Be thankful for all!

Have you ever screamed at God?  You know, when things aren't going your way and just when you think that anything else can't go wrong it does.  Well how is our attitude of thanksgiving towards God when everything just doesn't seem to go well?  I was meditating on the life of Joseph.  This young man who was sold by his ten brothers as a slave probably thought the same thing, what else can go wrong.  First he is sold by his brothers because of the jealousy they felt of him than later on ends up in jail for thirteen years for a crime he didn't commit.  Can you even imagine being this betrayed by your family?  Can you imagine being in prison for something you were innocent of?  Well he was!  He had all right to scream at God, but he didn't.  He remained hopeful that something good would come out of all the suffering he was enduring.
It is easy for us to be thankful to God when things are going well but it is most important to be hopeful and thankful to God when things aren't going our way, because it is during these times that God is building up a great blessing for your life.
This past week i had to deal with having my only brother join the army and leave for training.  In my mind i  thought that even thou i was extremely proud of his decision i was also scared for him.  Scared for the rough training he was going to endure and mostly scared for the prospect of him ever going to war.  I praid for peace during this time, because i needed to stay focused on the bigger picture of what God will be doing in His life.  I know that God is doing something in Him even as i write this message.  I believe that he is going through very difficult experiences but they are necessary to build him up to the responsible godly mand that he will soon become.
So i thought i had that under control, than i had to try to encourage my mother.  This situation wasn't easy for her but both myself and my sister try to keep her focused on the bigger picture of what God is doing. 
You see sometimes the road that God wants us to trouble isn't necessarily the short road to happiness, blessings and success but it most often is the long road that doesn't quite seem to ever end that leads us to those great blessings that we would not necessarily would ever acquire unless we would overcome the apparent difficulties in our lives.
I encourage you to press on, press past suffering, press past illness, press past marital issues, press past your thoughts and anything else that you might be battling.  Most importantly place your hope on God, because He will never forsake you or abandon you and He certainly can change anything that needs changing.
My reward to this difficult week was an amazing womens meeting which i hope to repeat this upcoming month.  It is great and amazing to see how God works and how He uses a word that sometimes we say to bring much hope to others.  Be blessed!