A Dose of Sugar and an Ounce of Pain

For those who know me, you know how much I love chocolate in any form.  I am a little embarrassed to tell you this but I am such a chocoholic that I have resorted to turning the Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle up and letting the sweetness pour into my mouth.   Oh but with every piece of chocolate I put in my body, I must push myself to exercise to get rid of those calories.

Our heavenly Father is always pouring the sweetness of His blessings in our lives.  Every day brings new sweetness from a glorious sunrise to a call from someone telling us that they are praying for us.  Yes, God blesses us daily.

However, we sometimes do not see those blessings.  Sometimes God in his wisdom wants us to learn a lesson.  I am one person who often takes God for granted.  I call on Him when I am hurting but in the good times, the sweet times of life; I all too often forget that the Lord is with me then as well.  This is when the Lord allows me to walk through a trial and exercise my faith.

Now if you are like me, exercise is just one of evils of life.  I am not an athletic person.  I hate to run, jog, and lift weights.  It just hurts!  I do love a good brisk walk outdoors but I hate exercising on machines.  Well girlfriends, I hate the fact that my faith must be exercised.  Sometimes faith exercises can be painful and hurt too.

However, with the pain in the exercise come great results.  When I physically exercise daily, I feel better, my health improves, and I can fit into my clothes comfortably.  When my faith is exercised, I grow more confident in the Lord.  I stand firmer on solid ground and I can weather the next storm of life a little more soundly. 

Remember girlfriends, that with every sweet blessing God showers upon us, we need to savor it and thank Him for it.  We do not need to take our Lord for granted because at some point there will be a painful trial that comes along that will help us grow stronger in our faith.