create competition, but our weaknesses create community. How have you viewed your weaknesses to this point? What weaknesses and/or past experiences do you need to be honest and open about in order to help others? “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.” I Peter 4:10 (NIV) Be the person who faces the circumstances as spiritual challenges and glorify God for giving you strength. What is crucial to true success and accomplishment is having the right motivation and being faithful to God. This will result in God's approval of our lives, in His blessings and undertaking, and in spiritual growth and fruitfulness. Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV) For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 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. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Phillipians 2:13 (NIV) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV) We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. Quotes: "God wants us to lay our burdens on Him and rest in His love. It's His responsibility to work out the purpose and plan in our hardships. Only our refusal to trust Him....can hinder His purposes in our lives." Joni Eareckson Tada "God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to Him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character." Joni Eareckson Tada One thing we may be sure of, however: For the believer all pain has meaning; all adversity is profitable. There is no question that adversity is difficult. It usually takes us by surprise and seems to strike where we are most vulnerable. To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but to God none of it is either senseless or irrational. He has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives. We can be sure that in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory. Jerry Bridges Navigators "Suffering drives us to our knees in weakness, where God wants us, so that His strength is most obvious, not ours." Joni Eareckson Tada