A gift...

I've written here and here about struggles and the need to accept everything as a gift from God. I guess I shouldn't have opened my big mouth because often your own words come back to challenge you. A couple of weeks ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Let's just say that it was a bit of a shock. Is this a gift? Not one that I would have wanted.

Well, after some time to think it through I have to admit that it is. It's a gift that forces me to eat healthy foods, get some regular exercise, remember that the flesh is weak, and increases my longing for heaven. The more I think about these ideas the more I am sure that they are foundational to life as a believer in Christ. Everything God brings our way is done in love and for our benefit. It may not always appear that way, but that's why faith has to come in to play. Paul reminds us of this in Romans 8:28:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (emphasis mine)

One of the keys to life is facing it with the realization that everything that comes to me today is a gift from God. Now, if living it was just as easy as writing it.