Suffering and Separation

Hi all, I know that it's been quite a while since I've updated this blog, I've just been busy and going through some life changes, all are good changes of course. Anyway, I was just reading Matthew 26:39, and this verse really spoke to me and made me think of my life and how good it really is. The verse says this: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." In other words, this bible verse means that Jesus was not rebelling against his father's will when he asked that the cup of suffering and separation be taken away. In fact, he reaffirmed his desire to do God's will by saying, "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." His prayer reveals to us his terrible suffering. His agony was way worse than death as he paid for all sin by being completely separated from God. The sinless son of God took our sins upon himself to save us from suffering and separation. Now, I completely agree with the above statement, because I know how true it is, and how much it hurts, because I've been there and done that, and wasn't fun at all whatsoever. That's when I learned how to be thankful and content for what I have, even though it might not be much, but like I always say, every little bit counts, right? Right.
In times of suffering people sometimes wish that they knew what the future will hold, or they wish that they could just understand what the actual reason is for anguish and suffering. I've felt like that many many times before, sometimes I still wonder what the reason is and what my future will hold. Anyway, back to the explanation of the above bible verse, Jesus knew what lied ahead of him, and he knew the exact reason why he went through what he went through. Even so, his struggle was very intense-more wrenching than any struggle we will ever have to face. What does it take to be able to say "thy will be done?" It takes full trust in God's plans, prayer, and obedience in every step you take to be shown the right way. Know what I mean? God has a plan for each one of us, just put your full trust in him and literally, "Thy will be done!" Ask and you shall receive, just as long as you ask God for what it really is that you want or need. This bible verse reminds me of a very good friend of mine who was just recently in a pretty bad accident, and who is now very limited to what he can do. I know that it's awful for me to say, but I honestly think that this is a blessing in disguise, because it's God's way of saying to him, "slow down, wake up, come to me, and I will change your life radically." I wasn't exactly in any bad accident, but the way I used to be was my wake up call to slow down and to come to him, and letting him take over my life. As soon as I gave full control to God, my life really did and will continue to change radically. I'm the happiest that I've ever been in pretty much my entire life. God is good all the time, all the time God is good, so Amen to that! Now, this leads me to my next bible verse, which is Ephesians 5:20: "giving thanks always for all things unto God and the father in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ."
In other words, it means that when you feel down, you may find it really difficult to give thanks to him. Take heart-God works all things out for good if we love him and are fitting into his plans, not our plans, his plans. Thank God, not for your problems but for the strength that he is building in you through the difficult experiences of your life. You can be sure that God's perfect love will see you through everything no matter what happens. I 100% agree with that statement, I wrote about above. It's basically telling all of us that no matter how difficult things get, God will always be there for you, carrying you through all the good times and bad ones too. You need to learn how to be thankful and praise God that your still alive and that nothing else more serious has happened to you. That's what I did, and my life is so much better now that I've accepted Jesus, as my light and savior. He's not a crutch to lean on so to speak, he is the perfect example of how we all should be living our lives. We need to learn how to be more like Jesus, and the only way to learn that is for you to go to church, read the bible, pray, listen, and start living your life the way that God wants you to live your life, and not living your life the way that you want to live your life. You have to have a life similar to Jesus' life, before he ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God, the father almighty. Yes, we're not perfect, but God doesn't expect any of us to be perfect, he just wants us to live our lives according to his plans, not ours. It's always on his time, not on our time. In a sense, we are perfect, because God made us in his image. God does work all things out for good, it just takes a lot of time, before he unveils the answers to us about our anguish, pain, suffering, and separation. All you need to do is hang in there, stay strong, stand firm, and let nothing or no one move you. Be like Jesus, act like Jesus, the sooner that you do, the better you'll feel and your life will be. You need to keep praying and listening, and do what God wants you to do. Amen?!?! Yes, Amen indeed! Thank you, Lord, I love you, Amen!