Engineered or just Allowed?

Two stories to prove a point: Recently, I heard of a pastor that said God engineered and made people have sickness...Wow, that is grotesque. Now the longer story: A woman who had cancer went to the altar and asked her pastor to pray for her. She told him, "Pastor, I have cancer, and it has made me very humble. I want to be more humble, so would you please pray that I will continue to be humble?" So the pastor stared praying..."Dear Father in Heaven, please give this woman more cancer." Before he could get another word out, she shouted, "How could you pray for more of this horrible sickness in my body?" The pastor replied, "You said you wanted to be more humble, so I'm praying for what makes you humble." If you read in between the lines, you will be able to see that the pastor did this to prove a point.

Contrary to some people's beliefs, God does not point his wrathful finger and certain people and zap them and say "You have cancer, you have AIDS, etc." He is our heavenly father. All parents who are reading, think about this: What kind of parent would you be if you made your precious child have a sickness?

The point is God allows certain things to happen, he does not cause them. 1 Peter 5:8 reads "Satan roams around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." This not only happens with physical sickness, any kind of circumstance can apply, whether it be a family member falling out with the rest of the family, a job loss, the death of a loved one, or anything else. The question is, no matter what comes against us, if Satan brings it on us or we bring it on ourselves, are we going to praise God no matter the circumstances?

My challenge to you: Read the book of Job, see what God allowed him to go through and watch how is faith persevered. This will be a challenge because after you read Job, I'm sure that you will realize that most of us have little to complain about...

Decisions

Wow...so I am half way through my second year of college. Has it been fun? Absolutely. Challenging? Absolutely. For example, as much as I have loved music for the past ten years, the training I'm getting in school now brings out challenging aspects of it that I did not know existed, but as time goes on I realize how much I love it. I also went through a dark time recently, something I would never wish on my worst enemy. But throughout it all, I referred myself to Philippians 4:13--I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That is the honest truth, no matter the circumstance. I definitely have had great opprotunities, and have great people and great places in my life, but not without challenges. I say all that to say this: NO matter any circumstance, The Lord Jesus Christ loves you and is on your side. Trust him, and, in his time, you will get where he wants you to be.