Strain

As I sit and wallow in self pity thinking about the dark, miserable situations in my life, I wonder how they compare to the likes of David, Paul, and Peter.  I read in Psalms where David said, "My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me."  Instantly I thought me and King David were in the same boat, fighting the same battle.  I am in a situation where I am waiting on God to show up and so was he.  And then I thought about Paul, Peter, Elijah and others being there as well.  We have all been at that place of straining to see the promises of God in our lives.  That place where we wonder if the desert will ever end.  The place of constant head scratching.  The place where all we have is 5 loaves and 2 fish, and we are waiting on Jesus to turn it into a feast.
But before I was too comforted in my little community of pain and sorrow, God whispered something to me.
"You haven't been there like they have been there"
It's true that those great conquerers of the Bible have been through there fair share of struggles, and we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone. But we haven't been to the same places they have been too.  You and I have never walked around a literal desert for 40 years like Moses.  You and I haven't been chased by a bipolar king who wanted us dead like David.  You and I haven't been shipwrecked, imprisoned, and beaten like Paul.  So take comfort in this...You and I really don't have it so bad. Maybe if you and I spend more time counting our blessings than discounting God's timing we would be much better off.

Unsatisfaction

I have a disease. It's called unsatisfaction. My disease hurts me and benefits me. I am never satisfied with almost everything in my life. I can never get educated enough. I can never get fit enough. I am never in the right financial situation. I haven't accomplished enough or worked hard enough. I haven't loved enough or given enough. I haven't touched enough lives or changed enough situations. I don't feed the hungry enough, give shelter to the homeless enough, or answer the cries of the hurting enough. I haven't prayed enough or studied the Word enough. I am not close enough to Christ. I'm never close enough to my wife and family. I'm never a good enough speaker, teacher, mentor, it motivator. Unsatisfaction drives me. It keeps me awake at night. It keeps me from becoming stale and bored. Unsatisfaction also keeps me from rest. It makes me weary. I understand that I may never be, have, or do enough, but God covers my gaps. The only thing I am satisfied in is Him. He is complete in every way. So to sum this up: My unsatisfaction leads to my satisfaction.