Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s going to be another very cold day at the farm but the sun is supposed to be shining, and as long as the sun shines; I’ll find my warmth somehow. We’ve gone from unseasonably warm days to temperatures in the teens, and although the changes didn’t happen overnight; they came upon us quickly. One day the warmth was here and the next day it was gone. As I considered how quickly God can change my circumstances, I was reminded that “He gives and takes away” and what a hard pill that is to swallow sometimes in every area of life…unless we Trust His Plans and we understand that it all “works together for Good”.  Isn’t that the way you see life too?

It’s so easy to get the wind knocked out of our sails when the circumstances in our lives change. We’re rarely prepared for change and we don’t accept it easily. One minute we’re healthy and the next minute we’re not. One minute we have love in our lives and the next minute we don’t. One minute things are running smoothly and the next minute they’re upside down. One minute our family is complete and the next minute it isn’t. One minute we have prosperity and the next minute we don’t. Some people immediately begin to question God when things change and they want answers RIGHT NOW for how and why He would allow the changes to come. Sometimes we feel broadsided by the change but most of the changes we experience don’t just happen, and they don’t just happen overnight. Instead there were “signs” of change that we may have ignored or sometimes we see a little change here and there but we refuse to acknowledge it at all. We owe it to ourselves, to our loved ones and to our God to do our part to prevent a shift in our circumstances whenever we can, but when it comes right down to it; the “Lord gives and the Lord takes away”. It’s when we refuse to Trust His Plans no matter what they are; we surrender our peace. God doesn’t make mistakes and He doesn’t find pleasure in making us miserable. He has Plans that we can’t begin to comprehend on this side of Heaven and “all things work together for Good” always; it we let it.

Some people live life as if they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, and they find no joy or peace through this journey because of it. They see God as a tyrant-in-the-sky that can (and will) wreak havoc in our lives eventually, and they just wait for it to happen. They live in fear and uncertainty and they have a perception of God that doesn’t fit His nature at all. They believe we should prepare to suffer and that we should strive to live in poverty and anything else is less than godly to them. But it takes no Faith at all to sit back and do nothing and to wait for bad things to happen and these people lack a true understanding of the Grace of a Mighty God that ALWAYS has a Plan and a Purpose that will “work together for Good” and that will bring Him glory as a result. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away” but when He does either one; there is good reason for it. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away” but when He does either one; there is a Plan behind it that will blow your mind if you learn to Trust Him not only when He’s giving…but when He “takes away” too. This is the key to Trust and Peace and it’s the truest picture of unwavering Faith.

The Lord has given me SO MUCH, but He’s taken away some things that nearly broke my heart AND my spirit UNTIL I learned to Trust with me and every single thing in my life, and I surrendered to His Will and not my own. It may not always be Easy Street as I walk out my Faith, but it’s easy to endure when I know that whatever He gives and whatever He takes away will Serve a Purpose much bigger than me.

How about you?