Difficulties come in all sizes and shapes.  From the mundane to the monstrous.  We can struggle to fix a leaky faucet or fall apart in the face of a dire diagnosis or loss.  But the one thing common in all of them is that we are not alone.  We have been promised by the Lord that He will always stand with us.  Hebrews 13:5...For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  
Matthew 28:20...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  And in John 14-16 we hear Jesus tell of the Holy Spirit, His beautiful Presence within us.  John 14:15-17  15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.  

As I listened to my Pastor's sermon on Sunday (back in our church building, yaaay!), I had one of those a-ha moments that accompany a simple truth that I have been overlooking.  His sermon started post feeding of the 5000 in John 6.  His disciples, Himself and finally the crowds left for the other side of the Sea of Galilee after a miraculous meal.  Jesus knew the crowds had only followed for the miracle, not for the relationship.  And so one of those questions popped into my mind.  "Why do I seek Jesus?" 

Okay, so I have a few answers for that, but the question led me to some other thoughts, like, "what do I expect when I look to Jesus?"  And I answered myself honestly, "ease."  I expect Him to make everything go perfectly because I am His child.  I expect the miraculous, big and small...smooth sailing, no waves or wind, or tides to fight against.  Hmmmph. Well that's telling.  Pastor John's sermon went on to teach that Jesus wants us to be focused on the eternal benefits of knowing Him, not looking for pleasures in this life only.  John 6:26  Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to be with Me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.  But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food.  Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.  For God the Father has given me the seal of His approval. 

So this brings me to my big a-ha.  Troubles are supposed to change me.  God wants not to deliver me from problems, big or small, but wants to deliver me from worldly thinking, fleshly reactions and the need for temporary ease.  He wants all of us to mirror Jesus' love and character to the world.  In all circumstances.  He wants us bearing the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-23  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!  Well there's the gist of living.  Produce godly fruit bringing glory to God through all things.  I feel like I constantly need this lesson! 

Okay, so how do I walk this out.  I am thinking that is going to be a work in progress....a loooonng work!  I have a lot of old broken habits and patterns to break free from.  But we also have the promise from Philippians 1:6  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  Coming full circle to the fact that the Lord never leaves us.  I'm thinking one of the things I want to do is to apply Galatians 5:22-23 to my moments.  Whether dealing with a troublesome faucet or something much worse, I want to work on letting the Holy Spirit shine through, reminding myself of the fruit He produces when I am lead by Him.  Galatians 5:16  16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The sinful nature says throw fits, get my own way, get mad....the Holy Spirit says produce His fruit. 

Lord, thank You for reminders, thank You for new ways of seeing things, thank You for never giving up and never walking away.  You are truly a wonderful Savior!  Let me see each trial, each annoyance, each difficulty as a vehicle for growth.  Let me seek Your heart, not just Your hand. Help us all to grow in this daily.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen

Memorize Galatians 5:22-23